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!