Saturday, March 10, 2012

sprouts, sprouts everywhere!



sprouts (also called sprouted seeds) are delicious! and nutritious! and a great way to keep eating live, healthy food during the winter. here are some interesting facts about sprouts:

"Seeds and grains contain a wonderful store of nutrients and are an excellent source of enzymes.
Nature has protected the enzymes in dry seeds, nuts, grains and legumes by placing enzyme inhibitors in them. Enzyme inhibitors prevent the enzymes from being activated until the seed is germinated. Unfortunately this also prevents us from receiving the benefit of the plant enzymes to aid us in the digestion of the seeds. Germination neutralizes the inhibitors and releases the enzymes. Many people are sensitive to these inhibitors and display allergic reactions such as headaches. Some have difficulty digesting the seeds and nuts, grains or legumes and suffer indigestion. These digestive problems can be prevented by soaking the dry seed and beginning the germination process. Sprouting makes the vital enzymes fully available for our body's use and eliminates the possibility of allergic reactions to the enzyme inhibitors.

Many seeds also contain phytic acid which significantly reduces the absorption of calcium, iron, zinc and other minerals into the blood stream causing loss of important minerals. When the seeds are sprouted, such losses become insignificant. Several other important functions are served in sprouting. The nutritional value is greatly enhanced, even quadrupled in many cases. In addition, starches and proteins are converted into simple sugars and amino acids which are much more easily absorbed and utilized by the body. In the case of nuts and seeds, the fat content is reduced by as much as 30-40% as it is consumed or energy in growing the sprout or converted into fatty acids.

The high concentration of vitamins, minerals and amino acids (proteins), RNA and DNA in sprouted foods have a regenerative effect on the human body. This concentrated combination of nutrients is available only in the live cell food." (http://www.homeopathyone.com/live_sprouted_foods.htm)

pretty interesting stuff, eh?

back in the city, when jambaloney was doing regular garbage-picking on garbage days, and hitting all of the garage sales early in the morning, he found this beauty!

that's an EasyGreen Automatic Sprouter that had never been used and came with the manual, for $35 – he haggled the price down from $50. he also got the 5 trays that go with the sprouting machine - see below with seeds in them ready for sprouting:



sorry, that pic came in sideways?!?! and here's a pic of one full year's worth of seeds, that we had back in the city, that cost about $23 in total:



here is the sprouter doing it's thing - regularly and automatically misting the sprouts:



the EasyGreen sprouter that we got for such a bargain is a very expensive piece of equipment – however, if you are interested in purchasing an automatic sprouting machine – we highly recommend it! there are other smaller, automatic types out there as well – such as this one - and non-automatic models such as this one. those are just a few examples – i have done some searching on the net for sprouters and there are a bazillion different kinds – and in all price ranges.

here are the sprouts after 4 days - full of nutrition and ready to be eaten:

sprouts are great in sandwiches, soups and salads. however, we tend to just eat them by the handful! we love sprouts!

another thing is that I found a bazillion sites that talk about growing sprouts in mason jars! i like DIY’ers who figure out ways to do things on the cheap! go here , or here, or here for more information. just google sprouts and mason jars and you will find many, many more sites out there that can teach you the step-by-step basics of growing your own sprouts in mason jars – i haven’t tried it in mason jars but there are so many people out there doing it – it can’t be that hard right?

our sprouter hadn't seen the light of day for a year now but we finally dug it out, cleaned it up and started using it! oh, and one last thing - any kind of seed that you may have laying around can be used for sprouting - you don't have to buy special "sprout" seeds. if you have old seeds - use them for sprouting! some seeds taste better sprouted than others, but you can be the judge of what seeds you like best!

25 comments:

  1. OW! That is a very nice machine. You included some very good information about nutrition and health that I was not aware of at all. When you say "any seeds," this does not include any seed meant to be put in the earth, right? Some of them have some sort of chemical on them, not sure what.

    I sprouted once and reported it on my blog, very impressed with my success in a jar and with kidney beans or something. It is a huge bean....ack...and hens hated them, too. I just did the wrong bean for me and hens.

    What are in all those containers, the seed storage for sprouting? I know I like alfalfa sprouts, but don't know what else is tasty to eat. Oh, I bought lentils and have never sprouted those.

    The jars work fine, but your method of trays is best for getting them to the green stage. Hens need green growth to put nutrition in their bodies and in turn in the eggs we eat--omega 6, especially.

    Exciting post!

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    1. In James Stevens' book, 'Making the Best of Basics', he mentions toxins in some beans when they are sprouted. He suggests to steam them lightly to kill the toxins. Guess what beans? Kidney. Some others too.

      Maybe you and the girls were tasting the toxins and your bodies were saying, 'No Way', via your taste buds. Kudos for trusting what your body said. You were smart and listened.

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  2. thanks for the thoughtful comment, PracticalP! when i say "any seed" i mean any seed that is organic and GMO-free - which is the only kind of seed we have! any seed can be sprouted - it's all just a matter of taste!

    kidney beans are not so tastey when sprouted - but like any sprouted seed they are still full of life and nutrition! dried chickpeas are delicious when sprouted!

    in the containers are alfalfa, radish, red clover, mung bean and several other kind of beans. i like all kinds of beans sprouted - even kidney beans - bahahahah!

    the easy green sprouter is a joy to have as there is no rinsing, etc. involved because it does all of that on it's own. and even though some seeds are supposed to take 7-12 days to sprout and grow, we find that using the easy green, all seeds sprout and grow to approx. 3 inches in about 4 days.

    i am very glad that you enjoyed this post, dear friend. xox!

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  3. I don't care about the health factors (well actually I do), I just love the taste of sprouts. We eat a lot of mung bean sprouts (and cook with the mung beans themselves) and alfalfa sprouts.

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    1. Ed - i hear you about the health factors - i mean i really care about the benefits - but the sprouts themselves are just so good to eat! i'm glad that you eat and cook with them, too!

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  4. We haven't started sprouting yet here on the farm, but I have given it some thought. Figure it's a good way to get green nutrients in the dead of winter. Curious though, what types of beans do you keep to sprout?

    Also Kymber, I did end up foraying into the blogging world and have linked you. Please check us out =)http://bethofredbarnfarm.blogspot.com/

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    1. Beth - i am so glad that you started a blog - i can't wait to hear of the adventures of you, the Grey Knight and Bear! sprouts are an excellent source of vitamins during the winter, as well as an excellent source of live, raw food all throughout the year! i've tried sprouting just about every kind of bean known to man - kidney beans, navy beans, baking beans, scarlet runners, lazy housewife, etc. - some of them are tastier than others but to be honest - i pretty much like any kind of bean or seed sprouted.

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  5. I am surprised the Mrs. doesn't try and get us eating more sprouts around here. Good post Kymber.

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    1. thanks PioneerP. my posts aren't usually informative the way yours always are - so it means a lot coming from you!

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  6. One word....MEAT...Red, White it don't matter.

    Hey what ever makes you happy, outside of Jam or the Hot tub....hehehe

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    1. bahahahaha! we love our meat around here, Rob, buddy - but we love our sprouts too! they really are delicious! try some, my friend - with meat - bahahahahah!

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  7. Kymber, you will NOT believe me when I say that just yesterday I was thinking to myself that it was too bad your post on sprouting from NSPN was gone because I would love to learn more about sprouting! And then today I saw this post! NOT kidding! lol

    I've tried the mason jar method without much luck. I don't know if it was the method or the seeds I choose. I did quinoa because it's the only grain that is a complete protein. We eat it steamed all the time, and the idea of sprouting it really excited me. But, it tasted awful. lol

    Maybe in June when you come you can bring your sprouter and stay 4 days instead of 2 so we can play with it :-)

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  8. Sue - do you still have administrator rights for the NSPN? if so, all of the posts - yours and mine - are still there! if not, and there is a post that you are wanting - let me know and i will copy it into an email for you. i don't know why they shut down all of the posts on the different province networks but i must admit that it bugs me something fierce. there was a lot of time put into those posts - think of Scarecrow's posts for example - and then there were our posts that might not have been as in depth as Scarecrow's - but we had some darn fine posts too. anyway, enough of that.

    i love quinoa too but have never tried sprouting it. some stuff just doesn't taste as good as other stuff when sprouted. it's all a matter of taste. apparently alfalfa, red clover and mung beans do well using the mason jar method.

    when we come visit and you come visit we'll all play with the sprouter - bahahahahah!

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  9. Thanks for the sprout links! Gotta try the mason jar thing.

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    1. oh Craig - give it a try - i know that you will love it!

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  10. Your sprouting machine pics make me think that the trouble I had with the mason jar method last year was just too many beans. I had roots three times as long as the bean sprouts. Thanks for inspiring me to give it another go!

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    1. oh Wendy - that means the world coming from you - thanks so much, my dear friend!

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  11. Do you eat the bean and sprouts or just the sprouts? Do I need to pull beans from sprouts? I must admit that I never examined alfalfa sprouts, I just ate them.

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    1. PracticalP - some people bother with pulling the seeds/beans off but we eat the whole of it - bean/seed and sprout. i love alfalfa sprouts too - i love them all actually - bahahahah!

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  12. Sprouted some mung beans the other week using the mason jar method, but haven't done any lately. Now that pa-in-law is eating again, I should start some more. Didn't want to get some started and have to throw them away, because of a possible sudden trip south for a funeral.

    Practical Parsimony,
    With the bean sprouts, check to make sure the type of bean is safe to eat raw. (As previously mentioned kidney beans are toxic unless cooked.) With the safe to eat raw kind just rinse off the outer seed casings that split and fell off during the sprouting process, if you don't want to eat those. The bean ends with the little baby leaves are fine to eat; you would loose a lot of the nutrition and probably also go a bit batty if you had to remove them.

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  13. Mrs. S - glad that the mason jar method works for you and i love mung bean sprouts - nice and big and crunchy! maybe you can do a post on your blog about how you do it using the mason jar method - it seems like people would be interested!

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  14. Ha ha your passion for sprouts makes me smile. :) Actually your passion for life makes me smile.

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  15. Joey - you have no idea how much that means! thank you so much, dear buddy! xox to you always!

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  16. And my response to this post is "Why yes, that is a green thingie in my teeth!" I love, love fresh sprouts~and your sprouting bin is AMAZING!!

    Oh I am a munching sprout fool...how cool is that?

    Off to grab a handful to wash down my raw snap peas breakfast!!
    Jennifer

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  17. Jennifer, buddy - you and me are both sprout munching fools - bahahahah! i love to just go and get a handful several times a day. i loves me some sprouts as you obviously do, too. great minds and all that, me darlin!

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