I have been a vegetarian of some sort several years. I approached vegetarianism pragmatically as someone who wanted to be healthier, live longer and live better for my own self (not to save the world, but wouldn't that be nice if it helped). At some point after my on off period as a vegetarian I realized that somewhere between the transition from meat eater, to becoming a full fledged 100% official vegetarian, I was not healthier for it. My yearly markers, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL steadily crept up (I’m a 50 year old male).
An examination of my diet (triggered by reading The China Study) revealed that I essentially replaced cheese consumption for meat consumption. But first the obligatory WHEE blurb (first time WHEEing)
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October 31 -- BOO
Sat AM - MarkMarvin (grow yer own sprouts)
Sat PM - Edward Spurlock (Kessler, Ch. 19)
November 1
Sun AM - kismet -- the calorie value of everyday tasks
Sun PM - Chico David RN
November 2
Mon AM - NC Dem- Muscle of the Month-Deltoids
Mon PM - Cusoon
November 3
Tues AM - ???
Tues PM - Clio2 (Kessler, Ch. 20)
November 4
Weds AM - ???
Weds PM - Edward Spurlock
November 5
Thrs AM - cdkipp
Thrs PM - ???
November 6
Fri AM - ???
Fri PM - ???
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So I gave up all milk and cheese products. I was attracted to sprouting becaused of high protein content of sprouts. The conventional wisdom was and is that we need lots and lots of protein and need to eat high protein milk and cheese to maintain our protein intake. Today I question that premise (but will not address that in this diary).
In any event that line of thinking is what attracted me to "nutritious high protein sprouts" initially. Soon I would come to appreciate the different tastes and textures and the good feeling I had from eating sprouts. I enjoy the process, rinsing three times a day, snacking when I want, and checking on growth. Plants are in fact my pets.
As a vegan I am constantly drawn toward fresh new plant flavors and hard to find things I can grow. Lentil and chickpea sprouts are not avalaible locally.
The strategy is to make a batch of lentil, chickpeas or mung bean sprouts and use them for the next three or four days in a variety of ways (links are to nutrition content of sprouts--I didn't find data on chickpea sprouts).
You need a colander, mixing bowl, and paper towels plus chickpeas lentil or mung beans...very simple.
I get the chickpeas from the local Indian/Pakistani food store. Any bagged dry variety will work. For mung beans I prefer Bob’s Red Mill Mung Beans because more of them sprout and the little hard dry ones are fewer.
Rinse a cup of chickpeas and place them in a large mixing bowl. There are floaters, which are sometimes errant stems, and once in a great while a small pebble in the bottom. Clean to your satisfaction throwing out dark brown seeds. Keep running water and rinse well until water is clear.
Put cleaned chickpeas in a mixing bowl and add three times the water. It is amazing the amount of water they will absorb. Let sit overnight or through the day on the kitchen counter. You will probably see the beginnings of tiny white shoots. Rinse thoroughly with water eject bad seeds if needed. Dump contents into colander. Tear off a paper towel, moisten it under the faucet, and lay it on top of your seeds in the colander. Put the colander on a small saucer to catch the excess water.
Some people insist that mung beans especially should be sprouted in the dark, not on the kitchen counter. They will stay a white color if sprouted under the counter in total darkness and using this method the traditional way is to use a hemp bag.
Rinse again morning noon and night, each time moistening a new paper towel. By the end of the second day you should see shoots and if you haven’t already started snacking you should. You have a day or two to use them. You really can't rinse too much.
In three days or so the roots will be getting longer. At this point I refrigerate for later use in stir fry or something cooked.
I suspect many factors affect the nutritional value, such as how big the sprouts are or whether they are sprouted in total darkness. They have to be convienient for me and I forget about them when they are out of sight.
There are lots of scare stories about sprouts being the food most likely to give you food poisoning etc. But I think these mostly pertain to commercial growing issues, and the fact that alfalfa sprouts might sit on a grocer’s shelf for a week or more. I finish my alfalfa sprouts before they are a week old and they look much greener and healthier than anything on the store shelf. I wouldn't sprout red kidney beans because my mom told me they always had to be cooked well. Sprout Kitchen is another promising resource I recently stumbled accross but some of their site is still in beta mode. They list a large variety of sprouts some how to discussions and recipes.
The small seeds such as onion and alfalfa are easy to sprout when you have the right container. They take a little longer. Because the seeds are so small I bought easy sprouters. I use the same basic strategy, soak overnight, and rinse, rinse. I place these containers in the windowsill in direct sun and the alfalfa sprouts turn a perfect green color.
The small seeds are not so readily available at the ordinary grocery stores and are more expensive than beans or chickpeas. But we have a New Leaf coop nearby and they carry sprouting seeds. I have had good luck buying online too.
Any stir fry will improve with fresh sprouts, such as lentil, garbanzo or mung bean.
But another favorite is to make basil pesto for use as a sandwich spread or as a side for stirring into wehani brown rice.
Basil pesto recipe consists of:
6 or 7 garlic cloves, already peeled and whole from the produce dept in a clear plastic jar,
2 cups of fresh basil leaves,
1/8 to 1/4 cup of almonds, washed
1/4 to 1/3 cup of sprouted chickpeas, uncooked
1/4 cup of cold pressed olive oil or a little less
salt to taste
optional tomato meat, minus the water and seed pulp or dried tomatoes or a bit of red sweet pepper (for color)
Cilantro can be used in place of basil, you may want to cut back on garlic in that case
Process garlic basil almonds sprouted chickpeas salt and olive oil in the food processor until smooth or rough (your desired texture).
Or make hummus:
4 garlic cloves, minced and then mashed
1 1/4 cup sprouted chickpeas uncooked
1/3 cup of peanut butter
1/4 – 1/3 cup cold pressed olive oil
Pinch of red pepper flakes to taste plus color
salt to taste
Almonds, walnuts or pecans and parsley (chopped) for garnish
Process garlic, uncooked chickpea sprout, peanut butter, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add some water to make it process easier sometimes not needed. Add salt to taste. Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley.
Pesto or hummus are served with crackers, raw dip vegetables such as carrots or celery. I like to cut whole grain pita/flat bread in thin triangles and toast on a skillet before serving.