My Flax seeds went all slimy?

[kel]

:confused: I have had no luck with sprouting. :mad: I work full time and often find by the time I get back to my sprouts it is to late. :confused: My walnuts did stand a chance, sunflower seeds spouted and then went off. However, yesterday I soaked some flax seeds overnight and this morning they were..... slimy. :confused: It was like there was a muscelage (sp) all over the seeds. I rinsed them several times, but it did not come off. The seeds smelt fine, but I didn't trust the slime.

Is that normal or were my flax seeds funky? :eek:

[sport]

That slime is good for you and should be eaten with the seeds. The slime is what makes them so good at thickening crackers and other things. Once you realise that it is supposed to be like that it will not bother you.

[rawpriestess]

Walnuts do not sprout, and shouldn't be soaked

Sunflower seeds go bad, extemely quickly, and when they do, they are sooooo gross.

Flax seeds are supposed to slime up, this is their sole purpose in life (okay, maybe they do have another purpose, but this sounded good)

So, your are doing everything perfect. Ta da!

[RawTruth]

They're behaving just exactly the way they're supposed to!

Flax seeds don't sprout; they go gooey. This is good -- it's how you use them in recipes and crackers, etc. that you need that stickiness in. In crackers, it's the "glue" that holds things together and how you can get the crackers really really thin and crispy. In other recipes, don't soak them. Just grind them up in a coffee grinder and stir them in or sprinkle over a salad or put in a smoothie or . . .

Almonds are the only nuts I soak -- just overnight, then rinse and sit for another day to "sprout".

Sunflower seeds are easy (the shelled ones, right) if you just soak overnight, then sprout for the next day or so -- just be sure to rinse them every once in a while. BUT - be sure and don't do too many at once because the ones on the bottom can get yucky. I use a really big bowl without steep sides and, once they're rinsed, I kinda smoosh the seeds up the sides so the bowl's as evenly "coated" with seeds as possible. There are still some underneath others, but just not as many. None have ever gone bad on me even in hot months.

Good luck! Just keep trying.

[sport]

If you do more sunflower seeds than you need put them in the dehydrator overnight and they make a great munch to carry in your bag

[WinterSun]

RawTruth-- by shelled sunflower seeds do you mean hulless? With shell on or off, sorry to sound dense. I tried to sprout sunflower seeds last week(they didn't have shell but were raw) and they didn't sprout, I used them anyway to make "refried beans"

[Arky]

I once read (think it might have been in the instruction manual for the EasyGreen sprouter, or, perhaps, in Sproutman's Kitchen Garden, but don't quote me on that) that it is possible (although very difficult) to sprout flaxseeds by placing them between two damp towels.

Never tried it, though :D


J.

[RawTruth]

WinterSun,

If they were raw, they should have sprouted. So, either they weren't raw, or ... hmmmm ....

Here's a quick checklist just to make sure you hit all the steps (please don't be insulted if this is old hat to you, okay? - I don't know how new you are to this). It actually takes longer to describe the steps than it does to do this, so don't be put off by all the writing ;) :

1. Soak the sunflower seeds by covering them with water in a bowl 8 hrs. or so. I just leave them overnight.

2. Drain them in a colander.

3. Rinse them, drain them thoroughly, and plop them back into the bowl. The seeds should be moist but not really dripping (hint: the bowl shouldn't have any standing water in it).

4. Smoosh them up along the sides of the bowl so they aren't just all sitting in the bottom. Make them sort of evenly thick. Don't get obsessive about this.

5. Set the bowl out of the way. I put them on a counter that doesn't get much use and cover the bowl with a thin cotton dishtowel to keep any fruit flies or flying buggies away.

6. After a while -- maybe 4 to 6 hrs. or so -- dump them in a colander again and rinse and drain them.*

7. Do 3, 4 & 5 again.

8. Every once in a while, repeat the steps. Eventually you'll see sprouts coming out of the seeds. When the sprouts are the size you like, dry them and refrigerate.

*About rinsing -- I go all night without rinsing (I'm not about to get up in the middle of the night for this!) and they're just fine.

Ta da!! It will have taken a few days, but you now have sunflower sprouts!

Not to sound like a broken record, but, if you did all this and they didn't sprout, the seeds weren't raw.

Good luck!

[RawTruth]

I once read . . . that it is possible (although very difficult) to sprout flaxseeds by placing them between two damp towels.J. - I think it is possible, too, but, to my way of thinking, if it's that hard, why bother?!?! Too high maintenance for me. It's so much easier to just eat a peach. Or an avocado (except for that darn skin!).

[Arky]

J. - I think it is possible, too, but, to my way of thinking, if it's that hard, why bother?!?! Too high maintenance for me. It's so much easier to just eat a peach. Or an avocado (except for that darn skin!).

I quite agree!:


Never tried it, though :D


J.

[WinterSun]

hmm, I only rinsed twice a day because I work all day, do you think that's my problem? I could also try the bowl thing I used a huge cracker jar. Thanks rawtruth for the help I'll get this down yet, I stayed 100% raw today by the way!

[sport]

I use a jar and I only rinse twice a day so I do not think that is the cause. Maybe they were old.

[kel]

So I trusted the slime and all was fine. :D
In fact it was excellent.

Thanks for all the direction in sprouting I am getting quite good at it. :D

I did the recipe in Allisa's book for the ginger and garlic crackers.
Life rarely has enough ginger in it, but my crackers did :D
Ate them all in 1 day

I soaked cashews and made them into cream cheese for a lasagne today too. :D
And I soaked some almonds and made broccoli soup yesterday. yummy

I even sprouted some chick peas and made houmous, through it out though, it just didn't do it for me. :(

Haven't found a source for raw chocolate or is it coco, well I have but the store was sold out :o I have a couple of weeks before I will need the chocolate fix so I hope they get some soon.

Oh and I have wheat grass growing in my kitchen window, I hope my crappy :mad: little juicer can turn into something other than compost.

I am madly trying to grow some basil in my kitchen window as well, but I am afraid I may be fighting a battle there that I can not win. I am afraid that the fruit flies like it as much as I do and they are at my place more than I am.

[RawTruth]

So I trusted the slime and all was fine. :D
In fact it was excellent.

Thanks for all the direction in sprouting I am getting quite good at it. :D

I did the recipe in Allisa's book for the ginger and garlic crackers.
Life rarely has enough ginger in it, but my crackers did :D
Ate them all in 1 dayI know the feeling! Those are still my favorite and my staple cracker when I make crackers. Glad you got the hang of the flax seeds.


And I soaked some almonds and made broccoli soup yesterday. yummyMe, too!! Ate it for lunch today. Do you increase the cumin?


I even sprouted some chick peas and made houmous, through it out though, it just didn't do it for me. :( You might consider not even bothering with legumes (I eat no legumes and little to no grains). Some people like them during this transition period, but for many others, they just don't agree with their digestion. For me, when I began raw, I didn't care for the taste, and I don't force myself to eat something that doesn't taste good/right to me. After a while, the idea of having to do so much to a bean to make it (supposedly) digestable just didn't appeal to me. [/QUOTE]


Haven't found a source for raw chocolate or is it coco, well I have but the store was sold out :o I have a couple of weeks before I will need the chocolate fix so I hope they get some soon.For that chocolate fix, kel, have you tried Alissa's fudge balls? I just whipped up some fudge that I kinda invented tonight that's really chocolaty and satisying, too -- neither use cacao nibs ... just carob and they're terrific. I don't use cacao anymore since it's heated to at least 120 degrees in order to get all the nutrients (no matter what the advertising and specialty books say) -- and also since the stimulant effect is not one I want anymore. Anyway, if you want to give anything else a try to fill that sweet tooth, let me know and I'll tell you how and what I made, 'k?


I am madly trying to grow some basil in my kitchen window as well, but I am afraid I may be fighting a battle there that I can not win. I am afraid that the fruit flies like it as much as I do and they are at my place more than I am.Hmmm .. that's a new one for me: fruit flies on a basil plant. I grow mine in a pot outside, though ...

I'm glad to read how well you're doing. Having those yummy recipes makes all the difference, doesn't it?

Wishing you raw radiance!

[Live Free]

I found a website last night that gave a natural fruit fly trap. It works quite well. I have had a great decrease in the amount of fruit flies I am seeing in my kitchen.

Here it is.

http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef621.htm

Teresa and Mae
Live Free

[kel]

Thanks living free

I will give the funnel a try. In the fall the spiders and fruit flies all come inside because it gets so cold outside so quickly, and the furnace gets turned on inside.
:rolleyes:

My lasagne was excellent and I ate 1/3 of it tonight. THe joy of not being able to over eat.