How to Sprout Lentils at home
You can sprout lentils using any old bag of dried lentils you pick up from the grocery store!
Lentils are one of the richest sources of natural folate - an essential nutrient for daily function and a vital nutrient during the first few weeks of pregnancy. If kids are in your future (even two years down the road) sprouted lentils are a great snack to add in to your rotation to start building up nutrient stores.
Why sprouting?
Lentils are seeds! They have tons of vitamins, minerals, and important chemicals inside each little seed.
Unfortunately, those nutrients are securely locked up so that they aren't depleted before the seed has a chance to sprout.
This means that most of the nutrient value in lentils, and any other bean or seed, isn't accessible by our bodies until the seed has sprouted and released it's grip on those nutrients.
Sprouted lentils also happen to be crisp, refreshing, and delicious!
How do I sprout lentils at home?
- Sort through the bag of lentils and pull out any broken pieces.
- Fill a bowl with 1/2 cup dry lentils and cover with it 4-5 times as much water. They should be well submerged. Let them soak overnight or while you're away at work.
- Drain the lentils well.
- Place the drained lentils in a plastic or enamel colander (not metal) and put the colander on top of a bowl or plate to catch any left over water. You can also cover a bowl with cheese cloth or thin cotton and secure it with a rubber band, then place the lentils on top of the cloth.
- Every 4 hours or so rinse the lentils with water.
- Continue rinsing the batch every few hours until they're well sprouted and ready to eat!
- You'll begin seeing little white root tails within a day or two. They're ready to eat once the roots become at least 1/2 inch long. I think they taste best when they've just started sprouting green shoots.
