Meat Free Monday: Sprouted Beans

Deena and I chose Everyday Road to Healthy as the title of our blog because we wanted it to represent our approach to healthy living.  Neither of us are extremists, going 100% organic, eating all natural all the time, living off the earth, etc.  We eat processed foods, forget to recycle sometimes, and unfortunately waste paper.  We are just everyday women doing what we can for our health and the earth while also taking into account our current lifestyle (and that would be busy!). 

One thing I have read about that I have been meaning to try is sprouting beans.  This could be any seed or bean…alfalfa, mung, lentil, sunflower, lima, just to name a few.  According to the book, You Are What You Eat, sprouts are “young green plants germinated from the seeds of almost any living vegetation” and they are nutritional superstars.  Sprouting increases vitamins and micronutrients by pre-digesting complex proteins, starches and lipids and converting them into simple and essential components that are easier to digest.  They “contain a high concentrate of antioxidant nutrients that fight against the damage caused by free radicals” which are substances produced in our bodies that damage cell tissue and accelerate the aging process.  Convinced?   

So why haven’t I tried this yet?  Why, time of course!  The process involves soaking seeds, draining them and re-soaking them over a few days.  So I was so excited to find a bag of sprouted beans at Costco!  SCORE!

My only reluctance was that if I didn’t like it, I’d have a whole lot of sprouted beans to either gag my way through, or I’d throw them all out, which would be totally un-erth-friendly.  But the good news is, I loved them!  And they were super easy to prepare.  You just take a cup of beans and boil for about 5 minutes in 3 cups of water.  Then let it sit for 10 minutes and drain as needed.

  

I then added an avocado, cilantro, lime juice and some sea salt to taste.  It made for a delicious, healthy meal.  And one cup of sprouted beans makes 4 servings!

Some other suggestions on the package are:

• Cook into pilaf with rice and spices
• Pack into a pita pocket with greens and dressing
• Puree with olive oil for a spread or dip (I’m definitely trying this one next)
• Wrap in a tortilla with salsa and avocado

So what are you waiting for?!