Roasted almonds

[leila1213]

DD has been loving her crispy almonds for quite a while, but I've gotten frustrated with making them for her. It is such a hassle and I feel like I'm wasting a ton of power. (I need to get a dehydrator, I know.) Plus, I just don't feel it is worth all the effort, knowing that all "raw" almonds are now being "pasteurized".

I had been paying $12.99/lb for organic "raw" almonds in bulk at the HFS, which is crazy, but since DD eats them slowly, I was ok with it. Then I thought I hit the jackpot when I found them on sale for $3.49/lb at the grocery store. I bought 7 or 8 lbs of them, but I think I let them soak too long, cause they just weren't drying out. Then we started moving, and they got left in the oven and got all moldy.

So anyway, I got totally frustrated and found some "all natural" roasted almonds made with only sea salt, no added oils. It appears that they are soaked in the salt water initially. I know that the roasting is at a too-high temperature, but they are already "pasteurized" anyway, right? They were $6.99 for 11 oz, so I didn't think that was a totally bad deal.

What do you think? Is it worth the hassle to make crispy almonds, even with nuts that are not truly raw, or would you be happy with this alternative?

[BeagleMommy]

I'd probably buy the ones you mentioned because the TF lifestyle is rather labor intensive. No, they aren't perfect, but your dd doesn't ONLY eat almonds. They are part of her diet. But that's just my take on it.

[Jimibell]

Hi,

My dds love almonds too and we love to make all the wonderful almond-filled recipes in NT (especially carob chews, yum!). So I also felt ridiculous buying "raw" almonds that had been pasteurized (and I complained to WF about this false-labeling, I hope they change it) for 15$ a pound!!

Anyway, I've found this great farm in CA that sells real raw organic almonds!! The woman said they can sell raw almonds direct to the consumer. And if you buy in bulk the price goes down!! We got our shipment last week and they are very tasty! We bought 5 lbs (I think they were 9$ a pound and I think shipping was free but don't quote me on it). The woman said they'll last a long time. But I'm not worried, we're going through them fast.

Here is the site: http://www.organicpastures.com/products_almonds.html

now I have to find a source for raw peanuts (I miss peanuts!!)

[leila1213]

Oh great! Thanks so much! I know my coop in FL gets them from CA and they are actually raw. Maybe it's the same source.