Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life

easy way to improve their digestibility and increase their nutritional value. Soaking them for as little as four hours can yield a significant benefit. Each week or so, I put a variety of raw nuts and seeds into separate bowls and then cover them with purified water and leave them to sit overnight on the counter. I do this in the evening, then, when I get up in the morning, I drain the water, rinse the nuts and seeds with fresh water (being sure to rinse well, to wash off the digestive inhibitors that have leached into the water, thus improving bioavailability), and store them in the refrigerator. This way they are on hand when making meals.
     
    It takes me really only about 10 minutes a week to soak the nuts, so the time commitment is small; it simply takes forethought. Almonds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds are the ones I most often soak. These seeds won’t sprout, but they will benefit nutritionally from being soaked.
     
    Soaked raw nuts are always better from a nutritional standpoint than their unsoaked counterparts. However, with the exception of those called for in the nut milks and my Zucchini Chip Almond Salad (recipe on page 250) the nuts and seeds for the Thrive Diet recipes do not need to be soaked first—they can be used in the recipes as they are.
     
    Sprouting grains and legumes is a lengthier process than soaking, but not really that much more of a time commitment on your part. For the recipes in this book, you may choose to use canned, precooked, ready-to-eat legumes. This is the most convenient way to get your legumes for recipes. A wide variety of lentils and other legumes, including chickpeas and adzuki beans, are available in this form and can be found in supermarkets and many convenience stores. Look for legumes that are packed without the use of preservatives.
     
    Or you may choose to cook the legumes yourself. This is less expensive than buying canned legumes, but be aware that cooking times range from 20 minutes for lentils all the way up to three hours for chickpeas. I would rather gain the greatest nutrition by simply planning ahead, and sprouting my grains and legumes.
     
    Buying sprouts are an option—many types can be bought in supermarkets and most health food stores with cold storage. However, store-bought sprouts have been known to harbor bacteria. If your immune system is low and you are in a compromised state of health, you will likely want to avoid this risk. I highly recommend buying the raw grains and legumes and sprouting them yourself. It takes a bit of planning, but the nutritional gains reaped are worth it.
     
    The sprout occupies a transitional phase in the plant life cycle. Having yet to form roots, the sprout, a new growth from the germinating seed, cannot feed itself and so must rely on the nutrients contained within the seed. Once activated by moisture, enzymes begin to utilize nutrients supplied in the seed as a rapid growth fuel. The plant equivalent of mother’s milk, densely packed nutrients in the seed quickly convert the sprout into a plant with leaves.
     
    The sprout has much to offer. Throughout the sprout’s rapid growth phase, digestive enzyme inhibitors are expelled; proteins are converted to amino acids, and fats to essential fatty acids; and a form of pre-digestion occurs, making for a very efficient food. Power-packed with vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, and enzymes, sprouting greatly enhances the efficiency and nutrient value of the seed. Sprouts, because of their high pH level, will also help alkalize the body. Most grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds can be sprouted. (Some seeds, including sunflower seeds, will develop shoots. Sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds will not sprout but will benefit from being soaked.) Quinoa and buckwheat are especially good for sprouting, as sprouting unleashes their full array of nutrients.
     
    Should you choose to try sprouting, you will likely find that sprouting quickly becomes a part of your daily routine. It’s very easy to do and has an extra bonus of low cost. Canned legumes are not expensive, but sprouting dried seeds, grains, and legumes is dirt cheap.
     
    Although any uncooked legume, nut, grain, and seed will benefit from being soaked or sprouted, the following work particularly well and are easy to incorporate into several of the Thrive Diet recipes:
     
     
     
     
soaking
sprouting
Almonds
Amaranth
Macadamia nuts
Buckwheat
Pumpkin seeds
Beans, all kinds
Sesame seeds
Chickpeas
Oats
Lentils, all kinds