Anybody eat sprouts?

[kathryn]

I decided to splurge and order myself some Organic produce and sprouts from Diamond Organics for my birthday. I got some sunflower (I've had them before, they are tasty little plants), some salad mix, and some buckwheat sprouts. I'd never tried buckwheat before, but I had assumed it was the grain with a wee bit of sprout sticking out. Instead, it's a little two-leafed plant, about 4 inches long.

I made a salad out of a mix of all three and it was yummy!

I used to sprout years ago, but stopped doing it (I've even made hummus with sprouted garbanzos instead of cooked/canned ones, and 'cookies" with sprouted wheat berries and raisins). I'm thinking of taking it up again, since it's a good way to get fresh, enzyme-rich greens, especially in the winter.

Anybody do it? What do you sprout? What do you use? (I've used the jar method, but am looking into different styles of sprouters).

 

[red_mct]

I have no idea, but I would love to know, so please share anything you find out!


Marie

PS: I hope you are feeling better.

 

[melodygirl]

I actually love all kinds of sprouts, but have never tried or even seen the buckwheat. My family often compares me to the deer & other nibblers who frequently visit us. Now I have to try the buckwheat.

I have never thought of sprouting my own. I would be interested in knowing more. I am really good at "science experiments" in the frig, however.;-)

 

[NY25]

I've been "re-sprouting" myself, lately. I've got them (basic alfalfa) on my sandwich right now and I've begun adding to salads, too. I used to eat them all the time - by themselves. Getting back at it. I'll try other varieties when I find them, but haven't found them much. Either way - YUM!

 

[kathryn]

It's pretty easy to do. Just get a wide-mouth mason jar, get a piece of screening to cover the top. Soak seeds for about 8-12 hours. Then rinse daily, with the jar tilted so the water runs out.

I've done alfalfa and clover and mung beans and garbanzos and wheat in the past. I thought buckwheat sounded interesting because it's supposed to be a complete protein. But I imagined the barely sprouted grains and was surprised at the plants I got instead! One of my cats found them fascinating as well!

It's also supposed to be beneficial to soak raw nuts, not to sprout, but to activate the enzymes in them, so they are more digestible and more nutritious (sprouted seeds are actually more nutritious than the seeds themselves or the full-grown plants, like broccoli sprouts, which I'd like to do as well).

Don't know why I got out of doing it? I certainly could use the raw foods and the fresh greens.

 

[Faithnveggies]

Hi Kathryn,
I am more inspired by you than able to offer much input. I enjoy brocoli sprouts, though I haven't grown them myself yet. A friend of mine, who is a raw foodie, does a class on sprouting. As I recall, she felt that most of the ready made sprouters were more complicated than they were worth and she mostly used flat baskets (like from Chinese steamer?) layered with paper towels and also jars, depending on the seed.

She really raved about the good stuff in brocoli sprouts.

I think you can get the baskets pretty inexpensively, they just need to be genuine wicker.

I hope this helps. I have about 4 different types of seeds on hand. I was sure I was going to go home and start sprouting everything after I attended her class. Maybe I will get started.

 

[Miss Lee]

I love broccoli and bean sprouts and use them alot. It never occurred to me to grow my own. Sounds interesting, though.

Michele

 

[mathgeek]

That sounds like something my kids would love to do. I love having stuff growing in my kitchen but I have a silk thumb (I can only grow fake plants.)

Kristy

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good

 

[purple_magada]

The only spouts I've ever eaten were alphafa and I liked them on sandwiches. Growing your own sounds interesting though.

I don't know if buckwheat and buckwheat sprouts are in the same "family" but a few years ago I had buckwheat cakes (pancakes) and they were awful!!! YUK!!!

 

[toastythemosty]

I pull the sprouts off the broccoli and eat them. I also like bean sprouts.

Charlotte~~

 

[NekkoCat]

Funny, I was just reading about sprouting, and was thinking of giving it a try! Have you tried lentil sprouts? I may try them first, or perhaps mung beans.

 

[kathryn]

>Funny, I was just reading about sprouting, and was thinking
>of giving it a try! Have you tried lentil sprouts? I may try
>them first, or perhaps mung beans.

I think the "salad mix" I got has lentil in. It for sure has peas, adzuki beans, and garbanzo beans (they don't make much of a sprout, just a little 'tail').

 

[rjroubi]

You know I've actually been thinking about growing sprouts after reading "Thrive." The health benefits sound tremendous. Do you have any recommendations on a book to learn more about actually doing it and a site to order "stuff."

Robin:9

 

[kathryn]

www.sproutman.com has products. I have his "Kitchen Garden Cookbook," and though I haven't looked at it for a while, it's good.

Raw foods sites usually have info and products for sprouting. I like www.eatraw.com . www.rawfood.com is good, but shipping is expensive. I also plan to look at Amazon.com under "sprout" to see what comes up in their book selection.

 

[shamnas]

I have had the hummus made from sprouted hummus and it digests a lot better for me.

I have attached a link to a store in Toronto called super sprouts.
There is a how to section and also a recipe section.
Haven't gone through it yet but it looks pretty good.

http://www.supersprouts.com/

Take care,
Sham

 

[SRP]

I've always heard all the good things about sprouts, but I'm too lazy to try it, I guess. Mostly too lazy to find out what to do with them!!!

Now, if you give me a seed that I can sprout in some dirt and watch it grow... watch out!!! That, I love.

 

[rjroubi]

This is great...thanks Sham and Kathryn for all the information. I really do hope sprouts are hearty because I have the brownest thumb on earth!!

Robin

 

[JAFitMama]

I recentyl have read about them too ,in one of the vegan cookbooks I picked up. It seems like it would be much less expensvie to sprout our own verses going to the nearest superstore to buy them. Hmmmm, this isgetting more interesting.

Judy "Likes2bfit"


If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.
Success is acheived by early preparation


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[mathgeek]

I'm thinking of giving it a shot sometime this weekend. If it doesn't work I'm only out a couple of seeds.

Kristy

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good

 

[kathryn]

>It seems like it would be much less
>expensvie to sprout our own verses going to the nearest
>superstore to buy them.

They are quite pricey when you buy them already sprouted.

I'm eyeing that automatic sprouter that the Sproutman sells (his pricing seems best), since I think one of the reasons I gave up sprouting was not being regular enough with rinsing and getting some mold on some of the harder-to-do sprouts (like garbanzos, I think? some of the larger beans, at any rate).

I had a humungous sprout salad for lunch! Yummy!