Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Sort and rinse the measured dry whole green lentils. Place in a roomy wide-mouth glass jar, keeping the dry layer around two inches deep and leaving space to expand. Divide between jars if needed.
- Cover generously with filtered water. Secure mesh or cheesecloth over the opening and soak for at least twelve hours.
- Drain off the soaking water. Rinse well with fresh filtered water and drain again. Invert the covered jar at a diagonal in a supporting bowl so water can drain without the jar resting in a puddle.
- Rinse with fresh filtered water and drain two or three times each day. Return the jar to its diagonal draining position after each rinse. Allow about one to two days, until the lentils produce shoots a quarter inch long or longer.
- Rinse and drain the sprouted lentils thoroughly. Keep the entire expanded batch attached to its original dry measure. Cook thoroughly in the recipe using them before eating; these are prepared lentils for cooking, not a raw serving.
Notes
Measure: Start with one and a half dry cups and keep the entire expanded batch. Do not remeasure one and a half cups after sprouting when the meal calls for this dry starting amount.
Whole seeds: Use intact whole green lentils suitable for sprouting. Split, canned or cooked lentils do not follow this preparation.
Water: Use generous filtered water for soaking and fresh water for each rinse. Discard the soaking and rinse water; it is separate from the meal's measured cooking liquid.
Timing: Soak at least twelve hours, then allow about one to two days for sprouting. Rinse and drain two or three times daily. The Minimum Soak field is not the full preparation time.
Endpoint: Look for actual shoots a quarter inch long or longer. Waiting without shoots does not complete sprouting.
Cooking: Cook the drained sprouts completely in the recipe that uses them. A cooked lentil should be soft through the center. This is not a recipe for eating raw sprouts.
GAPS: Later Full GAPS once diarrhea and other digestive symptoms have cleared completely. No dairy, eggs or nuts are used; no kefir, yogurt or whey starter is added.
Keeping: Plan to cook when ready. For a brief delay, refrigerate the drained sprouts in a clean covered container, then cook thoroughly before eating.
Scaling: At 2× start with three dry cups and use more roomy jars. Maintain the same rinse frequency, good drainage and quarter-inch sprout endpoint.