Good morning and happy Wednesday to you! If you are new to my blog, then I should let you know that every Wednesday I post a photo journal of everything I ate the day prior. I like documenting my food intake for 24 hours, it helps me keep track of whether or not I’m eating enough vegetables and how my meals change over time (you can see a full list of these posts here).
One meal that is evolving is my green smoothie. I discussed my concern in last Wednesday’s post that I’ve been using too many fruits in my morning smoothies. I’ve made two smoothies since then where I made a few changes. The first change is that I’m really increasing the amount of greens. In the smoothies I made this past weekend and yesterday, I used in each 1-lb. bags of kale that I got at the health food store. After all, the point is to make the smoothie green and that’s exactly what I did:
I suppose if I were really hard-core, I would drink it like this with only a mango, the greens and nut milk blended together, but I still like to add berries (yesterday I used frozen cherries) and pineapple to sweeten it and make it palatable:
I also included all my extras like cinnamon, maca powder, goji berries, cacao powder, etc. Here’s what my final serving looked it:
The second change that I made to my favorite smoothie recipe was to include a scoop of my homemade sprouted lentil protein powder that I mentioned in Monday’s post. I’m happy to say that, despite its bean-y odor, I could not taste the protein powder at all in my smoothie. This recipe is a winner!
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Homemade Sprouted Lentil Protein Powder
Yield: 4
Category: Supplement
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This recipe yields about 1 cup of protein powder. One serving (1/4 cup) would then be about 7 grams of protein and 75 kcal.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried lentils or mixture of dried peas and lentils (there are sprouting mixes you can buy or you can just use regular dried lentils)
- water, for soaking
- sprouting jar
Instructions
- Rinse lentils and pick through for any debris. Place lentils in a bowl or sprouting jar and cover with filtered water. Cover loosely and let sit for 8-12 hours. Add more water if necessary to keep the lentils completely submerged.
- After soaking, rinse the lentils with fresh water, discarding the soaking water. Sprout the lentils over the course of 1-2 days, rinsing them every 8-12 hours. They are ready when the sprouts are about 1/2″ long.
- At this point, you can move onto the dehydrating step, or you can cook your sprouted lentils to make them more easily digestible. To cook them, bring about a cup of water to boil in a small saucepan. Add the lentil sprouts and simmer for about 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Now, spread the sprouted lentils onto a drying sheet and dehydrate at 115°F for 10-12 hours, or until completely dry. If you bite into one, it should be crunchy and you’ll know it’s dry.
- Place the dried sprouted lentils into a high-speed blender and process finely into a powder. Store tightly sealed in a cool, dry place for up to a week or 10 days.
In case you were wondering, I did the nutritional analysis based on this data and input from blog reader Paul B.
One cup of the protein powder would include approximately 28 grams of protein and 300 kcal. One serving (1/4 cup) would then be about 7 grams of protein and 75 kcal.
As mentioned, I added some into my smoothie yesterday and enjoyed the extra nutrition. I’m not saying that everyone needs to add protein powder to their smoothies, but I’m going to continue experimenting and see if it works for me. I should also mention that I tried grinding the dried sprouted lentils in a food processor and it did not work to grind them finely enough:
But, once I put them into the Vitamix, I got a really nice fine powder:
I worked out yesterday morning and then made a salad for lunch using my favorite salad dressing:
The salad:
Then, lest you think I am the perfect nutritarian, I made some popcorn after eating my salad, using a teensy bit of coconut oil and some sea salt:
That was good.
I also had two Cara Cara oranges, they are my absolute favorite type of orange and not just because their name sounds like mine; they are sweet and pink and I am buying them by the bagful while they are in season:
The popcorn killed my appetite and I wasn’t super hungry for dinner, but I made an easy soup by blending roasted sweet potatoes with steamed brussels sprouts and onions:
I stirred in some cashew cream sauce to make it decadent. Dessert was a fruit bowl of mango and blueberries:
Despite my cravings for the salty crunch of popcorn, it was a good food day and my appetite was fairly consistent. I probably could have skipped the fruit bowl after dinner, but I couldn’t resist the sweet mango.
My goal is to provide inspiration for healthy, balanced living. You can find more links on my Recipes and Resources pages.
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Awesome protein powder recipe! I agree, not all people need protein powder, but I think it could be a good idea for people that are active. I don’t use powder in every smoothie, but usually 2-3 a week, especially on days I know I will need the energy.
Mmmm popcorn. I triple love air popped corn =) Sooo good!
I love these posts about what you ate, so much yummy inspiration!
Thanks, Angie! I’m glad you find the food journals helpful…I’ll keep doing them! 🙂
LOVE the Green Smoothie Ideas! Great photos! Of course I LOVE the Sprouted Protein Powder! Very Clever! The dressings and sauces look amazing and I am SO craving that Cashew WONDER 🙂
Awesome!
My smoothies are really fruity too, but then again Dr. Fuhrman does say to eat something like 4 fruits a day, so… my green smoothie breakfast is still 100x better than a bagel. I am super lazy and always feel rushed in the morning so I use frozen blended fruit. I buy up fruits and greens, blend them up as dark and green as I can with my extras (flaxseed and stuff like that), pour into dixie cups, and freeze. I reconstitute them by cutting off the paper of 2 frozen cups and blend with a banana and pineapple juice. It perfectly fills a 16 oz pint glass.
They could be ‘greener’ but I do not have a fancy blender and it has a hard time blending tons of greens. Gotta do what you can.
Hi Bettylion, I love your method of making smoothies, that’s pretty brilliant and perfect for someone on the go. 🙂
Wow! I love that you make your own sprouted protein powder! One thing I don’t like about protein powder is that it’s processed and you aren’t in control of the ingredients, but this is a great idea. I’ve been grinding up all sorts in my vitamix too. They are great for making powders and flours. I mainly make oat flours, coconut butter and peanut butter so far but am always experimenting.
I made popcorn yesterday too. I was supposed to be going for a date night (Our second one in 2 years) with my husband to the cinema but he had the flu instead – so I think I’ll eat it tonight. Yum!
I’m really curious about making coconut butter, Katherine. I’ve never tried it and I really want to see how it turns out. What types of recipes do you use your coconut butter in? Baked goods or something else?
It’s so easy in the vitamix: http://www.greenthickies.com/homemade-coconut-butter-recipe but because it’s so cold in my house it often goes a bit crumbly in the jar but I just scoop it out with a spoon. To be honest I’ve only just started making it recently so I’ve not experimented much with it yet but I’ve discovered instead of making a homemade milk for my smoothies I just add water and some coconut butter and it makes it really creamy and tasty.
Thanks for the link to the tutorial, Katherine! I am going to try making this ASAP. I love the idea of adding it to smoothies, but I am mostly interested in trying to bake with it. I’ll let you know… 🙂
Love this!! Thank you for sharing. I’ve been wondering how to make my own for ages now. Your diet is so colourful and vibrant…you are a true inspiration!
Coming from you, Angela, that means a lot; you’re my blogging hero! 🙂
Hi Carrie,
How many smoothie servings did you make with your 1-lb. bag of kale? I use 4 oz. kale per serving in my smoothies, and that’s about as green as my taste buds appreciate!
Great question, Sarah. I usually get 3 really large (or 4 medium) servings out of my smoothie recipe so I think my green serving is the same as yours. I agree, that’s about as all as I can handle, too! 🙂
I always check out this website before buying any protein products – http://www.pro-proteinshake.com – My personal favourite is the Labrada Lean Body Hi-Protein shake because of the high protein:carb ratio.
Mmmmm, so much yum here! 🙂 Aaaaaand now I want an orange…
Carrie, What a delicious (and pretty) day of food. I love berries in my green smoothies, too. They always end up more on the brown or purple side, but I know they’re green! haha
The soup looks simple and perfect. I think brussels and sweet potatoes are a great combination.
Hey, on a side note…. I just joined the member’s center on Dr. Fuhrman’s site. I’m on day 5 of his 6 week plan and feel pretty amazing 🙂
WOW, Nikki, I am sooooo excited for you!!! Are you having any withdrawal symptoms at all? What are the biggest changes you’ve made to your diet?
Carrie,
The thing I like about sprouted lentil powder is that while high in protein, it’s still a whole food. All of the original nutrition is there and the protein isn’t isolated unlike commercial protein powders with concentrated protein. For me at least, it’s more palatable when mixed with other ingredients though it still leaves a small after taste on its own. Sprouted lentil powder is higher in both calories and protein than sprouted mung bean powder so I usually just stick with the lentils. The other thing besides being fresh, a whole food and under your control is that even when bought organically, it’s fairly cheap! I am estimating about 12 to 15 cents per serving.
Paul
Do you know if changing our diet can eliminate hypothyroidism?
That is a question for Dr. Fuhrman, I’m not sure about that.
Great post. I have a question and a suggestion.
Suggestion/Tip: Adding frozen bananas will help neutralize the taste of adding leafy greens in your smoothie. If you add the greens in first with a little liquid, I prefer cold water, then blend. I then add the frozen bananas and blend again. This is the base to add my fruit.
Question: For the lentil protein powder, do you have to use a dehydrator? Can I sprout, air dry and then blend?
I look forward to your response.
Hi Dana! Thanks for the smoothie tips. I am a huge fan of frozen banana in my green smoothies. In regards to your question about the lentil protein powder, my only concern with air-drying is that you wouldn’t be able to get all the moisture out. I live in a relatively humid climate though, so that’s why I used a dehydrator.
I am also very skeptical about using too much fruit in my smoothies, because some of the recipes call for a whole banana, cup of this and cup of that, and my eyes just pop because that way exceeds my daily limit. I’ve taken to adding lots more frozen cucumber (for that fresh taste which frozen fruit usually brings) and then systematically lessening the amount of fruit I use and rather bringing in some soaked flaxseed to give it a bit of body.
Your protein powder sounds awesome! Just need to find a sprouting jar then I will be making this – vegan protein powders are way to expensive! 😀
Thanks for the note and I LOVE your idea about using cucumber. I never even considered the idea of freezing them!
Wow, this recipe looks amazing!! I am going to try this out today 🙂 I was wondering, if you were to use a mixture of the lentils and peas, do both of them have to be soaked in water? Thank you!
I’m pretty sure you would need to soak the peas before sprouting as well, Amanda!
Great, thank you! Also, I heard you have to cook lentils before actually eating them. Does this mean before consuming the protein powder we should cook them? (after grinding it into a powder)
Hi Amanda! I know a lot of people eat uncooked sprouts beans and grains, but, personally, I like to cook them after sprouting them. I didn’t mention this in my recipe, but I will amend it.
I can’t wait to try out this new recipe! Just wondering, I was looking at your past replies to comments and am curious as to how you could cook the lentils/peas?
By the way, this looks absolutely delish!
Woops! I forgot to add, wouldn’t peas become mushy when cooked? And if they do, how would you make mushy peas into a protein powder?
Hi Kaitlynne! I’ve amended the recipe with cooking instructions. You wouldn’t want to cook the peas or lentils long enough that they become mushy, just so that they are cooked through. Does that make sense? That way, you should still be able to drain them and spread them on a dehydrator sheet. Then, after they are completely dry, you would grind them into a powder. It is starting to sound like a lot of work, tho, huh? 🙂
Hello! When you say 115 degrees, is it in F or C?
F! 🙂 Sorry about that.
Can you not just take the dry lentil, wash them and then through them into a coffee grinder. Do you have to sprout them?
Hi Peter! I’m not sure, but I think some people might have digestive issues with consuming uncooked lentils, even if they are ground. Sprouting the lentils first (and even cooking them) can make them much friendlier to the GI tract. This is just my opinion, though! 🙂
Hi
Thanks for your recipe, I love it. I wanted to make my own home-made protein shake with lentils, chick peas, oats and full fat milk. Of course I have to grind the chick peas and lentils, but I wanted to ask, are they safe to eat raw? As in without cooking them, I heard stories about lentils, that’s why I am asking.
Thanks,
Ian
I wouldn’t think that would be a good idea, Ian. I think the legumes should be cooked.
I’m going to try making homemade pea protein powder, to make my green smoothies healthier and more filling, and am wondering: instead of sprouting then drying then grinding the lentils, what if I ground them and stored them, then the night before using soaked the powder in the water in the smoothie container? Would the pea powder nutritionally “sprout” the same way it would if I had sprouted the intact peas? Would love thoughts on this, thanks!
Great question, Jenn, and an intriguing thought. Honestly, I don’t think the powder would sprout the same way an intact legume would. Since I wrote this post, I’m following more of a paleo approach to my diet, so I’m not consuming many legumes anymore, otherwise I would do more research on this. Another thought is that there are so many great protein powders available now, it would probably be just as economical to purchase one rather than make it yourself. Just a thought. 🙂