Sprouting I

With Pre-Diabetes which my husband has we are trying to make it go away by eating a lot of sprouted grains and vegetables.  He's also trying to be really consistent about exercising at the gym.  So far this week have not been to the gym.

My contribution is that I am sprouting lentils.  They already have the tiny shoots so they will be done by tomorrow morning and I'll put them in the frig till we use them up. 

I've tried two kinds of green lentils and they both sprout really great.  The small dark green ones and the regular green lentils from King Souper.  If you want to try it soak 1 cup of lentils overnight in a bowl of cool fresh water.  Use plenty of water -- about an inch over the beans because they expand.  In the morning pour all the water off and let them sit on the counter with a dish towel over them.  Rinse and drain them with fresh water every 5 to 10 hours till they have a little sprout about 1/8th or 1/4" long.  It takes one night to soak them, and 2 days keeping them rinsed til they sprout. 

Once they have a little sprout on them they are done.  Don't try to grow the sprout really long like the ones in the store.  If you grow them too long they get sour.  And don't rinse them one last time before you use them or put them in the refrigerator because they keep better if they are not wet.  When they are done put them in the refrigerator in a plastic bag or tupperware with a folded paper towel in the bottom to absorb moisture.  They keep for a week. 

I usually don't use a special sprouter.  I've been using just any handy bowl to grow the sprouts in and a sieve to drain them and a dish towel to cover them. 

I steam them for about 5 to 7 minutes and then put olive oil, flax seed oil, Bragg's, Real salt and ground pepper on them and toss. 

I'm going to start sprouting some brown rice tonight so I'll let you know how that goes.