Hi,

I'm really new to the idea of raw foods. Is it possible to eat raw beans? The ones I have are dried and are now soaking in a pot of water. I plan to make a meal of them tomorrow. I'd be open to raw bean recipes for my family to try in the new year.

Thanks!
Renee :-)

Hi Renee.
The only raw beans that are suitable for eating raw - and by raw, I mean soaked over night and sprouted untill tails grow out of them, are:

Adzuki beans
Chickpeas
Lentils ( all variety of lentils are edible raw - brown, red, green, french, and black. )

All other beans will create a bitter, toxic tasting food product that you won't want to serve *anyone*, let alone your family.

If your soaking beans are a variety other than those I mentioned, I would recommend just throwing them in a slow cooker till they are cooked and either give them away to a cooked-food friend, or else eat them yourself if you still eat cooked vegan foods. ...A slow cooker keeps foods at a lower, more even temperature than the stove top. While not a raw cooking method, its a more healthy way to prepare beans other than boiling.

enjoy!

i breathe in
i breathe out
peace
love
joy
Bikini

Chickpeas and lentils are legumes, which are different from the "common bean". Also see [en.wikipedia.org] for some helpful info.

That list of edible raw beans looks a little short to me! Although personally I don't usually eat srpouted beans, it is possible to eat many types. Mung beans are an obvious omission, they sprout easily and are good to eat.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

Rob,

You are right about Mung Beans being a great raw bean too. My bad.

As far as other ones out there... I can't recall any other raw beans (aside from what I initially listed and the mung beans) that work well digestively and are really tasty. I've tried most all of them, and worked with a lot of raw chefs who shared similar opinions.

But, if you've got any other personal bean favorites would love to hear it.

Thanks!


i breathe in
i breathe out
peace
love
joy
Bikini

Well for the first time I bought red kidney beans and chick pea's in bags uncooked. I also bought black wild rice and I soaked them over night. My observation was the wild rice doesnt need more than a few hours or they will split. The chick peas and beans were still hard as a rock, so i blended the chick peas to make hummas and it was pretty yucky texture, it wasnt soft enough I think. The kidney beans skins were peeling off and they were shriveled but still way too hard to eat.

You shouldn't eat kidney beans raw, they are poisonous.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

The smaller the bean is, the better.

What percent of calories are consumed from raw lentils, for example?

How about eating uncooked rice (white or brown)?


Thanks.


Ben

Eating soaked raw brown rice is a new fad in South Korea.

It is all safe for sure.

Brown rice turns out to be a good protein source, too.

Only concern is that your teeth should be able to chew it well.

You need a set of good teeth. :-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2010 06:42AM by lenvanthis.

are the mung, azuki, garbanzo, and lentils hard on the teeth when eaten raw, soaked and/or sprouted?
thanks, maria

Mung bean sprouts are what you get in chinese stir fry though it is difficult to grow them so large and succulent at home (there is a process of sprouting them under pressure to make them work hard to grow, that results in larger sprouts). Lentils are terrific, very tasty and easy to sprout in about 2-3 days. As with any sprout they are the most nutritious when the tail is the same length as the bean itself.
kidney beans are in fact toxic, do NOT eat them raw. Neither kale sprouts nor soy nor chickpeas/garbanzos. They are all toxic in varying degrees though some raw recipes call for chickpeas or soy sprouts. Kidney and kale are highly toxic though and can make you sick, avoid them raw at the very least.

A rule of thumb for me is to eat a handful of something on it's own and see how it tastes and how it makes me feel. Raw sprouted beans (excluding lentils) and grains taste awful and give me gas so I figure that's all I need to know about their appropriateness in my diet.

i tried them both and found they doubled in size and became soft overnight (except a few of the mung beans were still hard as rocks until i sprouted them). i found that the lentils tasted better fried for two seconds and the mungs tasted better raw.

alfalfa and clover are also of the legume family.
to get mung sprouts fat, sprout in the dark with pressure (a weighted plate on top)

I wrote a photo-tutorial for sewing your own sprouting bag if anyone is interested.

[www.flickr.com]

I have had sprouted kidney beans, for what it's worth. But I think it's far better to sprout the ones mentioned on that list because they are smaller. French lentils are great. I would think black-eyed peas would work. Anyone?

As mentioned previously, kidney beans (sometimes called red beans) are poisonous and should NOT be eaten raw. I assume that is the same for sprouted kidney beans. Be careful!


My favorite raw vegan

Yeah, that's not a joke. Kidney beans are toxic raw and can make you really sick. Just google it, there is a ton of info out there.

[www.foodreference.com]

RED KIDNEY BEAN POISONING
Red Kidney Bean Poisoning is an illness caused by a toxic agent, Phytohaemagglutnin (Kidney Bean Lectin). This toxic agent is found in many species of beans, but it is in highest concentration in red kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). The unit of toxin measure is the hemagglutinating unit (hau). Raw kidney beans contain from 20,000 to 70,000 hau, while fully cooked beans contain from 200 to 400 hau. White kidney beans, another variety of Phaseolus vulgaris, contain about one-third the amount of toxin as the red variety; broad beans (Vicia faba) contain 5 to 10% the amount that red kidney beans contain.

As few as 4 or 5 beans can bring on symptoms. Onset of symptoms varies from between 1 to 3 hours. Onset is usually marked by extreme nausea, followed by vomiting, which may be very severe. Diarrhea develops somewhat later (from one to a few hours), and some persons report abdominal pain. Some persons have been hospitalized, but recovery is usually rapid (3 - 4 h after onset of symptoms) and spontaneous.

The syndrome is usually caused by the ingestion of raw, soaked kidney beans, either alone or in salads or casseroles. As few as four or five raw beans can trigger symptoms. Several outbreaks have been associated with "slow cookers" or crock pots, or in casseroles which had not reached a high enough internal temperature to destroy the glycoprotein lectin. It has been shown that heating to 80 degrees C. may potentiate the toxicity five-fold, so that these beans are more toxic than if eaten raw. In studies of casseroles cooked in slow cookers, internal temperatures often did not exceed 75 degrees C..

All persons, regardless of age or gender, appear to be equally susceptible; the severity is related only to the dose ingested.

No major outbreaks have occurred in the U.S. Outbreaks in the U.K. are far more common, and may be attributed to greater use of dried kidney beans in the U.K., or better physician awareness and reporting.

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have had sprouted kidney beans, for what it's
> worth. But I think it's far better to sprout the
> ones mentioned on that list because they are
> smaller. French lentils are great. I would think
> black-eyed peas would work. Anyone?

..here's the nutritiondata.com entry on raw kidney bean sprouts (nutrient source USDA).. maybe the soaking/rinsing/sprouting process makes the difference? --

[www.nutritiondata.com]

..pinto bean sprouts are also listed, another sprout I had crossed off my list but might be time to revisit.

@Coco: That is interesting info. I am not sure, though, that it applies to SPROUTED kidneys. They mention crockpots and undercooking the beans. I have heard people mention that alfalfa sprouts are toxic, so I was thinking it may be along those lines, but they seem to be talking about people just eating kidneys that are not cooked well enough. In any case, I wasn't feeling them. I also don't care for sprouted garbanzos for the same reason: too hard! Turtle beans (black) and French lentils have been great. I've got some adzukis in the cupboard...This is getting me pumped to sprout them!

I've read it in many places that raw sprouted kidney beans are toxic. In any case, they taste nasty so I wouldn't eat them anyhow. Chick peas too, you have to really doctor them up to make them palatable (and they give me gas). I do love the lentils, the baby and I were munching handfuls of them the other day.

I must say, having just experimented with red raw kidney bean sprouts I felt some nausea after having about 15 beans with very long tails. I wonder how much of the USDA food data, like that for raw kidney beans, is computer generated and how much is based on experience.

Have you ever had the sprouted soybeans? I was just at a Korean grocery where they were selling sprouted soybeans! I had never seen them before...they look like mung sprouts. They had long tails.

Here's a video I just watched about the subject: [www.youtube.com]

That's a nice site, banana who.. Natasha St. Michael of Raw Radiant Health. The advice of "soak, sprout and cook" for beans works for me, many having trouble with them so why risk the discomfort. I strive more for the 75% or more "raw foodist" definition rather than the often more restrictive 100% "raw vegan" ideal, but still like to try these things raw as much as possible testing the limits myself of what can be eaten without cooking.

loeve Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I must say, having just experimented with red raw
> kidney bean sprouts I felt some nausea after
> having about 15 beans with very long tails. I
> wonder how much of the USDA food data, like that
> for raw kidney beans, is computer generated and
> how much is based on experience.

Ok Loeve my friend, why would you do that when you know that they are toxic? Seriously, I'm baffled. Like a piece of wheat toast is off the list but some poisonous raw beans are ok? Dude, I'm shaking my head at you. Hope you didn't feel bad for too long.

I get that a lot.

Did anyone try sprouting blackeye peas? I've got some soaking and plan the same experiment as with red kidney beans, that is to try a couple one day and more the next if all goes well.

By the way, the red kidney beans were surprisingly soft and mild after a 24 hour soak. It was when they got very long tails and I increased the quantity that they got beany and disagreed with me. Maybe a simple soak is the key with them, some plants becoming unpalatable as they grow... just a theory.

6,495 views... what the heck???


My favorite raw vegan

..beans are good

I just tried another raw red kidney bean after a short 36 hr soak/sprout and it was very beany this time. So much for the short soak theory.

Black beans and french horticultural beans are others I've tried sprouted in the past and found edible though not great tasting.