What I Did with My Sprouted Quinoa and Black Lentils

So my daily adventures in returning to sprouting and raw foods continue.  I have learned that the organically grown quinoa, available at my local Whole Foods Market, in bulk, as well as the black lentils sold in their 365 organically grown store brand, sprout very well.  The quinoa was soaked about 4 hours, as is the amount of time generally recommended for soaking small seeds (though when I googled sprouting quinoa, I noticed the more common soaking time was just half an hour, so I will try that next time...) and the black lentils were soaked for 8 hrs.  Then I rinsed them and sprouted them in sprouting jars for 1-2 days, rinsing 2-3 times per day, until most had little tails.  

Now bean sprouts have a bit of a strong flavor, for me, but I rinsed and mixed them with some kale that had been rinsed, stems removed,  and torn into small pieces and added some cold pressed olive oil and umeboshi vinegar.  I am guessing that I added about 1-2 tablespoons of the umeboshi vinegar and probably 2-3 of the olive oil, but this is just a guess, as I tend to pour instinctively.  You want to add enough to fully marinate them, but not so much to make it overly salty (remember... ume vinegar is created with sea salt) or too oily.  Add just enough to fully wet, with a tiny bit coming out if you squeeze the kale.  Then I let it sit, as I do when marinating kale, as the blog from two days ago detailed.  So it was pretty good - not quite as scrumptious as the "solo" massaged kale, but surely a creative way of adding sprouted beans to one's diet.  And I actually used 2 bunches of kale and nearly a quart of the sprouted black lentils, and likely I have eaten nearly half of the finished product...  There has got to be a ton of good nutrition there!  Sprouting increases the presence of certain nutrients and also eliminates the loss that takes place in cooking food.  However, unfortunately, the USDA lists the nutrients in cooked lentils and raw lentils, but does not have sprouted as an option.... So you will just have to trust me on this one....


I rinsed and mixed the sprouted quinoa with some homemade salsa.  The salsa was made from an assortment of chopped fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro, and parsley, with some sea salt, fresh lime juice, and olive oil, added to the mix.  It was pretty good in my opinion, but my 8 year old tells me it tastes "weird".  However the household chef, upon return home, gave it the thumbs up.... But of course this is relatively new for me, all the experimentation, so it is a work in progress. I definitely feel alert and healthy eating this way.  If you try any of this, I hope you enjoy it.  I have not been tasting my productions until later, but the best rule of thumb is to taste as you prepare, so you know what to add to make it palatable. 


*Actually several hours later, I now notice a bit of a belly ache, so I am pondering if it was just too many sprouts.  I admit, unlike the kale of the previous day, I was pushing myself to eat more of my combination, and the taste was not drawing me to eat.  I think, proportion wise, there were too many sprouts and not quite enough dressing and vegetables to balance out the two dishes.   As part of leading a holistic life includes listening to body signals,  I probably should have listened to my body better/.  My body with the exception of my brain was saying "Enough," but my mind was saying "Finish it up dear..."  So I believe the next time I try these dishes, I will do so with a smaller amount of sprouts and larger amount of vegetables / salad / greens, and dressing and see if my body likes it better!  Life and living is a work in progress, so all is good learning......