Hi folks,

I just started eating raw a week ago after doing a 10-day master cleanse. In general I feel really energetic and I wake up more refreshed than ever which is really great.

However, I'm not sure how to deal with the soaked nuts. I soaked some sesame seeds and cashews overnight and they became quite soggy and started growing little tails. I tried to dry them off with some paper towel and then left them sitting in a bowl to dry more overnight.

I made a big salad the next day with the soaked sesame seeds and ended up with a rather severe stomach ache that lasted 5-6 hours. I think it might have been seeds because the tails were quite long and the color had gone quite dark. But I suppose it could have been the spring onions since I've never really tolerated onions that well.

Does any one else have any experience with soaking nuts? What's the best way to manage it and what happens if you don't do it?

Thanks,
Shaz

You have to be careful that your nuts don't spoil. If they have a funny texture or smell, they are bad. This is how I do mine:
I put in a mason jar covered with cheese cloth with double the amount of water just before bed and let soak overnight. The next morning I rinse them and allow them to drain VERY WELL at a 45 degree angle in the dish drain. If I'm trying to sprout them (seeds), I leave them in the jar in a dark area and rinse/drain them 2-3 more times a day. It usually takes 2-3 days to sprout "little tails". However, different seeds / nuts have different amounts of sprouting times. I have a chart in a raw food cookbook, but I'll look around on the web and see if I can find one. For nuts, however, I don't actually "sprout" them, but just soak them overnight to get rid of the outercoating and make them more digestable. Hope this helps.

It sounds like you let them sprout too long and they went rancid. Once they grow the little tails, they're pretty much done germinating, and have a higher susceptibility to go bad if you continue to soak them.

Thanks, folks! Think I'm getting the hang of it...