Sprouting 101
Sprouts are a one of nature’s wonders AND a super food. They are literally live little plants that you get to eat-how delicious and nutritious is that? When you eat a sprout, you eat the entire tiny plant: seed, root, leaves, stem, and all. So you get all of the wonderful nutrients that tiny plants have to offer. It’s kind of like the vegan version of eating an egg. You get all of that protein and nutrition without the cholesterol, death, torture, blood, beak removal…well you get the picture.
Sprouts have a marvelous crunch and are a great way to get live enzymatic foods in your diet. I love them on everything from sandwiches to salads to stirfries to toppers on various other dishes. And get this: sprouting couldn’t be easier! Here are the easy peasy sprouty squeezy steps to growing your own delicious little enzymers right in your own kitchen. If you’re not able to have a garden, sprouting is a great way to grow some green goodness right in your own home! You don’t even need dirt to do it!!!
1. Acquire your sprouting seeds! I order mine from Frontier, a whole sale organic co-op that supplies many smaller local co-ops (like the one I frequent) and even Whole Foods! Just about any health food store will have them and they come in all different varieties. The ones pictured above are a sprouting mix including lentils, mung beans, clover, and other tasty treats. You might even be able to sprout regular old dried beans. So long as they’re raw, they’ll sprout!
Some mung beans, just begging to be germinated!
2. Put a sprouting lid on your jar. I bought mine near the raw juice bar at Whole Foods-the same place where they stock their sprouting seeds. It’s just a cute plastic lid filled with holes. If you don’t want to buy one, just pop some holes in a regular jar lid à la seedling waterer.
3. Give ‘em a good soaking. I usually sprout about 2 Tablespoons of seeds/beans at a time. Soak them for at least a couple of hours so that all of the wonderful little enzymes inside can be activated. You’ll likely see the seeds’ skins begin to split-this means they’re plump and ready to germinate!
4. Pour the water out, and store the jar upside down in your kitchen drying rack or just prop it up so the water can continue to drip out. (Trust me, you don’t want moldy sprouts.)
5. Water and drain at least once a day until you have a jar full of miniature plants! When your sprouts have reached optimal eating size, put them in an airtight container in the fridge where they should keep about 1 week.
Happy sprouting!
Sprouts are the cutest!! Hey, have you grown wheatgrass? I want to get some started to put into smoothies.
<3 sprouts