Delicious Dehydrated Almond Snacks – Kid Friendly!

Today’s blog is going to be short – I only have 2 hours while my son sleeps to work & today I have chosen to clean the house, leaving only a few minutes of computer time My son won’t touch meat of any kind so I am always trying to create protein-rich snacks that he will love. These flavored raw almonds and sunflower seeds are so yummy, satisfying, and crunchy!…

If you like to buy those bags of sprouted and dehydrated raw nuts and seeds this recipe will show you how to do it yourself, which will save you money. I know dehydrated foods that are pre-made can be a bit pricey in the store but making them yourself can cut back on the cost.

The ideal way to make this snack is to have a dehydrator, which I know not everyone has so you can also use your oven. I always soak any nuts or seeds first, which eliminates about 40% of the fat; creates very easily absorbed and digested fats; increases the enzymes and nutrients; makes the nut a complete protein and makes the nut very easy to digest, allowing the body to receive more energy from the nuts. Convinced to soak your nuts and seeds???

(This is how it looks when soaking the nuts in glass jars as described below)

Here is all you have to do:

In glass jars fill the nuts/seeds half way and then to the top with water. Soak the nuts and seeds individually (one type of nut per jar). My favorites are almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.
I like to add about 1/4 tsp Celtic Sea Salt per cup of nuts/seeds which allows the nut/seed to absorb the salt while soaking, making them even yummier!
After soaking 4-6 hours rinse them well in a collander and pour into a bowl.
Sprinkle Celtic Sea Salt and nutritional yeast to taste over the nuts/seeds and stir well. The nutritional yeast adds a great variety of vitamins and minerals, aminos and even B12.
If using a dehydrator lay the nuts/seeds over a piece of parchment paper or dehydrator tray and dehydrate for about10-15 hours at 115 degrees. Smaller seeds take less time to dehydrate while larger nuts like almonds or walnuts can easily take 15 hours. The goal is to dry them completely until crunchy.
If you are baking them, set your oven at the lowest temperature possible and bake until dry and crunchy. If you don’t have time to bake for a long period of time you can also bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, then stir/flip and bake another 10-15 minutes until crunchy and slightly browned.
Last option is to heat them in a fry pan over medium-high heat for about 5-10 minutes stirring often – very tasty.

*I store them in a paper bag or glass jar on the counter – tastier than eating popcorn!