Sprouts - Grow Your Own

If you haven’t tried to grown your own sprouts at home you should consider giving it a try. I started sprouting last winter and did it all winter and spring until the local produce started coming in. Now that the weather is growing cold I started sprouting again late last week.

All you need to make sprouts at home is a few mason jars, cheesecloth, rubber bands, filtered water and seeds or legumes to sprout. The process is the same no matter what you are sprouting.

Start with a very clean quart jar and either 2 tablespoons of small seeds (radish, clover, alfalfa, broccoli) or ¼ cup of beans or lentils (garbanzo beans, lentils, mung beans) and cover them with plenty of filtered water. Allow the seeds, legumes, or beans to soak for between 8 to 12 hours.

After the time has elapsed completely drain the water from the jars and sit the jars on the counter (out of direct sunlight). Rinse the seeds/beans/legumes at least twice a day and drain the water completely. Continue rinsing and draining at least twice a day until the sprouts have leaves that are beginning to green. At this point you need to put the sprouts in light so the leaves will develop chlorophyll.

Now refrigerate the sprouts until you are ready to eat them.

If you are wondering why you should grow your own sprouts I can think of a number of reasons. Growing your own sprouts is ridiculously cheap. A mere two tablespoons of alfalfa seeds will fill a quart jar in about 5 days. Those seeds might cost 25 cents. You will pay $2 for the sprouts at the grocery story. Additionally growing your own sprouts ensures that the sprouts are fresh and that means they probably have more nutrition. When you grow your own sprouts you can decide with variety you want (not what is in the store) and can ensure the seeds are organic. I found that we ate many more sprouts when I started growing them last year. Last, growing your own sprouts is fun.

If you like sprouting and decided to do it regularly they sell plastic lids that fit on a wide mouth quart jar and allow the water to drain easily. The lids come with varying drainage sizes. I have also read that some people use fiberglass screen (like for windows) to cover the top of the jars. I find cheesecloth works just as well as the plastic lids.

If you like to have sprouts on your sandwiches, salads or in Asian food why not try to grow them yourself at home. I purchase my seeds at our local health food store from the bulk area.

Product Review: Ezekiel 4:9 – Sprouted Wraps

Product Review: Ezekiel 4:9 – Sprouted Wraps

Have you seen the Ezekiel products in the freezer section of your grocery store and wondered what they were all about? Sprouted grain breads have been very popular at health food stores for a long time. I remember sprouted grains at Trader Joe’s about 10 years ago. The early versions of sprouted baked goods were edible, but not very tasty. If you haven’t tasted sprouted bread in a while, it is time to give it another chance.

The Ezekiel product is available at most major grocery stores in the freezer section. It is frozen because it contains no preservatives. The lack of chemicals is a big plus for me. I have been baking with sprouted flour very successfully for well over a year, but decided to try these wraps late last week when I was short of time. The texture is firm, but pliable. The tortillas did not break or crack when filled and rolled. The tortilla flavor did not overwhelm the filling I used (Chickpea and Nut Salad). Overall, we liked these tortillas much more than we expected.

I have been reading about the benefits or sprouted grains for a long time. According to the Ezekiel package, sprouting grains releases nutrients that are contained within for the purpose of propagation. The company further explains that the nutrients and beneficial enzymes that are released by sprouting are thought to increase the nutrition of the grain and make it easier for the body to process. The package information does coincide with other things I have read. I haven’t thoroughly researched this topic to confirm it has sound scientific basis. That research is on my list of things to do. I will post the findings of my research as soon as it is finished. For now I buy sprouted grains (regardless of the benefit, or not) because the price differential isn't substantial enough to not buy them.

The ingredient list from the package is listed as:

Organic sprouted wheat, filtered water, organic sesame seeds, organic sprouted soybeans, organic sprouted barley, organic sprouted millet, organic sprouted lentils, organic sprouted spelt, sea salt

Nutritional Information (per tortilla) from the package:

Calories – 150
Calories from fat – 30

Total Fat – 3.5g
Saturated Fat – 0g
Trans Fat – 0g
Cholesterol – 0mg
Sodium 140mg
Potassium – 150mg
Total Carbohydrate – 24g
Dietary Fiber – 5g
Sugars – 0g
Protein – 6g

Comments:

Both my husband and I were pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture of these wraps.
We would recommend this product if you don’t have the time or inclination to make your own and want an organic sprouted whole grain wrap for a quick sandwich.

Cooking Chickpeas

When I have time I prefer to soak all my dried beans overnight or longer. I have read many articles that discuss the health benefits of sprouting your beans (starting the germination process) and the corresponding increase in bioavailability of the nutrients in the beans due to this sprouting. Even if you don’t believe the beans are more healthful if they are soaked overnight it dramatically reduces the cooking time. I soaked my beans for 7 hours and they were fully cooked in 20 minutes.

I like to make a large batch of beans when I cook so that they can do double duty. If I don’t have anything planned for the extra beans immediately I put them in a freezer Ziploc bag and freeze them to use later.

Cooked Chickpeas
Makes a little more than 6 cups (equivalent to approximately 4 – 15 ounce cans)

Ingredients:

2 cups of dried chickpeas
8 cups of cold water, to soak
8 additional cups of cold water, to cook

Directions:

Spill the dried chickpeas onto a half sheet pan and look for any broken or discolored beans and discard those. I also check with pebbles or dirt while they are on the tray. Rinse the beans in a large colander and place a in a large container with a lid. Cover with 8 cups of water and allow to sit in the refrigerator for 7 or 8 hours.

After the beans have soaked drain them of their soaking liquid and rinse. Put the chickpeas into a heavy bottomed pan (I use a Le Creuset enameled dutch oven) and turn the heat to medium high. My beans were tender in 20 minutes. Your cooking time will depend on the age of your dried beans. I find if you buy the beans at a health food store you are more likely to get “freshly dried” beans that cook much quicker. Mine were so fresh they had begun to sprout tails after 7 hours.

Drain the beans of the cooking liquid (reserving liquid if you are making hummus) and allow beans to cool.

Comments:

Cooking your own chickpea from dried is so much cheaper than canned beans. I paid $1.89 for the last pound of organic chickpeas I purchased. (a little under 12 cents an ounce) It takes about 11 ounces of dried chickpeas to make 2 cups or 6 cups of cooked chickpeas. Somehow I don't think I could buy 4 cans of organic chickpeas for $1.30. The canned beans I measured have ranged from 1-1/2 to 1-2/3 cups of drained beans in a 15 ounce can.

I also like that my chickpeas have no added salt. It is also nice to know they have no preservatives, and that I can cook them to the exact level of tenderness that I desire.