My house is full of almonds. I love to snack on them, cook with them and rub them on my body (almond oil, that is). #saucy #notreally
My husband is always stumbling across almonds in the kitchen in various stages of activation, dehydration or pulverisation, which is pretty much how the life-cycle of almonds goes in this house.
So what’s the go with ‘activated’ almonds anyway?
Almonds and other nuts contain enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid that stop them from sprouting in dry, unsuitable conditions. When consumed, they prevent sufficient absorption of vitamins and minerals by the gut and can also can cause bloating and other digestive problems. The idea of activating them is to start the germination process as this breaks down the enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid making the nuts easier to digest and the nutrients more easily available.
You can buy activated nuts from most health food shops these days, but I really can’t justify spending 20% more on a packet when it’s seriously so easy to do at home yourself.
I always activate my almonds in big batches and then store them in the pantry for later use.
Here’s how I do it:
Ingredients
Raw almonds (I use organic)
Filtered water
Salt – about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per cup of almonds depending on taste (I use pink Himalayan salt)
Method
Place almonds and salt in a dish and fill with enough water so that all almonds are submerged. Stir to distribute and dissolve the salt evenly.
Let soak for 12-24 hours (I let them soak overnight). When the almonds are ready they will have plumped up and softened a bit.
Drain and rinse the almonds, then dehydrate them for 12-24 hours until they are completely dry and crunchy again. You can either use a dehydrator or simply spread them out on a baking try and dry in the oven at about 60-65 degrees C.
And done! How easy is that! You can snack on them as they are or use them in other recipes. I like to use them in my gluten-free paleo muesli (recipe coming soon) and in all kinds of raw desserts.
Jem xx