2die4livefoods

Imagine the job description for the humble seed of any plant on the planet:Must develop a ‘really thick skin’ - to bestow maximum shelf-life whilst awaiting the appropriate season for germination. Must develop the robustness to withstand all manner of physical threat, including human, faunal, fungal, insectile and bacterial predation, plus various other assaults such as flood, drought, chemicals and the really weird one - genetic contamination. Must dutifully and tenaciously preserve its inner embryonic potential so that continuation of the species is assured. A tough call.So how does a tiny seed set about accomplishing these daunting life tasks?Simple! It selects, from its plant host’s amazing array of hundreds of noxious chemical compounds, those that are specifically suited to create its arsenal.Note that the ‘enemy’ includes humans. It’s not personal. The seed is not trying to poison us. We must simply be aware enough to know how to disarm it.Some of the most common chemicals in a seed’s armory are phytates, oxalates, goitrogens, phyto-oestrogens, oligosaccharides and glycosides, but there are many more, and collectively they have become known as ‘anti-nutrients’ so called because many have the habit of binding with essential nutrients, especially minerals, and rendering those elements useless, unavailable to the eater. They may also cause a broad range of harmful allergic, digestive, carcinogenic and hormonal reactions. You see, the seed must be unpalatable to the enemy, so it is quite natural, a healthy sign, to have aversions to nuts and seeds, raw or roasted.Birds can eat seeds. Squirrels can eat nuts. Such creatures have digestive systems designed to deal with the ‘anti-nutrients’. Ruminants also they have up to 4 stomachs, the first one being for fermentation. But humans, no!!We must to do our essential preparatory work in the kitchen!And it is this particular work that 2die4 Live Foods is accomplishing in its Byron Bay commercial kitchen, where we produce a planet-first range of Activated nuts and seeds  walnuts, pecans, almonds, pepitas and brazils.I and co-founder Jon Henning are dedicated to creating food items that have achieved optimum health and digestibility.Fermentation holds the key. Long-soaked in a solution of water, sea salt, liquid whey (animal rennet-free), the nuts and seeds sniff a scent of their ultimate destiny as they swell toward sprouting, along the way shedding their armoury of chemical inhibitors.Like stripping off ones clothing before a plunge into the lake.But there’s more to that long-soak than meets the eye. A virtual riot of enzyme activity has been triggered - on a mission - crucial conversion of key nutrients, which are commonly difficult to digest. The superb proteins in the nuts and seeds start breaking down into their more assimilable amino acid constituents.So the overall effect is a double whammy.At this very naked stage in the process, the nuts/seeds are dehydrated, at temperatures less than 70°C - arresting the activation, preserving the highly-beneficial oils and ensuring maximum preservation of the life that has been engendered.They become tastier, healthier, happier and crunchier than the original nut. Kids love them.2die4 Live Foods simple, super products are triggering a vital, welcome revival in the awareness of, and desire for, nuts as a mainstream food.See 2die4’s website/online store at: http://www.2die4livefoods.com.au/shop/index.php