I am the type of person that loves to snack during the day be it on cheese sticks, cucumber sticks, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, mums pickles and the list goes on so in my quest to find a new super snack food I came across activated nuts. Uber cool and healthy.
Activated what? Yep, that’s what my hubby said and the work colleagues cracked a few jokes as well.
So what are they and why?
Whilst raw nuts are full of antioxidants, loaded with protein, healthy fats, fiber and minerals, they also contain natural inhibitors that can interfere with the absorption of the good nutrients and put a massive strain on our digestive system if they are not properly prepared.
The nuts are soaked in some filtered and slightly salted water for a lengthy period of time and slowly dehydrated, by doing so you imitate the sprouting process and decrease the levels of anti-nutrients.
Why salted water? The salt helps to activate the enzymes that deactivate the natural inhibitors that will interfere with absorption of the yummy goodness. Only a small amount of salted water is needed,
The activation process is a small labour of love so I would highly recommend that you make these over the weekend. Preparation takes a few minutes but it is the soaking and dehydrating that takes time. If you will be making these on a regular basis I would also recommend investing in a small dehydrator. You can also dry them at very low heat, approx 50-60 °C, but go on, treat yourself and get a dehydrator! The possibilities are endless!
Once activated I had mine with my yoghurt for brekkie, and always kept a small tub of them in my handbag for work.
Go on…get your nuts activating!
Bella 🙂
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