Solar Cooking
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Last edited: 1 July 2020      
Kenya sprouting 2020

Photos credit: Asulma Centre Self Help Group

Sprouting vitamin increase

Millions of people around the world have stopped eating beans because the fuel to cook them is too expensive. One alternative is to sprout them so that they can be eaten without cooking. Doing so, also greatly increases the vitamin content and removes anti-nutrients that prevent the food from being absorbed properly by the body.

Legume and grain sprouts combine wonderfully with solar cooking. You can take just about any bean (or pea, lentil, green grams, etc.) that is viable (that is, not heat processed or ancient/stale/rancid) and sprout it just a little bit, just enough so there's a little root starting to poke out. If you cook it at this point, it will still be very close to a dry bean in taste and texture (for example, your chili will still taste/feel like chili), but they will cook more quickly and be much easier to digest. Basically, in the process of waking up, the seed digests the part that gives some people trouble. Grains like wheat or barley sprouted the same way and also cook quicker and are easier to digest.

You can sprout the legumes and grain together in a jar with one of those plastic sprout lids or cheesecloth or netting banded over the top. Soak for eight hours or so in cool water, then drain and rinse two or three times a day until the little roots start to poke out. It only takes a couple of days to get them to this point.

To grow long, thick mung bean (green grams) sprouts, use one of the methods described in the videos below.

Note: In areas where water is scarce, it is good to note that all extra water from soaking and rinsing can then be used for cooking or other purposes, so almost no water need be wasted for this type of sprouting. Also, please note that the sprouts need to be rinsed with drinking water to avoid infection.

Audio and video[]

How_to_Grow_Bean_Sprouts_at_Home

How to Grow Bean Sprouts at Home

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