How to Soak/Sprout and Dehydrate Nuts, Seeds, and Beans

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What is the point of soaking and dehydrating nuts? Can’t they just be eaten on their own?

Those are the questions that I used to ask myself when I took my first steps on the journey to cleaner eating. It seemed so cumbersome to go through the trouble of preparing nuts before using them in my cooking and I really wanted to avoid doing it. But I changed my mind after I soaked and dehydrated my first batch of nuts and had absolutely no trouble digesting them.

This is not only about nuts but also seeds, beans, and grains. Although to properly soak and dehydrate grains you need to do some extra steps and follow a slightly different procedure so I won’t be talking about that here. But nuts, seeds, and beans can be done fairly easily, you just will need to sacrifice some time beforehand.

Nuts, seeds, and beans contain so many different beneficial minerals, vitamins, and fats that we should be eating them daily. But that’s not really an option for many people. I am sure you have had your share of embarrassing toilet visits after eating too many beans or seeds. Sometimes these foods seem to pass through our bodies without any nutrients getting properly absorbed. Which is a real shame.

The point of soaking and then dehydrating nuts is to neutralize phytic acid, lectins, and enzyme inhibitors. These substances make them harder to digest by our bodies. But the soaking (and sprouting) process “unlocks” the enzyme inhibitors. This makes them easier on your gut and allows for better absorption of the nutrients. The Nourishing Traditions ebook explains it best:

The process of germination not only produces vitamin C but also changes the composition of grains and seeds in numerous beneficial ways.  Sprouting increases vitamin B content, especially B2, B5, and B6.  Carotene increases dramatically–sometimes eightfold.  Even more important, sprouting neutralizes phytic acid, a substance present in the bran of all grains [and in nuts, beans, and seeds] that inhibits absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc; sprouting also neutralizes enzyme inhibitors present in all seeds.  These inhibitors can neutralize our own precious enzymes in the digestive tract…Finally, numerous enzymes that help digestion are produced during the germination process.

Soaking and sprouting are two separate but similar processes. They both serve the same purpose – to make the nuts, seeds, and beans more digestible. So what’s the difference? The key lies in the duration of the process.

Soaking is simple. You just put your nuts, seeds, or beans in water salted with a spoonful of sea salt and leave them to soak overnight. The next day you put those nuts, seeds, or beans in a dehydrator or in an oven to dry them out until they turn crispy again. For most people, this is enough to make them ready for digestion.

However, if even with soaking you still struggle with digesting those foods, sprouting might be necessary. Sprouting is essentially similar: again, you leave the nuts, seeds, or beans in salt water for a few more days until they start sprouting. You will be able to see the sprouts coming out. But remember that only truly raw nuts, seeds, and beans will sprout properly. Typical store-bought pasteurized foods won’t be able to sprout. The time needed to sprout is different for each product. For example, lentils will usually sprout in around 12 hours but sunflower seeds might need three days of soaking to finally release some sprouts. The size also matters. Larger beans and seeds will take longer to sprout.

The dehydration process is fairly simple. You can lay out all of your soaked or sprouted foods on a tray and put them in the oven set to the lowest temperature. Full dehydration might take just a few hours or even a whole day, depending on what you are dehydrating.

If you start doing this process regularly, I highly recommend you get a dehydrator to make your life easier. You can control the temperature exactly which comes in handy not only when dehydrating seeds and nuts. Dehydrators are able to operate at lower temperatures than most ovens. I also use my dehydrator to make homemade beef jerky, raise bread dough, or even make yogurt! They use much less electricity than ovens so I don’t feel guilty about leaving them on for the whole night. And in the winter, it’s an excellent source of additional heat to warm up our house.

Soaking and dehydrating nuts, seeds, and beans – the basic process

Necessary equipment:

  • a half gallon glass jar
  • a kitchen towel OR a sprouting lid
  • an oven OR a dehydrator

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of nuts, seeds, or beans
  • filtered water
  • 1 T. of sea salt

Instructions:

  1. Put the filtered water in the glass jar you will use for the soaking process and add in the sea salt. Stir to help the salt dissolve.
  2. Add in the nuts, seeds, or beans you want to soak and stir them in gently.
  3. Cover the jar with a kitchen towel or a special sprouting lid. The jar needs to be covered to keep the dirt out but it also needs to be able to breathe.
  4. Soak overnight or longer, depending on what you are soaking.
  5. The next morning, drain the water out of the jar using a sieve or the sprouting lid.
  6. Rinse the nuts, seeds, or beans by running them under filtered water a few times.
  7. Spread the nuts, seeds, or beans on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a dehydrator tray.
  8. Oven: set the lowest possible temperature (usually 170 or 150 degrees) and dehydrate until the nuts, seeds, or beans turn crispy.
  9. Dehydrator: set the dehydrator at 120 degrees and dehydrate until the nuts, seeds, or beans turn crispy.

Sprouting and dehydrating nuts, seeds, and beans – the basic process

Necessary equipment:

  • a half gallon glass jar
  • a kitchen towel OR a sprouting lid
  • an oven OR a dehydrator

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of nuts, seeds, or beans
  • filtered water
  • 1 T. of sea salt

Instructions:

  1. Put the filtered water in the glass jar you will use for the soaking process and add in the sea salt. Stir to help the salt dissolve.
  2. Add in the nuts, seeds, or beans you want to soak and stir them in gently.
  3. Cover the jar with a kitchen towel or a special sprouting lid. The jar needs to be covered to keep the dirt out but it also needs to be able to breathe.
  4. Soak overnight or longer, depending on what you are soaking.
  5. The next morning, drain the water out of the jar using a sieve or the sprouting lid.
  6. Rinse the nuts, seeds, or beans by running them under filtered water a few times.
  7. Fill the jar with water again, screw the sprouting lid on, and drain the water again.
  8. Shake the jar slightly to keep the air circulating properly.
  9. Keep rinsing and shaking the nuts, seeds, or beans inside the jar two or three times a day until you will see the sprouts forming.
  10. Use fresh sprouts as they are or, if you prefer, dehydrate them for later:
  11. Spread the nuts, seeds, or beans on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a dehydrator tray.
  12. Oven: set the lowest possible temperature (usually 170 or 150 degrees) and dehydrate until the nuts, seeds, or beans turn crispy.
  13. Dehydrator: set the dehydrator at 120 degrees and dehydrate until the nuts, seeds, or beans turn crispy.

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