Tania Kettle

Ok, so the young one's on a health kick.

And overall that's pretty good.  There's fruit, veges, smoothies and chicken. Not the skin and stuffed type, no no, the naked, unstuffed kind.  However, I'm just being precious, it's all good here.

But it's been interesting though because there's been lots of talk as to what constitutes healthy.

Because I sit on the side of, If the expiry date is not until June 2022, it's not healthy.  Whereas the young one is only interested in labels and percentages of oils and fats, proteins and sugars and that to him is healthy.

The young one also does not believe in sugar while moi firmly sits on the cheering for sugar side of the fence.  And salt.  

I also belive in a more Mediterranean way of eating.  Lots of olive oil and tomatoes, garlic, fresh bread and seafood.  And jaffa's.  Ok, technically not Mediterranean but think of a teensy...oh, bite me.

But back to the young one, he believes in chicken (the naked variety), broccoli, kumara, porridge, smoothies, eggs and almonds in all their forms.  

And labels.  

Note: this rule doesn't apply to Grandma down at the markets who makes the most delicious Lemon Honey (Lemon Curd) who has NO labels on her jars. Apparently she doesn't have to, she's a Grandma.

But anyway, moving right along, we've had some really interesting conversations and right now it's all about almonds.  Actually, we're stuck on activating.  What exactly is an activated almond? Why is activated better than not?  And does it make a difference.   

First off, what is an activated almond?

Activated refers to nuts that have been soaked in water and salt for a period of time which starts off the germination and sprouting process, then dehydrated at a low temperature.  Soaking increases the nutrient value of the nuts along with breaking down the problematic compounds that help enhance their digestibility.  Literally this means, bringing the nut to life.

When I read this out to the young one he looked at me, rolled his eyes and said, Yes, but what does it actually mean?  

You know, I could really go off him some days.

Ok, let us try again so we don't just hear but we understand this concept.

1) Ok, first off, Activating is the word used for nuts (or seeds) that have been soaked in water and salt for a period of time to start off the germination and sprouting process then dehydrated at a low temperature.

2) Nuts and seeds contain Phytic Acid which prevents them from sprouting prematurely and stores loads of vitamins and minerals.

3) However, we as humans cannot easily absorb all these wonderful vitamins and minerals because Phytic Acid reduces our bodies ability to absorb them. There's also a bit about Enzyme Inhibitors here but really, I started getting a bit bored but the general gist is this...nuts and seeds contain the acid, which we can't easily breakdown and the inhibitors make our body work twice as hard to get the nutrients.   

So, the reason we activate is this:

Soaking nuts and seeds begins the process of germination thus breaking down the Phytic Acid and Enzyme Inhibitors making the nutrients a lot more accessible for us, as humans, to eat and absorb.

Now, that wasn't so hard now, was it.

Have a jaffa...

* And give me something soft, sticky, sweet and delicious when you see me.

Wishing you much love and abundance and a truly courageous heart.

T and Spirit

xx