Easy sprouting

Legumes contain anti-digestive substances that protect the raw bean or pea from bacterial breakdown until they are ready to grow. To be more easily digested and to produce less ‘gas' and remove harmful toxins, prepare legumes as follows:

1. Soak dry legumes for 12 hours or overnight.
2. Drain in a colander and rinse well.
3. Set the colander in a larger bowl and leave on bench or convenient place.
4. Soak 5 minutes each morning & night, rinse well, drain, until sprouts are ready to eat.
5. For some sprouts, when nearly ready, husks will come away. Tip sprouts into bowl with plenty of water and skim off husks with fingers.

Sprouts store very well in refrigerator in sealed container (never frozen) for up to a week. They do not need to be rinsed any more.

RED KIDNEY BEANS & LARGE WHITE LIMA BEANS:

Soak as above. Sprout 1 full day and night. Cook next day. No shoots will be obvious.

BROWN LENTILS:

Sprout 2-3 days as above until the shoots are at least 1 cm.
For salads, allow shoots to grow longer.For lentil loaves, patties, cooked lentils etc. Small shoots are adequate (a minimum of one day in colander).

CHICKPEAS:

Sprout 1-2 days as above, being sure to soak thoroughly morning and night and rinse well. Chickpeas become smelly very easily. Small sprouts appear. One day sprouting is adequate for cooked dishes. Sprout for 4 days if you are not cooking them but using for salad or hummus.

MUNG BEANS:

Sprout several days as above, soaking and rinsing three times a day to keep shoots white. Shoots can be 2-4 cm long.

ALFALFA, RADISH & FENUGREEK:

Very easy to sprout. Sprout 4-5 days as above. (Very small seeds - rinse Alfalfa in small sieve for a couple of days until sprouts appear). When nearly ready, remove husks as above. To green sprouts, place on window-sill or sunlit area for the last day, moving contents occasionally.

NOTE: Sprout seeds multiply in volume many times. ¼ cup Alfalfa seeds when fully sprouted makes 4 cups. Larger seeds multiply much less.

Recipes: