I'm doing my best to grow as much food as possible from my apartment, and sprouts are such an easy start! I usually have a jar of these growing, and add them to salads, or eat them on their own. You can sprout anything from beans to lentils to garbanzo beans. They generally take about 4-5 days to sprout fully.
What You Need
Materials
Lentils
A jar
Cheese cloth
Instructions
1. Gather about a handful of lentils. Sort out any seeds that are dead or broken.
2. Put lentils in a jar or container.
3. Fill the jar with water until it just covers the lentils.
4. Cover the jar with a breathable material. Cheese cloth works quite well. Keep the jar stored in a cupboard on the counter. No need to refrigerate.
5. After about a week, you will have sprouted lentils!
6. Give them a quick rinse and enjoy! I usually put some olive oil and vinegar. They make a great snack!
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What a wonderful idea, i've sprouted flax seeds before, now i'm excited to try these! Thanks for this!
don't you need to rinse and drain them like other sprouts?
yep! (see step 6)
I had these all the time as a kid - I like them a little less sprouted though, which also takes less time. If I remember right we would soak the lentils for one day, and then rinse and drain, and keep them damp for another. Then they were ready to eat! They're delicious, otherwise there's no way my mother would have been able to get me to eat something so healthy :)
I love sprouted lentils, they're the perfect snack to pack in a ziplock, or tiny glass jar, and eat throughout the day. With a little salt they're extra delicious.
I'm glad you posted this, people are always asking me how to sprout, I'll send them here : )
My mom sprouts mung beans all the time by just soaking for a day like Celium above, and then placing them in a colander covered with a tea towel. I think she also rinsed them daily throughout their sprouting process. But this is also a nice simple way that takes up less space. I'll definitely be doing this! Does anyone know how long garbanzos take to sprout--that's just what I have around at the moment....
About the rinsing...do you only rinse these at the end, right before eating? Or do you rinse and drain them twice daily, like other sprouts? Do you really just cover with water and let it sit? Sounds too good to be true! :::fingers crossed:::
I am not familiar with eating sprouted lentils, and I'm interested to try them!
1) Does it matter what kind of lentils you use for this?
2) I take it that you can eat them raw, but is there a way to cook with them too?
Thanks!
make sure to watch for mold
I'm pretty sure we rinsed ours daily, and instead of soaking them the whole time we would just make sure they always stayed damp. I'm not completely sure though..I don't remember them every lasting past the first day they could be eaten :)
as others have said, this runs contrary to every other "how to make sprouts at home" piece I've ever read. others you rinse 1-2x daily and leave moist in the jar, not immersed in water. I can't imagine this method is a good idea as the weather gets warmer...
Yeah, I have sprouted lentils before. You definitely ought to do as with other sprouts, and rinse 1-2x per day, rather than just once. It helps if you lay the jar on it's side, and turn it every so often so the sprouts stick to the sides--this way they have a little more room to grow. Once they're sprouted like you want, put them in the fridge. And yes, check often for signs of mold or an 'off' smell.
This article is so funny! I'm Persian and for our new year's celebration in March we sprout lentils for decoration. I never knew people did this to eat them! lol
My father (Serbian) used to spread a thin layer of moistened wheat berries on a plate to make a Christmas decoration.
I've heard sprouted grains are healthier, and I eat that Ezekiel bread, but can someone save me the googling and tell me why this is a good idea?
I've been having great luck with sprouting Green Lentils over the past couple of weeks. We also rinse and drain them daily. We just use store bought green lentils and they're working great.
you can see some pictures over at my blog
http://foreignperspective.wordpress.com
what happens if you let the lentils continue to grow? what kind of plant do you get? would it be useful?