Activated Almonds

About

“Activated Almonds” is a line from a food diary written by Australian celebrity chef Pete Evans, which was originally published in an issue of the Australian magazine Sunday Age in November 2012. The diary was widely mocked online for its bizarre descriptions of food items, including “alkalised water” and “activated almonds.”

Origin

On November 4th, 2012, the Melbourne, Australia newspaper The Sunday Age published a food diary by chef Peter Evans, in which he lists several bizarre food items eaten throughout the day, including “alkalised water,” “cultured vegetables,” “homemade coconut” and “activated almonds.” That day, Australian television host Marc Fennell posted a photograph of the dairy to his Instagram^[6] and Twitter^[5] feeds, where many mocked the foods listed within (shown below).

“7am: Two glasses of alkalised water with apple cider vinegar, then a smoothie of alkalised water, organic spirulina, activated almonds, maca, blueberries, stevia, coconut keffir and two organic, free-range eggs.
8.30am: Sprouted millet, sorghum, chia and buckwheat bread with liver pate, avocado, cultured vegetables plus ginger and liquorice root tea.
12.30pm: Fresh fish, sauteed kale and broccoli, spinach and avocado salad, cultured vegies.
3pm: Activated almonds, coconut chips, cacao nibs, plus green tea.
6.30pm: Emu meatballs, sauteed vegetables, cultured vegetables plus a cup of ginger and liquorice root tea.”

According to the website AustralianAlmonds,^[3]“activated almonds” are almonds that have been soaked in water for 12 hours.

Spread

The same day, Evans posted a response to the social media backlash on his Facebook^[8] page.

“I’m occasionally ridiculed because I choose to eat a nutrient dense diet, and I find it so bizarre as to why people sometimes find my food choice’s so offensive? All I know is that I’m well aware of the consequences of eating ‘dead’ food, and also I’m a father, and I take that privilege very seriously, so for me striving for optimum health whenever I can so that I can be a responsible role model for my daughters, and still be able to surf right up until the end, is the obvious choice for me."

In the coming days, many Twitter users continued to mock the terms used in Evans’ diary along with the hashtag “#activatedalmonds”^[7] (shown below).

On December 30th, 2013, Redditor thayguydan01 submitted a screenshot of a /fit/ post about the article to the /r/4chan^[1] subreddit, where it garnered more than 1,200 votes (93% upvoted) and 140 comments prior to being archived.

On February 1st, 2014, BodyBuilding Forums^[4] member GodsParticle submitted the article photo to the “Misc” board, where many joked about the use of the term “activated almonds.” On May 13th, The Guardian^[2] published an article titled “Activated almonds? Well yes, eating them might make you a pretentious git.” On August 30th, Redditor wsgy111 submitted a post titled “Have you activated your almonds today?”, featuring a montage of 4chan comments mocking the activated almonds article (shown below). Prior to being archived, the post gathered upwards of 3,800 votes (94% upvoted) and 270 comments on /r/4chan.^[9]

On June 25th, 2015, the Waking Up With Lisa Wilkinson YouTube channel uploaded footage from the Australian morning talk show Today, in which host the host asks if his cohost Lisa Wilkinson prepared “activated almonds” (shown below). On November 6th, 2017, Redditor SevenSixTwoZeroSeven submitted a post asking why commenters on Reddit and Steam say “that really activates my almonds” to /r/OutOfTheLoop.^[10]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References