Another week has passed and I'm hoping that you at least had a go at sprouting your own lentils. I also hope you tried our new recipe and that you enjoyed it as much as I did. This week we are going to turn our attention to a mixture of larger beans. After the initial soaking in the jar, the liquid is full of minerals, sugars and amino acids and can be reserved for soups and sauces. (Stay tuned for a simple soup using not only the soaking liquid but also our mung bean sprouts, next week).
These larger bean sprouts can be eaten raw, but can also be steamed for 15 minutes and then cooled for the salad recipe this week. It means that beans that would normally take hours to cook can be cooked much quicker retaining their goodness. These include; chickpeas and red kidney beans. The sprouting process is the same as for lentils. Just be sure the jar you are using is large enough for expansion as the seeds may expand up to 8 times their normal size. Start a diary for yourself to see how quick you use them so you know when to start the process to keep up with your demand. A general rule is to start the soaking process about every 3 days. Only soak what you will use over a few days and then they will always be fresh.
Next week we will explore other ways to sprout without a jar. All the methods can be done easily at home without the need to buy expensive equipment. It makes it all the more fun and expands your creative side to come up with simple devices to use. Just remember how good they are for you and how inexpensive they are to grow.