What are lentil sprouts? Calorie content and composition. What is the benefit of the product, who should not eat sprouts? Germination rules, recipes for interesting dishes. As you can see, the benefits of lentil sprouts are truly enormous, they have a powerful healing effect on all organs and systems, which is why you just need to eat it regularly, even if not every day, but at least a couple of times a week.
Contraindications and harm to lentil sprouts
Everyone knows that legumes are healthy food, but difficult to digest. The culprits of gastrointestinal discomfort are enzyme inhibitors - elements that keep beans in a state of "hibernation" until they get enough moisture, that is, they find themselves in conditions favorable for germination. At the same time, at the time of germination, not only these enzyme inhibitors are destroyed, but the growth of new beneficial enzymes is also triggered, which contribute to a better assimilation of the product. In simple terms, this means that the sprouts of the beans, unlike the beans themselves, are not only healthy food, but also easy to digest.
And, nevertheless, the product has contraindications. Lentil sprouts can harm people with diseases of the kidneys, gallbladder, you should be especially careful with gout, uric acid diathesis, joint diseases.
It is also worth saying that if you have never eaten lentil sprouts before, you need to introduce them into the diet with caution, because no one has canceled the individual intolerance to the product. Allergy sufferers are advised to be especially careful.
Finally, do not forget about sensible consumption of the product. Despite the fact that sprouts are very useful, their excessive consumption can lead to some unpleasant symptoms from the gastrointestinal tract.
Note! If you have certain serious diseases, especially of the digestive system, which were not mentioned above, it is better to consult with your doctor before introducing the product into the diet.
How to germinate lentils?
Lentil germination technology is very simple and does not require any special hassle. Generally speaking, most of the enzyme inhibitors will be destroyed after the banal soaking of the beans in water for 7-8 hours, but no sprouts will appear during this time.
Let's figure out how to germinate lentils at home:
- Go through the lentils, remove any bad beans, and rinse the rest thoroughly.
- Transfer the seeds to a container, fill with water, cover with a lid (make a small gap for air to enter) and leave overnight.
- In the morning, rinse the lentils, fill with new clean water, cover with gauze, folded in several layers, or a cotton cloth.
- Change the water every 7-8 hours; sprouts should appear within 24 hours.
- Grow beans to 7-10 mm, drain, dry and refrigerate.
Ready sprouts can only be stored in the refrigerator and no more than 5 days.
Lentil sprouts recipes
Lentil sprouts taste good, reminiscent of fresh green peas, which means they will fit perfectly into any salad. However, they can also be used in dishes that involve heat treatment - cook with cereals (especially successful combinations are obtained with rice, buckwheat, quinoa), stew with meat, grind into flour and prepare interesting pastas.
Let's take a look at some interesting uses in lentil sprout recipes:
- Simple salad with interesting dressing … Cut a cucumber (1 medium-sized) and a tomato (1 medium-sized) into small cubes, mix with chopped green onions and cilantro (2 tablespoons each), add the sprouts (3 tablespoons). Prepare a dressing: combine olive oil (2 tablespoons), lemon juice (1-2 tablespoons), wine vinegar (1 tablespoon), oregano and curry (1 teaspoon each), mustard powder and dried garlic powder (1 / 2 teaspoon), add a pinch of salt and pepper. Season the salad, mix well, put it in the refrigerator for half an hour, and you can eat.
- Sprouted Lentil Hummus … Place the sprouts (200 grams) in a blender, add any vegetable oil (2 tablespoons) - best sesame oil, as well as spices: sage, basil, asafoetida, curry to taste. Also add a pinch of salt and sesame seeds (1 tablespoon). Turn on the blender and start whisking the pasta. If the blender doesn't pick up, add more oil. The resulting vegetarian pate is great to eat with pita bread and fresh vegetables.
- Cheese salad … Cut red onion (1 piece) into half rings, tomatoes (1 piece) into large cubes, finely chop any favorite greens (parsley, cilantro, celery are good here). Combine all ingredients, add sprouts (70 grams), diced cheese (50 grams) and season salad with olive oil (2 tablespoons). Add balsamic vinegar, salt, black pepper, and other favorite spices as desired. The salad can be eaten as soon as it is ready.
- Sprouted Lentil Soup … Boil water (2 liters), put brown rice (3 tablespoons) and sprouts (100 grams) in it. After 10 minutes, add 2 diced potatoes. Saute carrots (1 piece), grated on a coarse grater, finely chopped onion (1 piece) and celery (0.5 stalk) in a frying pan. Add the cooked stir-fry to the soup and cook for another 3-5 minutes, then add the spices - turmeric (1/2 teaspoon), asafoetida (pinch), bay leaf (1 piece), salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some vegetable oil to make the soup fatter. Serve with fresh herbs.
- Vegetable wok … For this recipe, you will need either a special wok-pan or a deep wide stewpan that heats up evenly from all sides. Onions (1 piece), carrots (3 pieces), celery (3-4 stalks), zucchini (1 medium-sized), peel and cut into cubes. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat, put onions first, add carrots after a couple of minutes, celery and zucchini after another couple of minutes. Remember to stir the vegetables constantly. After 2-3 minutes after the zucchini and celery, add the sprouts and simmer for a couple more minutes. Add salt or soy sauce to the finished dish, serve with fresh herbs.
In general, as you can see, lentil sprouts are very easy to introduce into your daily diet, so be sure to do this, unless, of course, the contraindications of the product apply to you.
Interesting facts about lentils
Lentils, along with wheat, barley and peas, are one of the first cultivated plants in the history of mankind. Archaeologists have repeatedly found fragments of these beans in the tombs of the pharaohs and in ancient sites.
There is a Biblical legend according to which the youngest son of Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob, received the right of priority succession to the throne from his older brother Esau for a plate of lentil stew. French chefs were so impressed by this story that they even created a special culinary dish called Esau's Chowder.
In ancient times, it was believed that lentils preserve masculine strength, and in children "educates" diligence. In terms of protein content, lentils are ahead of even meat, and in terms of the amount of iron, this legume is the champion among all plants.
In Latin, lentils are called "lens", which means "lens". And it is in honor of the lentil that the optical biconvex lenses, which are very similar in shape to the lentil seed, got their name.
Lentils do not accumulate radionuclides and nitrates, which means that even if the culture grows in ecologically unfavorable areas, it is considered an environmentally friendly product.
In pre-revolutionary Russia, lentils were very popular; they not only made soups, cereals and stews from it, but even baked bread. It is noteworthy that earlier in our country these beans were called cochevia, since they were considered very juicy in comparison with other legumes. Lentils are cooked much faster than other legumes, and certain varieties of lentils, for example, yellow and red lentils, take only 15-20 minutes to cook. Watch the video about lentil sprouts:
Lentil sprouts are a unique product. They are tasty, inexpensive, long-lasting and easy to digest, and besides, they are of great benefit. This product should be regularly consumed by both women, men and children - the sprouts will bring the necessary benefits to everyone. Doctors also recommend eating lentil sprouts during flu epidemics, recovery from illness and surgery. It is noteworthy that sprouts can be eaten both fresh and thermally processed, so that everyone can find a recipe to their liking.
