The Herb Stop Blog
The Joy of Sprouting
Sprouting seeds during the dead of winter in your kitchen is easy and fun. When you can’t grow anything or get fresh produce anywhere sprouts will consistently provide you with fresh and nutritious meals. Sprouts are real life vitamins, minerals, proteins and enzymes. Their nutritional value has been discovered by the Chinese thousands of years ago. Soaking seeds in water awakens enzymes from their dormancy, and their nutritional value increases from 10 – 2000%, such as B Vitamins. Vitamin E increases up to 300 times and vitamin C is introduced where none was previously present. Sprouts have a regenerating and anti-aging effect on the body because they provide two important things in our diet – fresh, life-giving nutrients and a high concentration of food enzymes. When enzymes become depleted in our bodies, we age. To keep ourselves young and healthy is a matter of keeping enzyme activity in our bodies at a maximum. That is exactly what sprouts do and could be called the Fountain of Youth.
Seeds and Beans You Can Sprout
Almost any seed or bean will sprout, even some nuts, but I like to grow herb seeds such as alfalfa, fenugreek, anise, flax, milk thistle, sunflower, celery and others. They taste great on sandwiches, salads and soups. In addition to their great nutritional importance, they also impart their medicinal properties. Other seeds you may try sprouting are barley, broccoli, buckwheat, mung, lima, pinto, corn, cress, clover, caraway, cumin, dill, garbanzo, lettuce, lentils, millet, mustard, parsley, poppy, pumpkins, oats, radish, sesame, wheat, etc.Starting the Sprout Garden
1. Place ½ cup of seeds or beans in a quart glass jar.2. Fill the jar with water.
3. Cover the jar with cheese cloth and secure with a rubber band.
4. Agitate and pour off water. (This washes the seeds).
5. Fill the jar with water again and soak seeds 12 to 24 hours.
6. Pour off water and place jar in a warm, dark place.
7. Rinse and drain twice daily.
8. When the leaves start to show, place the jar in indirect sunlight to improve chlorophyll content.
9. The entire sprout can be eaten once sprouting has begun.
To Use Sprouts
Sprouts are most nutritious eaten in the raw state. Incorporate into salads, soups, drinks, and other dishes. Add crisp freshness to lunch boxes by adding sprouts in place of lettuce on sandwiches. Gently steam and add to vegetables dishes. You can even make your own bread with sprouts.Delicious Sprout Bread
Sprouted bread is becoming very popular and may be the answer to a lot of our bread problems and allergies*. Sprouted bread is delicious and more nutritious than whole wheat. Sprout bread is easy to make and takes very little time. Simply grow your sprouts, grind them, form a loaf and bake.2 cups of hard wheat berries
* People who are allergic to wheat may find that sprouted wheat bread may ease problems/conditions associated with “regular” grains. Grains do not have leaves; therefore, they do not have the necessary components to filter out environmental and/or agriculture toxins, such as pesticides, herbicides, etc. By sprouting the wheat/grains the filtering of toxins occurs and you may find your wheat/grain allergies gone.