Energized Eating’s Blog

There are a few ways to make seeds and nuts more digestible, nutritious and delicious!

Become a demented fermenter in the kitchen by experimenting with these tasty and healthy ideas…

• soak the seeds for several hours and up to 24 hours (if the weather is not too warm)
• soak in slightly salty brine (add a pinch to a teaspoon of unrefined sea salt to the soaking water)
• soak in brine with added apple cider vinegar - just a teaspoon or so
• some people like to add some whey or Molkosan to enhance the fermentation process. Only a very small amount is needed for that and it is optional. For a vegan version of that use the apple cider vinegar. You could also experiment with using some unpateurised soy sauce (shoyu or tamari) or even some miso or umeboshi vinegar (umesu), rice vinegar or mirin. There are many possibilities and you are only limited by your imagination! It is all a great culinary experiment.

Try it with

• pumpkin seeds (in many places you can find these rich, dark green pumpkin seeds that are organically grown in Austria especially for their seeds and the actual pumpkins are composted to enrich the soil they are grown on - they are exquisite)
• sunflower seeds
• almonds
• pecans
• walnuts
• Brazil nuts (supposedly the best source of selenium which is an important antioxidant and trace element lacking in most diets due to soil depletion)
• cashews
• pine nuts
• pistachios
• sesame seeds (these tend to be the trickiest to soak as they become slimy easily but you can soak them for a while and then blend into sesame milk or blend with lemon for a tangy cheese like flavoured salad dressing)
• a combination of any of these

You can soak for a few hours or much longer. In a salty brine solution you can even soak them for a few days. Like with pickling, the salt prevents the growth or undesirable bacteria. If you choose an option without salt then the soaking time is usually only a few hours. Just keep checking that they do not start to ferment too much. Your nose will be the best guide - you can never go wrong with pickling and fermenting foods or need to worry about consuming anything that may spoilt in the process as your nose won’t let you. The longer soaking produces a completely different product and some say these fermented seeds are one of the most nutritious ways to consume seeds or nuts.
By soaking nuts and seeds (and also legumes and grains) you are in activating the enzyme inhibitors that are naturally present. Nature has put these inhibitors in them to prevent them from sprouting until they come in contact with water and also as a safeguard against pests and animals.
These enzyme inhibitors can make digestion of these foods more difficult, stress the pancreas which needs to produce digestive enzymes  and prevent the full absorption of the minerals, trace elements and vitamins contained in the foods. Although it is a good idea to soak these items for several hours or overnight, there is evidence that at least fifty percent of these anti-nutrients are inactivated within the first hour of soaking. So even if you are in a rush a quick soak of these foods is still beneficial.

After the soaking period, drain in a colander and then you can either

• dry in the oven on a very low temperature to preserve the enzymes
• dry in a food dehydrator which also preserves the enzymes
• dry gently in a skillet on the stove
• dry toast in the oven (this will not preserve the enzymes but is tasty and still more digestible than not soaking)
• you can also dry them gently and then quickly dry roast a small amount just before using in a skillet or in the oven
• keep them in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

They make a great topping for grain or vegetable dishes, salads and even some desserts or cakes.

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