Sprouting At Home

Sprouting is such an easy, fun and nutritious thing you can do for yourself. Its very inexpensive as well and the list of health benefits is amazing! Its a great activity to get your children involved with as well. Teaching my children to live from the Earth and be self sufficient and healthy is very important to me. They are our future and the future of our planet!

There are many different variations of sprouting but I am just sharing the process that I use. Through trial I have found my favorite flavor of sprouts. I tend to like radish, alfalfa, and broccoli. You can also sprout a variety of beans but those don’t please my palate.

My favorite time of the year to do some batches of sprouts is around January, February and March. Brings that fresh taste right in the midst of winter!

The pictures that I am sharing are a salad blend of radish, alfalfa and broccoli. I choose to use all organic seeds.

Step 1.  The first step is to rinse your seeds and soak them. I use cool water. The soaking time depends on the seeds you are sprouting. Larger seeds like beans are 10 to 12 hours and smaller ones like my salad blend is 8 hours.

Step 2.  After you have soaked your seeds you will need to rinse them thoroughly and drain them. If your seeds are not thoroughly drained they can develop mold. I use sprouting trays but I know it can be done in jars too but I have never used the jar method.

Step 3.  The next step is to simply cover your sprouts. Covering them helps to keep airborne contaminants out. It is ideal to rinse your sprout seeds 3 to 4 times per day but 2 times is sufficient. I usually rinse twice per day due to a busy life! If you are using trays, they are dark in color so there is no need to cover them to keep the sunlight out. Just be sure to keep them out of direct sunlight to keep them from overheating.

Step 4.  On about the 3rd our 4th day when your sprouts have filled your tray, uncover them and place in the sunlight to develop chlorophyll. A sunny table, counter or windowsill will be fine. Do this for the next 24 hours but be sure to rinse at least twice that day.

I tend to only sprout enough to eat fresh for a few days at a time. If you sprout more than you can eat within a few days you should rinse the seeds hulls from them and store in the fridge but I just keep a fresh rotation going so i have just what I want to eat. Either way is fine. Sprouts will stay fresh in the fridge for a week or more as long as your rinse or drain them every day or two.

There are MANY ways to enjoy sprouts! They can be simply eaten by the handful. One popular way is on a sandwich. They can be used on salads, in wraps or pitas. They are commonly mixed in with soft cheeses for a spread. They can be sauteed. They can be juiced, baked in breads, added to scrambled eggs and MUCH more! My favorite is on a salad or in a wrap but they are great any way!

This great link gives you a LONG list of nutritional benefits of sprouting. HAPPY SPROUTING!!