We sprout many things in our home because it is so simple and easy. I mainly sprout things for our Homemade Dog Food. (Here is a link to a free mini-course on Why Homemade Dog Food and how we got started). Mostly sprouts save us a lot of money because it’s like making extra food for the same cost we spent on the beans. You can easily sprout things at home as a healthy alternative or just to save money. I will take you along with me today, to show you just how to grow bean sprouts easily!
Sprouting is a really great way to get enzymes in your diet. I talk so much about enzymes here. I am huge on sharing how Farming, Food, & Health are All Interconnected and this is a good example. Why not get the most nutrition out of your food as you can? Food grown in healthy soil is more nutritious but let’s take it a step further by adding the enzymes to our diet. Enzymes are hard to come by in food today because our food lacks REAL nutrients. Our soil is depleted of nutrients so our food can’t possibly be as nutritious as it once was.
What can you do today to help your food be more nutrient-rich for your diet? Sprout it! There are so many different things you can sprout.
Here is a list of the different things you can try sprouting in your own kitchen:
– Legumes: lentils, mung beans, garbanzo beans/chickpeas, soybeans
– Grains: wheat, rye, barley
– Seeds: alfalfa, clover, fenugreek
– Nuts: almonds (must be soaked first)
– Vegetables: microgreens
So, how do you grow bean sprouts? You really can sprout things in different ways but the main two are by mason jars and then sprouting trays. I have done both. I like mason jars because it seems easier for the kitchen. If you wanted to sprout in bulk for livestock, you could use big trays! You’re basically rinsing several times as they start to sprout.
+ Toss them in a salad
+ Make a sandwich
+ Make a soup
+ Add them to your homemade dog food
+ Use as a garnish
There are so many ways to use sprouts!
If you are like me and love to cook from scratch, sprouting is a great way to have fresh ingredients on hand. I am all about using fresh herbs in my recipes but sometimes they can be pricey. Why not grow your own? You can do the same thing with beans! Sprout them ahead of time and then when you are ready to use them, they are already done! No matter what your reasons are for wanting to sprout things, it is a great way to have fresh ingredients on hand and know how to grow bean sprouts.
You will want a quart or half-gallon mason jar with a sprouting lid. I have in the past chosen to not use a sprouting lid and it results in the mold so fast! I definitely recommend spending a few bucks on one.
Here are the simple steps for how to grow bean sprouts. This process will work for any type of bean or lentil though!
Buy a bag of organic lentils. GMO seeds don’t usually reproduce so it’s a better chance using organic to get them to sprout. This organic brand or the Kroger brand is the kind we use but you can use any type of bean. Pour one cup of lentils into a bowl and rinse them several times. Fill the mason jar with water, covering the lentils with about two inches of water. Let the lentils soak overnight or for at least eight hours. After the lentils have soaked, drain off the water and rinse them again. Place the lentils in a sprouting jar or any type of container that has drainage holes in the bottom. Rinse the lentils two times per day and drain them each time. On the third or fourth day, you should see little sprouts coming out of the lentils! Once the sprouts are about an inch long, you can remove them from the water and place them in a container with lid in the fridge. Rinse and drain the sprouts every few days and use them within a week.
That’s it! So simple and easy to do. Once you know how to grow bean sprouts it becomes so easy to add it to your diet.
It really doesn’t take that long to sprout your lentils. I would say from start to finish, it took about four days until they were ready to eat. It also depends on how long you want the sprouts!
You can store your sprouts in a container with lid in the fridge for up to a week. Rinse and drain them every few days.
Cooking With Sprouted Lentils
Now that you have your sprouted lentils, how do you use them? I love to add them to salads, soups, sandwiches, and more. They are a great way to add some extra protein and nutrients to your meals.
Here are the most common questions I get when sprouting!
Yes, you can eat bean sprouts raw. They are a great addition to salads, sandwiches, and more. Make sure you have rinsed them at the times recommended in the recipe below! I don’t typically eat them raw but you can eat them that way if you choose.
This is the common thing you might hear around. Bean sprouts aren’t dangerous, you just need to be sure you’re rinsing them enough to prevent them from molding or growing bacteria and making you sick!
If your sprouts smell musty or are growing mold (feather-looking stuff), you haven’t rinsed them enough! It is really important to rinse them more than once a day so it washes off any bacteria growing.
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