Mung Beans and Sprouting Guide

Sprouting is an ancient technique that has been used on all sorts of beans, legumes, and various seeds as a way to increase their nutrition profile, digestibility, and flavor. Over the winter I’ve become addicted to sprouted mung beans (sometimes called ming beans) but this process can be repeated with any other legumes including lentils and chickpeas (which are other favorites).

While you can buy sprouts from most grocers today, they are far cheaper when you sprout them yourself. Besides being relatively cheap, especially when compared to the huge amount of nutrients sprouted legumes offer, they can also be a nice way to add fresh, raw produce to your diet year around.  Adding sprouts is an easy way to make any meal look a little more exotic and fancy.  

One study published a few years ago examined food consumption in five different regions of the world and found that legumes intake was the most important factor associated with longer lifespan. The study found an 8% reduction in risk of overall mortality for every 20 grams of legumes consumed. 

As legumes, mung bean sprouts are an incredible source of nutrients. Besides being anti-inflammatory, they offer an excellent amino acid profile and are 20% calories from protein which is remarkably high (sigh, and yes, they are a complete protein, just like all whole foods!) They also are high in vitamin C and vitamin K, which is essential for the process of blood clotting. Vitamin K also helps regulates bone mineralization and helps maintain bone density. Mung beans are an excellent source of riboflavin, folate, iron, and manganese. They are also packed with Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids as well as other micronutrients.

Besides being an all-around nutritional all-star, mung beans are incredibly easy to sprout taking an average of only 3 days before becoming edible. Once sprouted, mung beans have a tasty, fresh nutty flavor and offer a delicate crunch when added to a dish.

Once sprouted, you can keep mung beans in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 weeks, although once you taste them, I'd be surprised if they last more than a few days!    

How to sprout legumes:

1. Take the desired amount (yield is approximately 2:1 so 1 cup of dry mung beans will be roughly 2 cups sprouted) and rinse them until the water runs clean.

     2. Then place the beans in either a bowl or jar and fill with cold filtered water. Add about 2-3 times the amount of water as there are beans. IE: 1 cup beans needs 2-3 cups water

     3.   Let soak overnight (8 – 12 hours)

     4. After soaking the beans, drain them and rinse them again with cold water.

    5. Place the beans in either an empty bowl or jar and set to the side. Store them in room temperature that isn’t directly hit by sunlight, but that does get some light.

   6. The next morning (day 2) the beans should be starting to open. Rinse once more in cold water and then return to the jar or bowl.

   

   7. By day three you should see little tails coming out of the body of the bean. You can either enjoy them this way, or let those little tails grow for another day for a softer sprout. Both are delicious. Rinse one final time, and then enjoy by adding to both raw and cooked meals.

   They’re great on salads, pastas, tossed in soups or pretty much any other dish! I just tossed some on top of my Green Mac N' Cheese. 

Darmadi-Blackberry, M. Wahlqvist et al. "Legumes: The Most Important Dietary Predictor of Survival in older people of Different Ethnicities," Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2004, 217-20.

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.

Mean Green Split Pea and Hemp Soup

I rarely do anything special for St Patrick's Day but since it is absolutely frigid in NYC right now (screw you too Punxsutawny) creating a BYOL original green soup seemed the perfect way to celebrate as well as to help warm me up after a bone-chilling bike ride! This soup is high in protein as well as carbohydrates and antioxidants. It is also highly alkaline promoting, which helps reduce inflammation, so it is a perfect recovery meal, or anytime meal for that matter! A great way to boost your green veggie intake; to top it off it's pretty easy to make. Tossing in a few potatoes at the end is the perfect way to celebrate St. Patty's day. This nutrient dense soup is certain to make your inner-Irishman swoon! 

Here is this incredibly easy recipe.

Serves 3-4

2 cups green split peas (soaked in warm water and rinsed before cooking)
2 large potatoes baked - chopped
2 cups spinach - chopped
3 stalks of celery - chopped
2 large carrots - sliced
1 cup broccoli floretts
4 tablespoons hemp seeds
3-4 cloves of garlic
8 cups water or veggie broth
1 generous pinch of onion or pea sprouts (optional but recommend)
onion powder, ginger, and black pepper to taste


After the peas soaked for a few hours rinse them well under warm water until the water runs clean. Add them to a pot with a splash of lemon juice and enough water to cover all of the peas by about 1-2 inches. Boil the peas until they soften - about 40 minutes depending on how long they soaked. If any foam rises to the top, simply scrap it off with a spoon.

While the peas are cooking, prepare the two potatoes and bake them for 30 minutes on 375. Once they are done it is your choice to peel them or not. I left the skin this time.

Also try adding some chopped walnuts

Once the peas are done cooking, drain the pot and add the peas, broccoli, garlic and about 1 cup of water or veggie broth to a blender or food processor. Blend until mostly smooth but leave some texture to the mix. Transfer the content to a large soup pot and put on medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, chopped potato, spices, and the rest of the water/broth. Let the soup come to a low boil and then turn down to medium-low. Again if any foam rises to the top, simply remove it.

After about 15 minutes, the veggies should have softened. Now add the chopped spinach and hemp seeds and let simmer for and additional 2-3 more minutes or until the spinach is wilted. Serve hot. Yesterday at the farmers market I found onion sprouts which made a great addition to this soup, however pea shoots are much more commonly found in grocery stores. If you don't have either, garnish with green onion. You can also make this a bit more hearty by adding cooked wild or brown rice to it before serving.

This soup is sure to help take the edge off this incredibly long winter!



enjoy