For the Love of Sprouting

Disclaimer - I am not a doctor or medical professional. I do not advocate sprouts or any other food as a medical treatment for various illnesses and aliments. I speak from my own experience only.

I discovered the joy of sprouting when I decided to add these wonderful living foods to my diet. Although I was eating what most people would consider a healthy diet something was not working for me. Something was missing. For me that something is sprouts, a living food full of life and enzymes. Imagine taking a tiny dried bean and turning it into a living food without cooking it. It is amazing. Sprouts are bursting with life. I find sprouts to be a superior food source. I always use organic seeds and pure water in my sprouter so I get the benefit of always eating organic foods even when I sprout.

Growing, sprouting and eating the sprout harvest gives me a clear feeling of well being, energy and deep connection with all living things. It is a wonderful feeling to partake of the miracle of every day life. The kitchen is so full of life and harmony now. When I harvest and eat the sprouts I am thankful for their gift of life sustaining nurishment. To me there is no better food to eat for a healthy body, mind. It nurtures my spiritual practice as well which is very much a part of my daily life.

For fun I've given names to different kinds of sprouts . I call garbanzo bean sprouts, "Sproutskis", and the ones with curly sprout tails, "Sprout-toon-yas". All this brings me great joy. When I first began sprouting a few would go bad. I called those Sprouts Rotten McGRotten, although I seldom see these sprouts now. There are many sprouting devices. You can use the simple sprouting jar with a sprouting top or nylon mesh with a rubber band to keep it in place. I lately added "Easysprout", a non automatic simple container with another draining container inside. It even has an insert to snap in place to put small seeds to keep them nice while growing and rinsing. There are various types of automatic sprouters available. I provide links to see these things in my sprouting section. I want to thank the raw foods site for their sprouting information as well. My sprouts get lots of love and care. I have a sound machine especially for my sprouts that plays bird songs, sounds of brooks and others and I sing to them as well:) Lucky sprouts! What began as an experiment has become more fulfilling than I could possibly imagine when I started sprouting. The gentle peace and harmony in the kitchen is like bathing in a stream of pure water.

I enjoy sprouting seeds, garbanzo beans (chick peas), lentils and almonds. I always select organic. Everything is organic and the water I drink and use to grow sprouts is purified. For mung bean sprouts I use dried tiny mung beans. Other sprout staples I use are lentils and the garbanzos often called chickpeas, almond sprouts, red clover and alfalfa. Sprouts are not the only food I eat but I do eat quite a bit of them. They contain plenty of protein, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids.

"The Sprouting Book", by Ann Wigmore, gives more detail about the the sprouting process as well as describing the nutritional content for different kinds of sprouts. Her book gives more detailed information than I have given here and is excellent. There are even simple recipies to use with sprouts.

One of my favorite sprout recipes is 1 (one) Tbs red clover seeds, 1/2 Tsp broccoli seeds, 1/2 TBS alfalfa. The other, my most favorite sprout of all is almond sprouts. Take 1/4 to 1/3 cup of almonds. Put them in a jar with 3 times as much water or so. Add a wire mesh sprouting cover, or nylon mesh or cheesecloth and fasten to the jar with a rubber band. Wrap the jar with a small towel or dishcloth and keep out of direct sun. Leave them in the water and change the water in 12 hours. You can eat these in a day or a day and a half. I wouldn't go any longer. Eating these is a wonderful pleasure. If you crack them in half with your teeth you can see the tiny sprout inside. Almond sprouts do not show the sprouted part from looking at the outside, they will be larger almonds than before because of the water. The wonderful taste is something like coconut milk. When ready to harvest take them out of the water and drain them on a paper towel for storage if you don't eat the whole crop at one sitting and then put in a plastic storage bag in the refrigerator.

I hope you've enjoyed your visit here and a brief glimpse into the world of sprouting.