Teriyaki Walnuts

I used to love teriyaki flavored nuts but the recipes always contained a lot of sugar and salt. However I have been missing them lately so I wanted to find a way to make them raw, lower in both sugar and salt. Lots of raw recipes use agave but I decided dates were a more natural alternative. Also I wasn’t crazy about the idea of using liquid aminos or soy sauce so I tried adding red miso instead. I choose red miso since it is darker. I also thought the red miso would help with the color. Here is what I did:

Teriyaki Walnuts
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts, soaked for 2 hours to reduce tannins
2 medjool dates, pitted
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon red miso
3 tablespoons water (or what is necessary to make a sauce to coat the nuts)
1 - 2 scoops stevia, to taste (optional)

Directions:

Drain the walnuts.

Combine the dates, garlic, ginger, and miso in your food processor. Add water a little at a time until you get a nice thick sauce that will coat the nuts. You may need to stop the food processor a few times to scrape the sides of the bowl. Taste the sauce to see if you need to add any sweetness. When you have a sauce remove the blade and add the nuts and toss to coat evenly with sauce.

Line your dehydrator with a teflex sheet and dehydrate at 115 degrees until the coating has dried. Mine took approximately 18 hours but it was humid here which will increase the time required.  The nuts will be very soft and sticky initially but will slowly get crispy and dry.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories  -138.24
Calories From Fat (77%) - 106.97

Total Fat - 12.79g
Saturated Fat - 1.21g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 36.38mg
Potassium - 109.61mg
Total Carbohydrates - 5.23g
Fiber - 1.6g
Sugar - 2.33g
Protein - 3.19g

Comments:

Dan and I are split on this recipe. I think it is perfect the way that it is and he thinks it needs to be sweeter, though he did take a handful with him this morning to work. ;-) If you have a sweet tooth like Dan add a scoop or two of stevia to the sauce. These nuts have a lot of flavor and are crispy after the lengthy drying. They will be a wonderful addition to salads. I will be making these often to keep on hand for salads and snacks.

Unrelated Note:

Today is going to be a busy one. I will try to come back later today with a dinner update. I hope you are all having a great Tuesday and are staying cool in this summer heat. Talk to you again soon.