The best way to eat nuts and seeds and gain the nutritious benefits is to eat them soaked and dehydrated. You can soak and dehydrate walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds and sesame seeds. Always purchase raw, unsalted nuts and seeds. Soak them overnight in filtered water. Optionally add 1T sea salt per 2 cups of nuts. Dehydrate them for at least 8-15 hours. Dehydrate them using a dehydrator or on a baking sheet in an oven set at the lowest temperature your oven will go ie. around 100 degrees F (and no more than 150 degrees). Smaller nuts and seeds dehydrate in less time – a good test is the bite-test and they should no longer be soft and soggy. Soaking and dehydrating can also be done before grinding nuts and seeds for nut butters. If you don’t dehydrate your nuts and seeds, you can still get the benefits of soaking – but they must be eaten immediately to avoid spoiling. Dehydrating makes them last longer – and imparts a delicious buttery flavor.
Why soak your nuts and seeds?
- It neutralizes the enzyme inhibitors which make them difficult to digest
- It neutralizes the phytates (present in the bran of all grains and seeds) which inhibit the absorption of minerals such as magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc and copper
- The germination process increases many nutrients in the nuts and seeds, such as vitamin C, the B vitamins and carotenes. It also produces enzymes
- Some of the complex carbs are broken down into simpler sugars, which make them easier to digest
Soaking and dehydrating your nuts and seeds imitates the ancient Aztec practice of soaking pumpkin seeds and drying them in the sun before eating them whole or grinding them into a meal. The Native Americans also soaked nuts and seeds.
If you don’t always have time to soak and dehydrate your nuts and seeds, going for raw and unsalted is the next best option.
I’m a big fan of pumpkin seeds and mention them a lot in my book The Antianxiety Food Solution www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com, recommend them to my clients and talk about them when I present and am interviewed. They are just one of the many great mood foods I talk about on my Fox40 interview https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/foods-for-your-moods-fox-40-anxiety/ And why do I like them so much? They are higher in zinc that other nuts and are also a great snack to help with blood sugar control.
My personal favorite recipe for pumpkin seeds is a short-cut version of the dehydrating method. Soak 2 cups pumpkin seeds overnight and place in a casserole dish or baking tray with 2T olive oil, 1T tumeric and ½ T ginger with sea salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 250 degrees F, stirring once after 5 minutes. This higher temperature does destroy some of the enzymes, so if you notice more bloating or digestive distress with this method then try the slower and lower temperature method.
LOVE pumpkin seeds and making my own. Do you have any great tips for getting all the pumpkin goo off the seeds when you take them out of a fresh pumpkin?? THANKS for the info! XO, Katherine.
Trudy, I always love your tips and oddly enough I am a pumpkin seed lover, too. Didn’t realize they were that great for you!
Sue
Sue, thanks – and yes, all real foods have great qualities! I love this quote my colleague Karen Langston uses: “before there was medicine there was food” ! Enjoy!
Trudy
Trudy – I LOVE Pumpkin seeds! We’ll be carving ours this weekend, so I am going to try out your recipe 🙂 Thanks for always sharing great tips on eating healthier!
Jennifer Bourn
Good stuff Jennifer! have fun with the carving and the eating of the seeds!
Trudy,
Just in time for the fall. I will have to try these out.
Thanks,
Mitch
Thank you so much Trudy for these great, healthy tips. I homeschool with moms that are very careful about the snacks we give our kids and this is a super recipe they will enjoy! Thanks!
Kiyla Fenell
What awesome moms you all are Kiyla! I love it!
Great tips, Trudy,
I love roasted pumpkin seeds and often eat raw nuts but never really thought of dehydrating them.
Write on!~
Lisa
They are so yummy dehydrated – all nice and light and crunchy – and they travel well like this (for out-of-town conferences and such)
Yum-o! And what a perfect snack for this time of year. 🙂 ~ Carmen
I like that Carmen – Yum-o!
Trudy, I had no idea the benefits of soaking/dehydrating nuts – I feel super smart for learning something new today. And I’m ALL OVER that pumpkin seed recipe – they are one of my favorite snacks! Thank you for sharing!
Barbara – you’re so cute : “I feel super smart for learning something new today”. Enjoy! and let me know next time you go to a chamber event so we can connect in person for a change!
Trudy
Great info! I have tried saving pumpkin seeds before but it never worked. Now I know why; I need to dehydrate them after washing them.
Excellent Cathy – thanks for the feedback!
Thank you Trudy for sharing your knowledge and great recipes. I just got a dehydrator and will be trying your recipe for soaked and dried nuts and seeds, my kitchen counter is now full of bowls with nuts and seeds in water. : )
Good stuff Annika – enjoy! another of my favorites is soaked and dried walnuts!
Love everything I’m learning! Inspirational!
Trudy Scott, you are in the business of hope. How beautiful.
I always want to love pumpkin seeds, but sometimes it feels like I’m eating wood chips. Does this method soften things up and help with chew ability?
Cottie
Soaking and roasting does help a lot! thanks for your lovely words – “you are in the business of hope” – love it!
Trudy
A while ago you suggested I eat pumpkin seeds for my anxiety. I do soak and roast the seeds when the pumpkins are in season. I would like to purchase some seeds and make a nut butter from a company called mygerbs. I had to find a brand that is nut free because my son is tree nut and peanut allergic. What form should I buy to retain the tryptophan? Whole or kernels? Raw or dry roasted? Please see this link to see my options and more info. at Gerbs.com Please help me make the right choice.
https://www.mygerbs.com/
Shana
Raw and then soaked is a great option
Hello! I would like to place another with MyGerbs. MyGerbs says the seeds are rinsed at the farm x2 before being delivered to MyGerbs to be roasted. Is rinsing enough to get rid of the phytic acid or do the seeds still need to be soaked? Does roasting get rid of the phytic acid? Does roasting deplete the nutrients? I don’t have a lot of time to be soaking and roasting on my own. I would like to buy the pumpkin seeds that will have the most nutrients/tryptophan. Thank you! Merry Christmas/Happy Holdiays!