When raw, nuts are dormant; after soaking, they’re living! These two different states of nuts is one of the best ways to understand the distinction between raw foods and living foods.

As long as you start with raw organic nuts (from a source you trust) out of their shells, you’ll have a living food after soaking.

Almonds require the longest soak time (16-24 hours) because they’re the hardest of the nuts. The soak water is toxic, so don’t use it, even for watering plants. Rinse nuts well after soaking.

Vast Variety of Nuts

Different nuts require different soak time, and the soak water has different degrees of toxicity. Over time, I’ll add more information at this blog about nuts.

In my raw food cuisine, I’ve used nuts of all kinds. I’ve prepared pistaschio hummus, almond milk, cashew ice cream, walnuts warmed in a dehydrator, pecan cookies, pinenut salad dressings, brazil nut pate, and nut butters. I often add almond meal to my Raw Food Energy Soup.

I especially like almonds because they’re so nutritious, and the most alkaline of all the nuts. Almonds are definitely worthy of being called a superfood, although I don’t consider that all nuts are superfoods.

I especially like the really raw cashews because once soaked they’re very soft and blend into a creamy pudding, adding a texture that is often associated with dairy. Unfortunately, many cashews are sold as "raw" but have had high heat applied to remove the shells. It’s good to be sure that the package says "really raw" or has another qualifier that tells you that high heat has not been applied.

Cacao is also a nut. I eat cacao daily for the rich mineral content, pleasant flavor, and my general well being. In fact, I eat cacao multiple times each day.

Most nuts go well with sweet, sour, bitter, or salty flavorings to build tasty dishes.

Digestion

When eating nuts or any high-fat foods, it’s important for digestion to consume greens with them. Not many greens are natural accompaniments — can you imagine broccoli as a garnish for chocolate mousse?

Mint, spirulina, and sometimes parsley and basil work. And you can also plan to have lots of fresh greens which are loaded with minerals and enzymes for your meal before (or after) a nut/fat dish.

Protein in Nuts

Many people consider that raw foodists must get all their protein from nuts. However, most nuts don’t have all 8 of the essential amino acids that qualify the food as a "complete protein." Almonds do have all the essential amino acids and some of the other amino acids, as well.

Nuts include protein, fat, and carbohydrate, and are more properly classified as a source of fat than a source of protein.

Moderation

As with all food, moderation is the key. Because of the fat content, nuts tend to be very satisfying. When I have a nut dish, it’s frequently my whole meal with perhaps some greens in a salad or as a garnish.

I eat raw cacao every day, in many different ways.

It’s a Chocolate World

Chocolate is everywhere in our society. However, most of it is highly processed, cooked, laden with dairy and flavored with refined sugar. It’s the processing of the chocolate that makes it a health hazard. It’s a strange world that has turned one of the most powerful, natural, nutrient-dense foods into an unhealthy, ubiquitous food item.

Raw cacao, which is highly nutritious, will be one of the foods that health and wellness advocates will want to know about — and use.

These days, cacao is more readily available than just a few years ago, in various natural forms throughout the United States. The most common forms are beans with skins still on (whole beans), nibs (broken beans), and powder (ground beans). However, I prefer raw, certified organic (or the equivalent), skinless, whole cacao beans. Perhaps your preference will be different from mine.

I suggest you start at Sunfood.com because that site will have the widest variety of the best available. When you get to the site, simply search for "cacao" to bring up the current selection of products. If you prefer to purchase in a local store, just read the label carefully. Pictured at the right is the way I purchase most of my cacao.

At the moment of writing this article, this item is out of stock at Sunfood.com. When I talked with one of the support persons, he said that the manufacturer has not been able to keep up with the demand. I purchased some nibs locally. Right away, I noticed the difference in taste. NaturalZing.com also has wonderful raw cacao.

The Real Stuff

Chocolate is made from Cacao (or Cocoa) Beans. Cacao is chocolate; chocolate is cacao. However, when you start with the one ingredient cacao and add healthy ingredients without cooking, you retain the antioxidants, minerals, and neurotransmitter rejuvenating properties.

The raw cacao bean is one of nature’s most outstanding superfoods due to its mineral content and wide array of unique and varied properties. Since many of the special properties of cacao are destroyed or diminished by cooking, refining, and processing, it’s important to consume it raw.

Cacao is hard. To eat it, you need to break it down. Typical ways are with mortar and pestle, high speed blender, regular blender, or your teeth.

Cacao is bitter. Bitter is one of the important tastes, but rarely do we eat bitter items alone. I can eat cacao straight — and often do! — but I think that’s an acquired taste. I also rarely eat a whole handful of cacao on its own. More likely, I eat 3-4 beans alone. Cacao beans are easy to transport in a suitcase, purse, or pocket for superfood nutrition on the go.

Sweeteners for Cacao

Stevia is the sweetener of choice by many people wishing to avoid refined sugar and the mainstream alternatives. In the US, stevia is marketed (by law) as a nutritional supplement and cannot be marketed as a sweetener.

Honey is extremely sweet to my taste, so I only use a very small amount occasionally.

Dates are a living food. Other dried foods serve as interesting sweetening and texture to cacao dishes.

Other natural sweeteners also go well with cacao, such as, dried fruit, mesquite pod meal, carob, yacon syrup.

Please note: I no longer recommend Agave nectar There are a few extremely expensive agave nectar products that are more healthy than most on the market. Since I’m not familiar with the brand names, I am simply avoiding agave and recommending it.

Uses

I add raw cacao to nearly every type of meal. It’s an essential ingredient of my Raw Fruit Smoothies and Vegetable Soups, and, in particular, Raw Food Energy Soup. Cacao adds valuable minerals that are often lacking in restaurant foods, so I’m certain to carry some with me at all times.

Cacao was used as money by the ancient Aztecs — so to them, money did grow on trees. But, make no mistake, they ate cacao also. So they associated both their wealth and their health with cacao.

Recently, I wrote about a different approach David Wolfe is using
that associates food and money.
You can read that article or
go directly to David’s Food that Attracts Money Video.

To do this properly requires planning, as you need to soak the raw almonds for 24 hours. You’ll find multiple sources for raw, organic almonds on the left navigation bar.

Raw Almond Milk: 2 Servings
Ingredients 1/2 cup whole, raw, organic almonds ( no shells) 1 1/2 cups purified water (best water available) Sweetener, see choices below (optional) 1/4 tsp vanilla or dash of cinnamon (optional)
Equipment blender nut milk bag Directions 1. Soak the almonds in 2 cups water for 24 hours; rinse well, discard soak water. 2. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. 3. Strain through a nut milk bag. You can use a nylon bag designed for this purpose, a hemp bag designed for sprouting, or a double layer of cheese cloth. 4. The liquid is the milk. The pulp has plenty of nutrition and uses.

Soaking the Almonds. Raw organic almonds are incredible food. The reason they have long shelf life is that they have a natural growth inhibitor on the outside. That is toxic — not deadly, but not pleasant, especially for sensitive individuals. The 24 hour soaking removes this. I usually change the soak water several times, just to remove the toxins. The almonds are now ready, or they can be left, drained but still wet, for several hours unrefrigerated or several days refrigerated.

Blending the Almonds. You can do this recipe in any blender, but you’ll have finer pulp in a high-speed blender.

Straining the Pulp. If you just want to experiment with making the Almond Milk, I suggest you use cheese cloth, as that is so easily accessible, even if potentially messier. I find the help sprouting bag is acceptable, but I don’t suggest you purchase one of this purpose. If you’re going to purchase anything, I recommend the nylon bag. Please note: a little more than "straining" is required. You must actually squeeze the bag or cheese cloth to get the most out of the blended almonds and water.

Flavoring the Milk. Almond Milk is wonderful straight without any sweetening or flavoring. To my taste, almonds are already sweet. Stevia and dates are often used as sweeteners for raw foodists. Cinnamon added to almond milk is awesome, with or without additional sweetener. Add hemp nut seed to it and you will be in ecstasy.

Using the Milk. That’s easy, drink it! I’ve created some yummy desserts using the almond milk as a base.

Chocolate Almond Milk. To the above, add raw cacao; you may need to adjust the sweetener. I also often add carob, which is a regular ingredient in my recipes.

Using the Pulp. If you love Almond Milk, you’ll want to be creative about using the pulp that’s left over. I’ve discovered or invented quite a number of uses for the pulp. Use the pulp in raw (or non raw) cookies or bread, Raw Food Energy Soup or any other soup, smoothies, or dehydrate it for later use. Dehydrated almond pulp adds an interesting texture to any of the recipes you might add fresh almond pulp.

Enjoy!
After a few times, you won’t need a recipe.