What is there to know about beans, chickpeas, lentils, etc., sprouting, and food safety? Ever since I read about how pinto beans contain a toxin that only breaks down if you cook them at high enough temps, I've been wondering if there's more I'm missing and kinda paranoid about beans. In particular, can I eat these chickpeas that sprouted while soaking them, even if I'm pregnant?
I've occasionally googled trying to find out more, and the stuff I've come across has the "natural living" handwavy vagueness that doesn't help. This is either because there's not much to actually know, or because I'm not searching right.
Add to all this that I'm pregnant, so I'm extra cautious about food safety right now. Last night I soaked my chickpeas and they sprouted, and I know you're not supposed to eat raw sprouts while pregnant, but I think cooked sprouts are fine -- so I can eat these chickpeas, right? (I boiled them for about 45 minutes last night, changed the water, stuck them in my fridge and covered them, let them soak about 24 hours, rinsed them and changed the water again, and am now boiling them until they're cooked.) Googling turns up a mix of CDC warnings about sprouts for pregnant people and all this stuff about how sprouting transforms the components of the seed into different components, which -- given my belated recognition that some components of beans are kinda toxic -- didn't completely put my mind to rest. |