SPROUTING CHALLENGE

I’ll never forget the day I went to my friend’s house and saw perfect green shoots growing in a small dome in her kitchen- “what in the heck is that?” I asked her, she proudly said “that’s my spouts!”… If you don’t know what sprouting is, let’s get personal as I explain and share with you my sprouting challenge!

WHAT IS SPROUTING?

Sprouting is like a superfood baby garden you can benefit from for pennies all year long. It’s taking a seed, germinating it and eating it several days later when that sprout is still in its baby state.

Think of it this way, I was a little firecracker as a baby- strong like an ox, so if you take organic broccoli or organic radish seeds and sprout them for eating, you’re literally eating that veggie when it’s still a wee baby; when it’s healthiest, strongest and most packed full of nutrients- hence a DIY superfood you can grow and eat all year long! MAGIC!

HOW SPROUTING WORKS?

Sprouting involves soaking legumes, nuts/seeds, grains in water for a few hours- half a day or so… After the germination process starts, rinse-off seeds, lower water levels and EVERYDAY rinse your sprouts under water (morning and night). Soon you’re germinated seeds will have long shoots and become living baby plants. When the shoots are approximately ¼ inch in height- start munching away! Fresh sprouts are great for salads, fancy garnishes, or a beyond healthy snack.

HOW TO SPROUT?

There’s different ways you can sprout – you can go the DIY route and create a sprouter out of a mason jar and cheese cloth via the Pinterest method HERE but keep in mind this is a hack, not the best I found personally…

But if you wanna be a champion sprouter you need the “piece de resistance” – SPROUTING DOME made by the good folks at www.SproutingWorld.com

Yummy chickpea sprouts growing in SproutingWorld.com dome

This spouting dome works so amazing, I literally drove over 2hrs to get one at a farming supply store. I’ve had it for a few years now at least, I can’t live without it!

TYPES OF SPROUTING SEEDS?

Try to always buy “organic” sprouting seeds- you can easily buy a bunch of different kinds including mixes, online at SproutingWorld.com. The cost for seeds is really cheap for what they yield (typically between $2 to $8USD for a bag- depending on size and types of seeds)

The main types of sprouting seeds you can easily buy in any health store:

• Alfalfa

• Broccoli

• Chick Peas

• Radish

• Mung Beans

• Lentils

• Mustard

• Green Peas or Snow Peas

• Clover

• Fenugreek

STARTING YOUR SPROUTING SEEDS (PRE-SOAKING DIRECTIONS)

To get your sprouting seeds to start growing, the first step is soaking them in water for a certain period of time.

Read the directions on your seed bags but if you need a quick reference- this is a great start:

(If you want to sprout chia seeds – soak approx. ½ cup in water for 6 to 8 hours & eat immediately)

After you’ve done the pre-soaking it’s REALLY important you rinse-off your seeds well under a tap… One person best explained it to me by saying the after-birth is in that water… So you need to get rid of that nasty water and rinse seeds clean for them to grow properly.

Now that your seeds are well rinsed, put a small layer of fresh water at the bottom of your sprouting dome, enough to touch the seeds but not so much that seeds are floating.

Every morning and night, rinse your sprouts under water and refresh the water in the bottom of the sprouting dome. It ranges from a few days to a week, and voila you have sprouts! It’s so much fun to watch them grown, healthy for the whole family and a very affordable superfood you yourself can create!

SPROUTING CHALLENGE – DAY 1

It’s so easy I’m embarking on a 14 day sprouting challenge to share my daily sprouting experience with you all!

I’m going to sprout alfalfa and green peas for this sprouting challenge in my SproutingWorld.com dome. I’ll take pics of my progress all week and keep you posted! Today is officially DAY 1 of my sprouting challenge, so I’m currently soaking my pea and alfalfa seeds:

Since they have different soaking times I have them soaking in different bowls.

COME BACK TOMORROW I’LL KEEP YOU POSTED ON THE NEXT STEPS! Sprouting Challenge full speed-ahead!

RESOURCES for this article:

http://www.sproutingworld.com (Thanks for the great pics too!)

http://www.naturalpapa.com/food/sprouting/how-to-grow-sprouts-at-home/

Follow along folks!

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