Dried Sprouted Beans

Sometimes Costco totally surprises me. It has become a secret weapon in keeping our family eating healthy. I know, I had my doubts too. Everything in the store comes in jumbo sized packages and most of these jumbos are high fat, high sodium processed foods. I usually avoid the produce unless I have a very specific plan for a large quantity of something. I find the produce comes in packages just too big for me to get through before they start to wither and rot. But, if you spend just a bit of time looking you can find some great, veg-friendly foods ... here's what I often buy at Costco.

• Nuts - pecans, walnuts, almonds in 2 kg bags at a reasonable price. I keep them in the freezer to ensure that they stay fresh until I need them
• Organic soy milk - Natur-a is my favourite brand, organic and made in Canada, comes in 1 litre shelf stable boxes in cases of 8, perfect for pantry storage and the one litre size means that once opened they don't go bad waiting to be used up in the fridge. We can easily use up the contents within a few days.
• Unsweetened almond or coconut milk in shelf stable boxes - again, last a long time in my pantry
• Organic Quinoa, TruRoots brand
• Tofu, non-GMO, Canadian made from Unisoya, this one is a great value
• humus, larger tubs of my favourite brands, a good value
• Maple syrup, cheapest price I have found anywhere

During yesterday's trip I found this:

These are beans that have been sprouted and then dried so they cook really quickly.  1 cup of beans with 3 cups of water, brought to a boil then covered and simmered on low heat for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow them to stand for a least 10 minutes, then drain.

They turned a little greener than I had expected.  I drained them well and allowed them to cool. I added a few splashes of rice wine vinegar, about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper and a seasoning mix (I think it was Mrs Dash Herb and Garlic).  This is what they looked liked cooked.

They are slightly crunchy compared to regular cooked beans. Perfect for salads. I'm adding mine to my lunch salad today.  I'm excited, these will also make a quick bean-based soup.