Sprouting Fun

Monday is baking and food prep day in our home. Every Monday I bake the bread and treats for the week and do any food prep that can be done in advance for the week's meals. It sounds silly, but one of my favorite parts of baking day, is sprouting my beans and grains for the week. Sprouting of beans and grains is not only fun to watch, but it's a much healthier way to eat these foods. By allowing the seeds to sprout before cooking and eating them, we make them easier to digest and greatly increase their nutritional value.

This week we have black beans sprouting for brownies, lentils for lentil chili, garbanzo beans sprouting for soup, and pinto beans sprouting for a mexican dish, along with rice and quinoa for sides.

I start them soaking in the morning and by evening, it's time to drain and rinse them. I replace the lid with cheesecloth and turn them upside down to allow the water to drain.


Sometimes I'll just sprout them in a colander next to the sink. It makes for easier rinsing and better drainage, but when I've got a batch as large as this week's, I stick to jars to save space on my shelves.

Why hello there little lentil sprout!

And hello to you too, little quinoa sprouts!

Stay tuned as I just brought home a grain mill and look forward to much sprouting, dehydrating, and grinding of grains in the near future...