FYI: Sprouting (almost) Everything

(mustard seed sprouts before they are hulled)

Mike and I have been eating a lot of sprouts lately, those deliciously healthy stringy plants, grown from all sorts of seeds and legumes. Recently Mike purchased a sprouting container From The Sprout People as well as a large amount of different seeds including clover, alfalfa, mustard, onion, dill, fenugreek, radish, garlic, celery, tatsoi, etc... Though you can make a sprouting container out of a mason jar, by simply replacing the sealing lid with a sprouting screen and securing it with the threaded ring of the lid... this container was cheap enough and provides a bit of shelter from the light, being a pale white plastic.

WHAT TO SPROUT?

Sprouting most legumes and seeds can be done very easily, some take more time than others to reach a full sprout, but the general time ranges between 3 and 8 days for one batch which can increase in volume from seed any where from 2x to 10x.

In order to sprout anything it must be raw. Any cooking of a seed or legume kills the potential life inside and disables the processes of growth. By sprouting, one creates living plants. Though You can sprout most legumes and seeds, some are toxic unless cooked after sprouting (black beans) or should be entirely avoided (kidney beans)... you should make sure the things you sprout are not toxic to eat raw before you sprout them!

So far we have sprouted (see picture below):
Red Lentils
Clover Seeds
Mustard seeds
Fenugreek Seeds
Dill Seeds

(This picture is about 8 oz of sprouts which came from 2 Tbsp of seeds. It's massive!)

How to Make the Magic...

Check out this site for really precise instructions:

THE SPROUT PEOPLE

"Why sprout?" you ask...

1. It is very easy and not time consuming to sprout on your own. There is no "green thumb" requirements, just some attention.
2. Fresh Veggies all year round! Depending on the size of your operation, there is no need to step into any sort of outdoor environment.
3. Health benefits= immense!; Alkalizing in your stomach helping you digest, all of the vitamins and proteins increase 300%-1400% from the seed (which contains the instructions for that growth...i.e. a tiny sunflower seed can grow into a 10 foot thriving plant), a nearly complete food, like live foods in general they are enzyme inhibitor neutralizing as well as phytic acid nuetralizing which is a problem in the digestion of many legumes and seed, soaking the legumes and seeds lowers the fat content of the plant by breaking down dense veggie proteins into simpler amino acids.
4. The Sprout People give this Nutritional inforamtion about sprouts: “Nutritional info: Vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K
   Calcium, Carbohydrates, Chlorophyll, Iron, Magnesium, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc
   All Amino Acids
   Trace Elements
   Protein: up to 35%”