Raw Replacement for Almonds

[Gabo]

So I'm in the middle of my 30 day raw vegan trial, and am loving some of the great recipes in the cookbook Steve recommended. My only problem is that LOTS of the recipes call for almonds, which is a big problem for me.

I live in California, and ALL the almonds grown here are not raw.
Being a student, I simply can't afford to buy imported almonds either.

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on other good nuts to replace almonds in recipes. So far I've been using pecans and walnuts here and there, but I have no idea what to do for recipes requiring almond butter.

Would it be possible to buy or make walnut or pecan butter?
Any comments or hints would be greatly appreciated.

Matthew

[Dreamline]

At my Whole Foods, they have bins of all kinds with nuts, grains and flours...for bulk purchasing. Someone used the little pen they keep at the station to cross out "RAW" next to the almond bins and wrote "NOT."

Which cracks me up. Yeah, you can no longer buy raw almonds in the US thanks to the previous adminstration allowing special interest (ie: $$$$$) to dominate common sense.

But the baastardized version is still better for you than "roasted."

Jennifer

[Dimond]

Originally Posted by Gabo

I live in California, and ALL the almonds grown here are not raw.

That's incorrect. I was working directly with farms that grew unpasteurized almonds and likely will again soon. California is the best place to get raw almonds. Yes, you can buy or make walnut or pecan butter.

[Angela Leeds]

Raw Spanish almonds are delicious and unpasteurized, to my knowledge. They are more like the almonds I grew up enjoying when visiting family in Greece -- far more flavorful, at least to my taste buds.

I understood that it is no longer possible to get truly raw almonds coming out of CA...

[ginkgo]

There are a few good raw nut butters like cashew butter in good stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joes. Use any of them. I guess when you can afford it, you can get your own grinder and make your own nut butter. You can even use raw peanut butter.

[Gabo]

Originally Posted by Dimond

That's incorrect. I was working directly with farms that grew unpasteurized almonds and likely will again soon. California is the best place to get raw almonds. Yes, you can buy or make walnut or pecan butter.

I apologize, I did make a generalization. What I meant was that all commercially sold almonds are processed.

For someone that doesn't work directly with farms or live near any farms, what would be a good (and relatively inexpensive) way to get farm-grown almonds that aren't processed?

[liamona]

Originally Posted by Angela Leeds

I understood that it is no longer possible to get truly raw almonds coming out of CA...

You can order some from Organic Pastures:

ORGANIC PASTURES FRESH RAW DAIRY