Have you ever had mung beans in your salad or in Asian dishes?
Well, those are actually sprouted beans! They are one of my favorite additions and especially in Asian cuisine. Sprouted beans and grains have become a popular wave of interest in the health community over the past years. When, for example, a bean is sprouted, over time it will have more bioavailability of nutrients for the body. You may have seen alfalfa, broccoli, or mung bean sprouts sold in your supermarket. To me, they are overpriced because you can actually make them at home for a much cheaper cost, especially, if you buy in bulk. Recently, I found that you could sprout lentils and they are fairly good for you. So, I embarked on giving it a try.
The way to do it is also fairly easy. First, I had to soak my beans for about 12-24 hours prior. After that, I drained and rinsed them off and then set them in my colander and set it on top of a deep bowl in order for the liquid to fully drain. They say they should be rinsed off every 8-12 hours. I rinsed mine off when I got up in the morning and before I went to sleep. The following day sprouts began to emerge.
I used a mesh strainer at first because my colander does not drain as well, but after a couple of days the sprouts started growing through the mesh and I had to pick them out one by one.
I was overzealous and decided to do a whole cup of dried lentils - well, it was too much for one strainer...I recommend starting off with 1/2 of a cup because by the third and fourth day before I jarred them, there were A LOT! They don't seem like much but they can take up quite a bit of space.
From this article, here are some of the nutrition facts of sprouts:
All of the nutritional and medicinal benefits of sprouts are derived from their impressive vitamin, mineral, and organic compounds content. They contain a significant amount of protein and dietary fiber, as well as vitamin K, folate, pantothenic acid, niacin, thiamin, vitamin C, vitamin A, and riboflavin. In terms of minerals, they contain manganese, copper, zinc, magnesium, iron, and calcium. Many of these component nutrients increase dramatically as the sprout continues to develop. Along with all of these components, sprouts are also a rich source of enzymes that are essential for health.
They also list a bunch of health benefits that you can look up yourself if you so desire. The article gave this nice picture to sum it up below. Although, I think as a disclaimer they say that if you buy sprouts you might want to be careful to wash them properly as like ay fresh produce to avoid things like E. coli.
I figured it doesn't require much and they taste exactly as sprouts do. They are great in salads or on top of veggie burgers for me! Let me know what you think, it wasn't too terrible of an experience and I'll be sprouting more soon!
Note: All images not cited are my own or created by me.
Be well!
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