Why would you want to soak nuts and seeds? Both are high in phytic acid. Phytic acid is present in all grains, beans, nuts and seeds. It is also found in other plant foods in smaller amounts. When there is a high amount of phytic acid in a particular food, it blocks our absorption of iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc.
This could explain why so many people are mineral deficient in our society, as not many people take the time to soak their grains, beans, nuts and seeds.
Phytase is the enzyme present in plant foods with phytic acid. Sprouting, soaking and/or souring grains, beans, nuts and seeds will activate phytase, which will in turn reduce phytic acid and increase mineral absorption of the food (source).
It is worth taking the time to soak grains, beans, nuts and seeds. It doesn’t take a lot of time, just waiting time for them soak and to dehydrate after soaking them. Watch this video to learn an easy way to reduce the anti-nutrients in nuts and seeds!
In this video, I demonstrate how to soak raw blanched almonds, raw cashews and raw pine nuts. Below are the ratios to use for salt and the time needed to soak.
How to Soak Nuts and Seeds
Ingredients
- Pine Nuts (same ratios for peanuts and hazelnuts)
- 4 cups raw pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- Filtered water
- Almonds
- 4 cups almonds
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- Filtered water
- Cashews (or macadamia nuts)
- 4 cups cashews
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- Filtered water
Instructions
- Soak pine nuts, almonds, peanuts or hazelnuts in filtered water and sea salt for 7 hours or overnight. Soak cashews in filtered water and sea salt UP TO 6 hours. Do not soak cashews any longer as they will get soggy or mushy.
- Drain the water from the nuts. It is not necessary to rinse the nuts before dehydrating them. At this point, you can either start dehydrating the nuts or you can add seasoning to them, depending on your preference. If you want the seasoning to stick, you should use a fat like ghee, butter, olive oil, or coconut oil to coat the nuts.
- Place nuts in a dehydrator in a thin layer up to 115 degrees until they are completely dry and crisp, between 12-24 hours.
Have you tried soaking nuts and seeds at home? It is very simple and doesn’t take a lot of extra time in the kitchen.
