Do certain nuts (especially almonds) ever make you feel bloated or ‘heavy’ as though they aren’t digesting properly? Or, maybe they even give you gas. As someone with digestive issues, I can tell you that soaking your almonds vs not soaking them makes a WORLD of difference with both digestion and energy. Here’s why…
Benefits of Sprouting Your Almonds Beforehand…
Not only is eating raw, organic almonds important, but soaking and germinating/sprouting them before consuming them is just as important in order to reap the many health benefits of almonds. Here are a few of the benefits…
Easier to Digest – The first step in germinating/sprouting your seeds is soaking them in water. The soaking process neutralizes most of the enzyme inhibitors (phytates) within the brown skin of the almond allowing for much better digestion. Almonds should be soaked in clean water for 12-24 hours.
Improved Absorption of Nutrients – Most nuts also contain phytic acids, which are considered to be anti-nutrients, meaning they bind with the minerals & nutrients within the almond and, as a result, are not absorbed by the body. Once you soak and germinate your almonds, most of these phytic acids will also be neutralized ensuring better absorption of the nutrients within almonds, such as calcium, magnesium, and zinc.
Increases Nutritional Value – Not only will your body be able to absorb the nutrients from almonds better from soaking and sprouting them, but the process of germination will actually increase the Vitamin C, B, and Carotene content drastically! You literally go from eating a ‘dead’ food to eating a super (living) food!
This explains why raw, sprouted almonds (or almond butter in this case) actually gives you more energy and alertness instead of making you feel sluggish due to malabsorption.
How to Store Your Almond Butter…
It is imperative that you store your almond butter in the refrigerator in order to retain as much of the nutritional content as possible. In most cases, raw sprouted almond butter will keep in the fridge for about 1 month (try not to double dip though).
Ways to Incorporate Sprouted Almond Butter into Your Daily Diet…
- Eat it as a snack with veggies, such as celery (my favorite way).
- Eat it with a banana & some raw honey (yummy)
- Add some to your gluten free muffins or gluten free pancake recipes
- Add a scoop to your green smoothies
- Spread it on a gluten free cracker as a snack
- Mix it in with your banana ice cream
- Make gluten free almond butter cookies
- Add it to your morning oats or chia pudding
- Make your own chocolate almond butter cups
- Use it to make homemade granola bars
- Get creative… Almond Butter is extremely versatile!
See Recipe Video Below for Full Instructions
Thanks will try this recipe as suggested
Wonderful.. let me know what you think 🙂
Hi Kayla, thanks so much for this great instructional video. I have been hoping to try making sprouted almond butter as it is 23.99 a pound at whole foods! I have also wanted to buy a dehydrator for awhile now but feel confused by them not having used one before. I do not see a link here, where to find this info? thanks, nice site
Hey Jillian.. Girl, I know the sprouted varieties at whole foods are super expensive! I think you’ll like this recipe better anyway 😉 Here are my suggestions for dehydrators: http://www.kaylachandler.com/shop/recommended-kitchen-appliances/
Can I air dry my almonds instead of dehydrating them? We’ve started our own almond trees and I’m trying different recipes of almond butter.
Sure! 🙂 Let me know how it turns out
How many almonds? 1 cup? 2 cups? 1/2 cup? 3/4 cup? 😯
In the example shown in the video, I use 11 oz of almonds. Anywhere from 11-16 oz will work 🙂
Grinding and grinding in my food processor and still no nut butter:(
Be sure you’re adding enough almonds… also it takes at least the first 3-6 minutes before the butter starts to form, depending on the quality of your food processor and blade. Also, be sure your almonds are completely dried out and dehydrated.
Hi Kayla, I wanted know : if I do not have the oil you used in the video above, can I use any oil? Like Olive oil or something..
Yes, olive oil probably wouldn’t taste good though. Try something like coconut oil that has a more mild taste. Or, don’t add any oil at all.
this looks so tasty is there a printable version of this?