Why you should soak almonds, walnuts and raisins ?

 Nuts are an excellent source of healthy fats, fiber, plant protein, vitamins, minerals and are low in saturated fats. Not only they are great on their own but add extra charm when taken with fruits, added in dishes, salads and desserts. They add various textures, flavors and nutrients to your diet.

Nuts like almonds, walnuts and raisins are are great source of nutrients like protein, fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals. They bring various health benefits and let’s discuss these benefits below :-

1. Almonds

Be it as a topping on your milk shake or almond garnishing in your sweet dishes, almonds give a great satisfaction to your taste buds. Besides the taste, these are benefits almonds give to your body.

Almond is a seed of a fruit but is commonly assumed as a nut by people. It is considered as a major brain food for children. It’s seeds have antioxidants and is rich in protein, fiber, healthy fats and other nutrients. Almonds help in fighting obesity by curbing appetite and helping you to take charge of your weight. It is high in vitamin E, is good for skin, help nourishing eyes, reduces cholesterol and helps regulating blood sugar levels.

2. Walnuts

Walnuts can be enjoyed in various ways with either fresh fruits, melted dark chocolates, smoothies or simply as sprinkle on various meals.

Walnuts are great plant source of omega 3s and the antioxidant activity of walnut is higher than any other nut. With wide use they also bring wide benefits like regulating weight, promoting healthy gut, reducing risk of breasts cancer, lowering blood pressure, benefitting brain health, managing type 2 diabetes, improving male fertility and promoting healthy aging .

3. Raisins

Rich in iron, raisins (also known as kismis) are super low in calories and are naturally sweet. They are prepared by sun drying different kinds of grapes. Raisins can help you in dealing with iron deficiencies and treating conditions like anemia. They are beneficial in lowering blood sugar levels, aiding weight loss, improving digestion, supporting good vision, improving heart and bone health, boosting immunity and promoting good oral health.

One of the best way to extract the benefits of the following is eat them as soaked foods and here’s why you should soak your daily intake of almonds, walnuts and raisins.

Talking of almonds, if we consider the taste and texture, raw almonds due to their tannis are slightly bitter in taste plus when eaten raw they taste hard and crunchy. But when we soak almonds for an overnight period or a period of 8 to 12 hours, they become more flavored, softer and buttery tasting. Apart from that, the nutrient, fiber and antioxidant availability of almonds gets enhanced when soaked. Also, soaking almonds takes their impurities away.

Coming to walnuts, normal walnuts are hard to digest as compared to the walnuts soaked in water. Soaked walnuts help the body absorb the nutrients in a much better way. Like almonds, when soaked the tannins of walnuts are rinsed away giving them a softer and buttery taste reducing the mouth puckering taste of regular unsoaked walnuts. The taste after soaking becomes more smoother and palatable. On top of that, the bad levels of cholesterol are reduced with the help of soaked walnuts.

Raisins or kismis are full of natural sugars and are loaded with fibre. When we soak raisins in water, they act as natural laxatives. This promotes better digestive system by relieving constipation and regulating bowel movements. They contain high amount of calcium and micronutrients and having soaked raisins help in the strengthening the bones. From eyesight improvement to healthy aging raisins serves various benefits. Although it can be difficult to extracted all the benefits in a single go, soaking raisins in water increases the bioavailability of nutrients and it is better to eat them this way rather than having them raw.

Note

Almonds, walnuts and raisins are a must add ones in your diets. They serves various benefits to your health (enough that you can’t remember them all:). However, having them soaked makes them even more healthier and tastier.