Bioavailability

We are still in a season of lazy vegan eating around here as creativity is taking a sabbatical while my focus is necessarily upon matters other than food. I do feel rumblings of that old vegan mojo, however. I'm finding myself interested in learning more about nutrition and planning some fresh experiments when time is again mine.

When I was in Kroger looking for baby bok choy and hemp milk, I saw a little carton of these crunchy sprouts, comprised of adzuki beans, lentils and green peas. It is clear that these three sprout at different rates since the peas seem to be the most robustly sprouted and there is nary a sprout upon an adzuki. Still, the mix is different from anything I'd ever eaten and is very satisfying. The price tag was a bit hefty for a tiny little carton -- $2.79 or somesuch, but the purchase was worthwhile to me for educational and inspirational purposes. I bet, with a little research, I could cheaply sprout any manner of seeds.

Why sprout?  Well, I'm sure I will have more info on this topic after the aforementioned research, but I do already know that a sprouted seed is more bioavailable. In other words, the nutrition is more readily absorbed into the system and less of it is wasted. Also, once a seed is sprouted, the body treats it as more of a "plant food" than a starchy "seed". I look forward to learning more about this subject when I am afforded the time for a new project.

The photo above is of one of my lazy, simple lunches. It is a flatbread spread with spinach hummus and topped with arugula and the crunchy sprouts.

Here's another version of almost the same thing, in a different format:

In this case, instead of bread and hummus, I have cannelini beans, leftover steamed cauliflower, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and of blood orange olive oil. Otherwise, I again feature the arugula and crunchy sprouts.  Both meals were very agreeable and easy to throw together.

For you regular readers who may be interested -- We are nearing the end of my son's health crisis, I think. Today was his first day out. He drove his own truck and met us for lunch at Taco Mac (which now features a black bean chipotle burger btw! Yippee!) He was overjoyed to be out of the house without a headache. I am cautiously optimistic. If I can get him back to school on Monday I will know we are out of the woods. Thanks again for all your prayers and good wishes through it all. You are much appreciated.