Soaking & Storing Nuts for a Raw Food Diet

Here is a question from a fellow Essential Cuisine student. My answer is below in PURPLE: Hello Susan,

I purchased your Essential Cuisine DVD's from Food Matters.  I am ABSOLUTELY ENJOYING EVERY MINUTE of watching them. You are a delightful lady and make it so fun and easy.  I love the warmth of your teaching and the people.

I have been on a personal journey for the last several years to become more educated about food and to dramatically change my eating habits. It has been great! I will consider your Makeover Course.  I assume that it is much more than what I have already observed on the DVD's.

Finally, I have watched the soaking nuts segment several times.  Am I correct:  The pecans, walnuts, almonds, and pumpkins seeds are soaked and rinsed, etc, and then if not using them right away, keep them in water and sitting out on the counter covered.  How long can I leave them out like this?  A day or two and then be sure to use them?

Also, in the DVD, you said to soak the sunflower seeds for 5 hours only, but how long do the others soak until they are initially ready if you are going to use them right away?  I assume that it is best to only soak what you are going to use and not more at one time?

Flax seeds are soaked once and then used?  Should not be stored in water?

I guess I should enroll in your course as I have so many questions.

Thank you for your help.

Aloha from Chef Teton,

Thank you for the great compliments. Yeah!!!

After you soak the nuts, have rinsed them and are ready to store them, put then in a container and cover them with water and put them in the REFRIGERATOR. Then you must change the water each day. Now, if you are going to eat them within the day I am sure they are fine to sit out on the counter. Some seeds will begin to sprout (not pecans or walnuts).

As for soaking time. It varies according to the nut and size. Almonds take a good 12 hours. Walnuts take several hours to soak all the way through, but there are times that I have only 15 minutes to soak them. This short time is beneficial and better than nothing because it will wash them and help eliminate mold, enzyme inhibitors or any other particles.

You can also soak sunflower seeds for just a couple hours. They do not take long. Most nuts and seeds are in the 8 hour range. I like to go for overnight. Most all nuts and legumes are soaked enough in the morning. You can rise them and keep them on the counter until ready to use them in the same day. But, if not, then soak them in jars in water and store them in the fridge!

I like to soak enough walnuts to use for a couple days. Sunflower seeds grow their tails fast and will become bitter if you let them go too much. The best things to do is experiment a little at a time. Get a feel for it and see how much you eat.

I hope that helps!

Making every bite count, Chef Teton

The Best Garlic Bread Ever!

I love Garlic Toast

Seriously, I love garlic toast so much I could eat it with everything. It really does not matter what it is.

Here is my favorite way to make it:

I like to use sourdough bread – organic of course - because it taste the best and it is a naturally rising bread. You can use French bread, rye or even some of the gluten free varieties made with almond flour, rice or millet. They are all good – just different flavors and textures.

Spread the bread with either olive oil or salt free pasture butter. Or if you want to get decadent mix olive oil and butter together.

Fresh garlic: Use a garlic press to mush the garlic. Put it right on to the bread and spread it around.

Sprinkle Celtic Sea Salt on top of the bread, butter and garlic.

Top with fresh chopped parsley.

If you don't have fresh garlic then garlic powder will do. Be careful with garlic salt as it can get too salty.

If you have some fresh Parmesan cheese handy, use some lightly to give it a rich deep flavor.

Broil until bubbly and crispy.

To store left overs: If there is any such thing, freeze them. When you are ready to enjoy them, warm or  toast them for a few minutes in a toaster or the broiler. Surprisingly they taste almost brand new!

Is Prevention Enough To Motivate You? Jack In The Box, Spam, Ensure

What motivates you?

Not too long ago one of my siblings called me. He proceeded to tell me that he had just made a sandwich out of old-fashioned white bread, tons of mayo and Spam. Then he told me how delicious it was and how much he enjoyed it. He was gloating the entire time.

OK, I thought. “Well, that is just wonderful”, I said, “I am glad you enjoyed yourself”. He got great pleasure out of sharing this with me. Why all the gloating, I wondered? What’s up with this?

He is not the only one. I am often teased by family, friends and neighbors about how I eat, do yoga or whatever is healthy.  Trust me, I am not a fanatic. Well, I don’t think so anyway.

Then there is my Mom. She is 89 and has Crohn’s disease. She has suffered from it for over 12 years with chronic pain and lack of energy. She has taken 4 Vicodin a day for as long as I can remember and antibiotics at least once a year.

Mom's diet consists of mostly candy, cake type muffins and Ensure.  I don’t even get how she is still alive. But, she is, thank God. She does quite well each day as long as she stays in her home environment. The sad part to me is that she is constantly suffering from pain. She keeps going to the doctor so they will “fix” it. But, they can’t.

I have sent her to other nutritionists thinking if someone else inspired her she might make a few changes. Didn’t work.

When I visit her she will usually eat what I prepare, and raves when I make her a yummy green smoothie, saying it feels like a shot of life going into her body. But, she will not do it herself. Opening a can of Ensure is the route she takes, and now her consumption is up to a 6-pak a day.

Then there is my own son, who also still enjoys fast food on a daily basis, and my sister who loves Jack In The Box tacos. I confess I used to love them too, but when I found out what was in them, well my love faded.

What am I to do? Obviously, nothing, because everything I have tried has failed. Even some of my good friends would rather take a drug with serious side effects than reverse or heal a condition that is giving them pain. They accept the condition blaming it on genetics and blow off the possibility that almost all symptoms can be reversed through diet and movement. We know now that we have the power to keep a negative gene we are carrying from expressing itself through lifestyle changes.

This does not make sense to me. It is amazing that I have the confidence to do what I do as no one in my family takes on what I teach. To make it more confusing, they write me and say how proud they are of me, and what I do, saying that they think I am amazing. ???? What is going on here?

Are you a person who has taken on the new food revolution, a person who cares about what you eat and are rather “picky” when it comes to your choices? Do others riddle you? Or do your loved ones take you in stride, saying, “yeah, yeah”, as they pop a Twinkie?

What is your story? I would love to hear.

Another thought:  I just took a course to help me with my business. It was said over and over again that people are not interested in prevention. They are usually not inspired until they “have to make a move” for their survival.

Is this true? Is it true for you?

I was inspired before I got sick because I don’t want to get sick. I don’t want to be an ailing old woman. I want to be healthy, vibrant and strong so I can live my life’s dreams.

How about you? What motivates you? What inspires you? What makes you decide on awesome choices despite others around you who don’t feel the same?

Or, do you know better but do not do better? Do yo know better but do not care?

What do you struggle with around this whole issue of eating as healthy as you can and taking care of this grand body of yours?

Go to the comment window and share a picture of your life.