How-To-Sprout & Sprouted Smoothie

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Today's green smoothie includes some mung beans I sprouted. You know bean sprouts? In Dutch, they're also called "tau ge", or "tau gay" in Asia. They're basically sprouted from the humble mung bean. Sprouting is easy, and as your mama used to say, "They're good for you. So... EAT YOUR SPROUTS!"

How to Sprout:

  1. Rinse mung beans.
  2. Soak them in filtered water overnight, or between 8-10 hours.
  3. After soaking, throw out the water and rinse again. Beans are now considered "sprouted" as they have been "activated". The enzymes that will turn this sprouted bean into a growing plant have been awakened and are "ALIVE!!"...This is what raw foodies mean they say a certain food is "living".
  4. Place sprouted beans in a sprouting tray, or a sieve, or a milking bag - any container where all remaining water can drain off will work. Improvise! A jam jar with a cheese cloth or milking bag secured on top and turned upside down works too.
  5.  Place these sprouted beans draining out in a dark drawer or cupboard (it makes the sprouts think they're supposed to take root in the soil now).
  6. Twice a day, take them out to rinse with filtered water or under the tap, then leave to drain in the dark drawer/ cupboard again. You need to do this or they will dry out or start getting mouldy. Check your sprouts everyday for signs of mould, especially as that dark drawer might be warm now that it's Summer (and throw them out if they're mouldy. Duh!!) I usually do this when I wake up and before I go to bed - makes it easier to remember when sprout-rinsing needs to be done.
  7. By Day 1 or Day 2 of Step 6, tiny roots will begin to form. Mung bean roots are fast - usually by the end of Day 1, tiny roots start to appear already.
  8. EAT YOUR SPROUTS!!

...or put it in your breakfast smoothie. You can sprout anything that's started out as a seed and this includes beans, seeds, grains, nuts... Anything you fancy! They have to be raw and unprocessed, of course - as this ensures they're still in their "seed" form.

Sprouted beans/ seeds/ grains/ nuts are good for you because they are:

  • High in protein
  • Easier to digest
  • An excellent source of enzymes
  • Rich in essential nutrients and vitamins. As an example, most beans increase their level of Vitamin A by 8x after being sprouted.

So... See Step 8, above: EAT YOUR SPROUTS!!

Since I'm on a smoothie roll, let's just try drinking our sprouts today, shall we?

SPROUTED SMOOTHIE

Ingredients:

  • Brussels sprouts
  • 1-day sprouted mung beans
  • 2-day sprouted mung beans
  • Watercress
  • Coriander
  • Ginger
  • Lemon
  • Water - add as much to your desired consistency

Chuck it all in a blender, add more water if you'd like. Then enjoy.

The amount of watercress I used in the picture above gave this one a good KICK UP THE PANTS. It was surprisingly spicy... But guess that took away any weird taste from all those sprouts. The other thing to note is: only try raw Brussels sprouts if you've got pretty strong digestive fire, or "agni", to use an Ayurvedic term. My digestion is pretty strong and can handle most raw veggies with no problem (Thank you, Pitta!) - and even though the Brussels Sprouts were pulverized to a pulp, I could still feel a little digestive gurgle every now and again (and no, a "gurgle" does not equate to "gas", if that's what you were thinking. Haha.)

Go on then... DRINK YOUR SPROUTS!