beans

[ashabean]

this is going to seems like a stupid question to those in the "know" :p

Are the dried beans you buy from the health foos store heat dried?
Would they still be good for you as apart of a living food diet?

Or should I stay away from them?

I am thinking mainly of chickpeas and kidney beans.

thanks

ashabean

[Juan, Judy & Alex]

Great question: I'm assuming you are referring to bulk purchase vise bagged products, simply ask who the vendor is that sells the beans to your grocer. Then call that vendor and ask "the question" I also went online to find out those in the "know" in beans.

Hope this helps, good luck.

[FEELIN'GOOD]

This is not a stupid question at all- I was wondering the same thing. I love pinto beans and black beans, but are they okay to soak and use? I never really see them in recipes- so my guess is NOT- but anyone know for sure?

~Melissa~

[KitaKazoo]

Once I made "burritos" with soaked pinto beans and the whole family stayed up all night throwing them up. :p

The only beans I buy and use are garbonzo and lentils which sprout. I love raw hummus. Not very hard to prepare and fills you up when you are looking for cooked foods. If you want organic beans you have to get them at the healtfood store, the ones at the grocery will sprout but aren't organic. I'm going to try growing my own this summer.

[PixieGreen]

If the dried beans are sproutable then the enzymes haven't been cooked out of them so I consider them raw. Mung bean sprouts are used a lot, as are lentils [sprouted].

According to the Sproutman Kitchen Garden Cookbook lima and black beans are traditionally poor germinators but recommends soaking for 12 hours and sprout for only 24 hours then removing the duds. He notes that they are difficult to digest even sprouted and recommends cooking at a low simmer until soft all the way through for optimal digestability, so I'm not sure they are best for the Raw lifestyle. He said eating in small quantities sprouted may be okay [they won't kill ya, anyway!].

Sprouted grains are also more difficult to digest than veggies but aren't as hard on the body. Since they have 20+ times more nutrients then non-sprouted and lose most of their nutrients when cooked I choose to keep them in my raw diet. I am considering baking sprouted grains [250 degrees for 3+ hours] though for bread. His arguments for doing so are sound, imho.

Christa

[KitaKazoo]

Anything heated over 115 is dead. Try dehydrating instead. Set the dehydrator at 125 or if you don't have one I heard you can use a gas oven on the lowest setting with the door cracked at the top with a wooden spoon.