It was mentioned in an earlier post about beans and lentils that the process of germinating the seeds improves their nutritional profile. The positive effects of sprouting are (1) certain “antinutrients” are reduced and (2) enzymatic activity involved in germination produces more particular types of nutrients such as vitamins.

Beans can still be enjoyed in their seed form. This is after all how most of them are typically cooked. Soaking legumes can still somewhat mitigate their inherent disadvantages. Although not as effective as fully sprouting the legumes, soaking still makes beans a bit easier on the digestion. Plus, the process is less tedious as it will only take a couple of hours rather than days.

Read on and discover the pros and cons of soaked legumes (and be sure to also check out recommended soak times for beans, grains, legumes, nuts and rice). Continue reading →