Soaking, Sprouting, and Sweets -- Day 1

To help get ready for lots of snacking, I soaked some almonds and alfalfa -- separately! I also stocked up on fruit to help curb my sweet tooth.

ALMONDS
I took about 5 cups of almonds and placed them in a bowl with water. I also added about 1 tsp of salt. After a few hours, I needed to add more water to keep them covered. Tomorrow I will drain them, and place them on my dehydrator sheets.  I'll keep them in the dehydrator at around 110 degrees until they are crispy and yummy (this may take a day or so). After that, I'll store them in different size glass jars, making it easier for me to just grab a jar when I'm on the go!

Soaking almonds helps to make them more digestible, which also helps to increase their nutritional value. I also think they taste better. If you don't have a dehydrator or just don't want to soak your almonds, that's fine!

SPROUTS
Today I placed about 1/4-1/2 C of alfalfa sprout seeds in a glass jar with a wire mesh lid, and completely covered it in water. The alfalfa will soak overnight, and tomorrow we'll begin the sprouting process. First thing in the morning, I will drain the seeds and rinse them while still in the jar. Then I'll tip the jar upside down at an angle to allow for more drainage. Several times throughout each of the next few days, I'll rinse the sprouts and allow them to drain, always returning the jar to its mostly-upside down position. After a few days, the sprouts will be about 2 inches long, and I'll move them to a glass storage container, and keep that in the refrigerator.

Tip: I angle my jar by placing it mostly face-down in a strainer. I put the strainer on top of a dish (bowl, plate, etc.) on my counter, so the water has somewhere to drain.

SWEETS
I have the most amazing sweet tooth. Oh, how I love sweets! Chocolate especially. While eating raw, or mostly raw, I definitely make a lot of raw desserts (you'll see!). However, I also might need to have sweet things that are easy to grab -- hence the fruit. I currently have in my kitchen some kiwi, mango, banana, apple, and grapes (yes, I know they are all out of season and not even local). Persimmon is also a fabulous thing to grab while having a sugar craving. Having these things handy will help me to stick with the raw challenge when I'm needing some extra sweetness.