Easy Eats: DIY Sprouts

A sprout is the beginning stage of a seed growing into a vegetable.

Sprouts have lots of enzymes, protein and they add some much needed crunch and bulk to salads. Taste wise: they are very planty and sometimes bitter in a good way. When you purchase sprouts in the grocery store, they are usually old and slimy and stored on the top shelf of the produce aisle right next to the florescent light and the sprayers.

You can grow your own easily and cheaply. I know what you are thinking. I too had the same fear: if begin sprouting my own food, how long until I decide to grown out my arm pit hair and wear only hand loomed hemp? Relax, shave, visit Modcloth.com, it's not so involved, but it does take about 3- 4 days.

You will need: seeds to sprout (I got mine here: http://www.sproutpeople.com/),  a large Ball canning jar or two, a piece of screen to fit over the jar opening, water and a place to drain the jar(s) (I used a Pyrex loaf pan). Please do not buy chia seeds for this process. Chia seeds create a gel force-field around them when soaked; commonly they are used as egg substitutes in baking recipes. That gel force-field makes it impossible to drain the seeds and therefore impossible to sprout them in jars (they just get moldy).

Day one: place 2 tablespoons of seed in the jar, place the screen over the opening, screw the lid over the screen, rinse and drain the seeds a few times, fill the jar 3/4 full with water, go about your chosen activities.

Day two and three: (with the screen and lid in place) drain the jar, rinse the seeds, and let the jar lay on it's side diagonally so air can get to the seeds and excess water can drain, go about your chosen activities.

Day four: you should see plenty of green shoots, if you want longer shoots repeat the steps for days 2 and 3. If you are ready to eat them, eat them.

If you let them continue to grow past 4 days, it maybe difficult to get the sprouts out of the jar as the rapidly increase in volume.

You can add the sprouts to sandwiches, salads, soups, etc. I like to mix about 2 cups of sprouts with an avocado and sea salt and eat it as a dip with raw veggies. In the picture below, I have topped a bowl of grilled veggies with a mashed avocado and bunch or sprouts drizzled with lemon olive oil and sea salt. It was delicious and surprisingly filling!

Hoe Down... No Stock at the Market

This past weekend I went to three local farmer's markets. In a previous post, I gleefully exclaimed that I would frequent farmer's markets as organic produce delivery was expensive and a total veggie crap shoot.
I had dreams of frolicking with overall donning farmers, buying a truck load of fresh produce, singing while birds perched on my fingers. Instead, at all three markets, I found a row of tents hawking baked goods and one tiny tent of produce with limited quantity and variety. I was so completely disappointed. Even if I bought some of everything the veggie tent offered, I would still need produce from my local market to make it through the week. What a bust!

On the up side, I did get some delicious corn and string beans, the peaches were good and the blue berries were plentiful and not too expensive. There was an organic infused olive oil stand, organic coffee seller and a spice vendor that had some great products.

On the down side, it was more expensive than my usual market, the produce wasn't organic and it was in poor shape (bruised, ripe to over ripe). There were more baked goods for sale than any other type of product.

I eat large amounts of fruit (about 4-6 cups) and veggies (about 6 - 8 cups) per day, no bread or dairy, very limited processed foods and eggs and fish. It's kinda like feeding a captive manatee (they eat 15% of their body weight in vegetation per day).

Since I have stopped eating meat and bread, I have noticed that it is very difficult for me to feel full. Avocados are a huge part of my diet. I can consume huge amounts of produce, but without a little avocado, beans, nuts or hummus, I am ravenous an unsatisfied even though, logically, my stomach is full. The farmer's market did not have any options for someone like me.

Another lesson I learned, just because an item is purchased at a farmer's market, from a local provider, doesn't mean it's healthy. Even if it's vegan. I bought a vegan cupcake from a vendor. It was completely sugar! The baked goods I saw were no different from what could be found in a standard bakery. I had hoped for more variety and options like wheat free breads, alternatively sweetened products, vegan breads; maybe a healthier cookie made with almond flour and sweetened with stevia. The offerings were standard pies, cakes, tarts and breads.

Moderation is key. Artisan lard bread, even if it is stone ground, einkorn wheat made with lard and nitrate free cured pork from well loved and humanely dispatched pig, is in fact lard bread. Organic wine is still alcohol. Raw honey is still sugar. In the 1990's we had to learn that we could not consume boxes of Snackwells and Fat Free Entenmann's and lose weight. Now, we must keep in mind that place of purchase doesn't guarantee a product's nutritional validity. Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and farmer's markets still sell junk food despite theme, slogan or overalls.

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