12 Steps to Whole Foods

Sprouting and Dehydrating
What Foods Should I Sprout?
Cashews are somewhat heat treated and will not germinate. Also, in September 2007, the almond growers in
California were required by law to begin pasteurizing almonds, which heat treats them above 115° and makes
them unsproutable. This means that, since California produces 80% of the world’s almonds, those who care
about enzymes now have to go to more trouble to find raw almonds for sprouting. (They can still be sold under
certain conditions and in certain limited amounts to consumers.)
I recommend you always have soaked, dried almonds on hand for snacks (see Sprouted Almond Recipes on
page 210). This is a good on-the-fly lunch with a green smoothie. Almonds taste wonderful, are lower in fat
than other nuts, high in fiber, and are alkaline-forming, nutritional standouts. Try to always have some of this
snack on hand for emergencies where you’d be tempted to turn to other crunchy foods that aren’t nutritious.
Since I seem to always be running behind, I often just grab a little bag of dehydrated sprouted almonds with me
to work, and my kids often eat them as an after-school snack. Nuts are good for you, great sources of fiber, B
vitamins, and good fats. But they can be enzyme inhibitors until germination unlocks their impressive enzyme
potential. Use sprouted/dried almonds in any recipe calling for almonds.
Soak 8+ C of raw almonds overnight, and then drain. They do not need to grow sprouted “tails.” In fact, they
will likely grow mold before that—but germination occurs in an 8-hour soak, so dehydrate the nuts after that
until they are crunchy, to avoid mold. You need truly “raw” almonds to germinate them, since all almonds
coming from California now are pasteurized and, therefore, unsproutable. (You can get up to 100 lbs. per day
direct from a California rancher. We facilitate an annual group buy in Oct./Nov. so you can do that. You will
know about it if you are signed up for the GreenSmoothieGirl.com free newsletter or “Like” the GSG
Facebook page.)
Place the almonds on dehydrator racks and dry at 105° until completely dry (6-12 hrs.). Store in the fridge. (I
learned the hard way that if not completely dry, sprouted almonds will mold if you leave them out on the
counter for more than a few days in the summer.)
Besides the nutritional advantage, the middle of the soaked almonds pop open, and when dehydrated, they
make a crunchy snack that’s lighter and more fun to eat than regular almonds.
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw 12 Steps to Whole Foods 203