Sprouted Lentils

I cannot say enough good things about this little legume. Interested in finding out more about the health benefits?  Click here or here for more information!  This post is going to outline the basic 'how to's' of sprouting your own lentils.  I learned how to sprout lentils from browsing the internet and was amazed that I am only just now reading about this. I remember when sprouting your own alfalfa seeds was a trendy thing to do, but sprouting lentils (and many other seeds, grains and beans) is a  relatively new one on me.  Watch out!  I've been sprouting up a storm ever since and usually have a nice batch of these phytochemical-filled beauties in the fridge and available for my stir fries, mushroom/lentil tacos, or my huge tossed salads.  Here's what you need to start sprouting your own:

**1 cup dry lentils (any kind will do, I use basic brown lentils)  

glass bowl 

colander

**This one cup of dry lentils will absorb water, swell and sprout and yield approximately 5-6 cups of sprouts.  (Pictures to follow and will tell the story better than any amount of writing.)

Day 1 (Evening):  Rinse lentils thoroughly, drain.  Place your lentils in a glass bowl and cover with fresh water.  Cover bowl with dish towel and let sit overnight on counter, 8-10 hours.

Day 2 (Morning):  Drain your lentils, rinse well and transfer your lentils to a colander.  Set colander over another dish to catch water drips. Cover lentils with towel.  Leave out on counter top.

(Evening):  Repeat Morning ritual.  Rinse lentils VERY well (if you are feeling bad about all the water that you're using for this project, just catch the rinse water in a large pot and use it to water your plants) and return colander to drip bowl and cover for the night.

Day 3:  Repeat directions from Day 2.  You should see some lentils beginning to sprout by now.  I can usually spot a few of them 24 hours from the beginning soak.

Day 4:  Repeat same as previous days.  Good rinse in the a.m. and again before bedtime, cover and let sit.

Sprouts are trying to escape through the bottom of my colander :-)

Day 5:  You should see some serious sprouting.  

I recycled a 12-oz. Baby Spinach container to store my lentils in the fridge.  They stay fresh a long time!

Couple of Notes:  After sprouting for a few months now, I've got this process figured out.  It takes me about 5 days from first soaking to first meal. You can certainly use the sprouts sooner or let the sprouts grow past the five-day mark.  After you've sprouted your own, adjust accordingly.  I sprout these babies to about 1-2 inches...and then only nuke them in the microwave for a minute if I add them to raw salads.  If I'm using the sprouts in a sauteed dish, then they will get a bit of cooking in the hot pan and don't need to be steamed beforehand.  Some folks like them raw, I prefer the taste after they've been steamed just a tad.

I look forward to posting a few of the recipes that feature these tender sprouts.  Yummers!