Soak Your Nuts (and Seeds)
If you are new to the Raw Revolution, you will no doubt need to know that you should soak your nuts and seeds before eating them. The whole purpose of soaking the nuts and seeds is to begin the germination process. Simply put, germination is the little nut or seed "waking up" and with its awakening comes all of the wonderful nutrients that the little sprout needs to grow. These nutrients are vital to the plant for its growth and are vital to your health as well.
So, here is a quick guide to soaking your nuts and seeds:
1.First rinse your dry, raw, organic nuts or seeds in purified or distilled water. I use a Brita water filter with pitcher for this purpose. Roasted, canned, jarred are by definition cooked and will not germinate.
2.Put the rinsed nuts or seeds in a glass or stainless steel bowl. I use a glass batter bowl with lid.
3.Next cover the nuts or seeds with twice the amount of purified or distilled water. (2 C of water to 1 C of nuts or seeds).
4.Then Cover the bowl. The lid on my batter bowl is not that tight fitting so I use that most of the time... otherwise use a clean dish towel or cheesecloth to cover it.
5.When the nuts or seeds are done soaking the proper amount of time, drain and rinse with purified or distilled water and drain again. The nuts or seeds are now ready to eat or use in any recipe.
| Type of Nut or Seed | Soaking Time | Sprouting Time |
|---|---|---|
| Alfalfa | 8 hours | 2-5 days |
| Almonds | 8-12 hours | 12 hours |
| Barley | 6 hours | 3-4 days |
| Buckwheat | 6 hours | 2 days |
| Cashews | 2-3 hours | 12 hours |
| Kamut | 7 hours | 2-3 days |
| Lentils | 8 hours | 12 hours |
| Mung Beans | 1 day | 2-5 days |
| Nuts-Other than Almonds,Cashews,Walnuts | 6 hours | n/a |
| Oat Grouts | 6 hours | 2 days |
| Pumpkin | 8 hours | 1 day |
| Quinoa | 12 hours | 12 hours |
| Sesame Seeds | 8 hours | 1-2 days |
| Spelt | 7 hours | 2-3 days |
| Sunflower Seeds | 2 hours | 2-3 Days |
| Walnuts | 4 hours | n/a |
| Wheat Berries | 7 hours | 2-3 days |
| Wild Rice | 9 hours | 3-5 days |
You will note that nuts can be easily germinated but only almonds will actually sprout. Now, go soak your nuts (and seeds!)
Categories: Chive Talkin
Tags: nuts germination raw soaking seeds
Dumb question here: so you wait until they start sprouting and then you cook and or eat them right? Does it taste or look weird? As you can see I am new to this
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Hey Katie - Never a dumb question here! You eat the nuts and seeds after germination (soaking). You can let them sprout after if you want and eat them sproated, but sprouting is another step. The nuts absorb the water in the process and do take on a different texture (softer) that may take some getting used to. You could dehydrate them after sprouting to bring the crunch back so to speak. I haven't done that yet, but I am sure I will at some point. Hope that helps and please feel free to ask whatever questions come to mind. Love ya!
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Thanks for this, Jenna. I just sprouted my first batch (ever), garbanzo beans. I remember eating sprouted mung beans and lentils growing up, but haven't caught on to sprouting until you posted on it a while back. I just bought a nut milk/sprouting bag, soaked the dried beans for a day then rinsed and hung the bag for about 1 1/2 days. They are delicious! I'll either make "burgers" w/ this recipe: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001567.html or I've just been eating them plain or on salads. I'm going to try microgreens next. Thanks for this handy reference!
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Awesome, Amy! You're welcome... I love hearing your successes! When you say microgreens are you meaning baby salad type greens or broccoli sprouts or what? I do the baby salad greens and they do real well. Cheers!
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Hi Jenna, I mean broccoli sprouts or onion or...the little tiny seed-sprouts. I feel like bean sprouts are heartier and my time is limited, so I'd rather grab a handful of bean sprouts if I have to choose.
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This is great information, just what I was hoping for, has helped me with my coursework, thanks A+++++ Blogger!
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Useful information like this one must be kept and maintained so I will put this one on my bookmark list! Thanks for this wonderful post and hoping to post more of this!
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and interesting blog so i think so its very useful and
knowledge able.I would like to thank you for the efforts
you have made in writing this article
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hi! Chive, you always make an excellent posting, that is a great thing in you.
thanks and regards to all.
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I just sprouted my first batch (ever), garbanzo beans. I remember eating sprouted mung beans and lentils growing up, but haven't caught on to sprouting until you posted on it a while back. I just bought a nut milk/sprouting bag, soaked the dried beans for a day then rinsed and hung the bag for about 1 1/2 days.
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So glad you had success with your first time... sprouting!!! That's awesome!!!
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