As one of the first, and easy, steps of shifting into the ancestral, real-food, approach to cooking and eating is to understand how to properly prepare certain foods.
One such food item is nuts.
They can be a nutrient powerhouse (not to mention they are great snacks, great additions to salads, cookies, and granola bars), but only if they are properly prepared.
What does it mean to "properly prepare" nuts and Why should I?
Nuts have a coating that nature gave them as a protector. This coating is a enzyme inhibitor and it prevents our bodies from absorbing their vitamins and minerals and can put a real strain on the digestive system if eaten in quantity.
The only way to remove this coating and to allow the body to absorb all the nutrients of the nuts, is to soak (or partially sprout) the nuts in salty water for at least 8-hours. The salt in the soaking water activates the enzymes that neutralize the inhibitors.
Then they need to slow-roasted, on a low-temperature (150-170 degrees F) in order to protect the enzymes.
The result is a flavorful nut that takes entirely different than the raw nuts you may have been eating. That bitter taste of the walnut is now buttery. Raw pecans with their strong after taste that many don't like is gone. Cashews are taken to a whole new level of yum!
When nuts are prepared in this way, they are easier to digest and their nutrients more bio-available to the body.
Does this feel intimidating?
It can feel like adding this step to your overall food prep might be intimidating, but what really all that is required is a tiny bit of planning. So much of this process is passive!
There are four 'busy' pieces - putting them in the bowl to soak, rinsing, placing them on the baking sheet and putting in the oven, enjoying them as a snack!
I hope you'll give this a try! It's a good way to baby-step into the ancestral way of cooking.
It helps you begin the process of planning. It's an easy way to see how passive so much of this way of preparing and cooking foods can be.
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