Anyone grow your own sprouts?

[MamaChildress]

I have no idea if I am posting this is the correct place...
How in the world you do grow your own sprouts?    Where do you buy/find it?
I am new to the idea, but am willing to give it a try. Sounds pretty healthy and cheap. 

Thanks in advance!

[smithzonian]

I have no idea if I am posting this is the correct place...
How in the world you do grow your own sprouts?    Where do you buy/find it?
I am new to the idea, but am willing to give it a try. Sounds pretty healthy and cheap. 

Thanks in advance!

Goto www.sproutpeople.com

 

[MamaChildress]

Thanks! 

Does anyone know of a website where they show step by step the whole sprouting process?

I learn better by seeing. 

And this may be a stupid question, but in order to grow more sprouts after your first batch is finished... you need more seeds, right?
Like I said, I know nothing about sprouting! 

[BJ_BOBBI_JO]

I have also been wondering about how to properly grow sprouts. Ever since watching the TV serious called "Jericho" I have been curious about sprouts because that is something they survived off of after the terrorist attacks debilitated the country.

All I have ever done with sprouts is to accidentally grow them from my own neglect of the fruit/veggie. Like when I was preg I was always barfing and unable to do things like clean the fridge out so the grapefruits in there got old and started growing sprouts.

What spouts can we safely eat?

Can we eat the sprouts of all fruits and veggies or just some?

Can we eat them both raw and cooked?

Do they have just as much nutritional value as they would in their mature state?

[daisey]

I don't do sprouts to often but when I do I think ~~~'I really should eat these more often because they are so good'!!       My favorites are radish and alfalfa.  Just soak the seeds in warm water overnight.   In the morning rinse and drain.   I have a screen lid for my quart jars so it is easy to drain them.   Leave them upside down until the water is drained out then turn them over.  Rinse daily or sometimes twice a day with cool water and in a couple of days you have yummy sprouts.       One caution is that you use seeds that haven't been treated with anything.   I buy from a food co-op so don't have that concern.   

[skelliott2]

Another easy way to do sprouts is:  After soaking in a bowl overnight, put into a colander and rinse.  Put the colander over a plate to collect drips, cover with cheesecloth to keep out bugs, and leave it alone.  Rinse 2-3 times a day.  This is easier to me that messing with a screen topped jar, and I can make a lot more sprouts this way.  The only problem is that the seeds need to be bigger than the colander holes. 

[smithzonian]

Thanks! 

Does anyone know of a website where they show step by step the whole sprouting process?

I learn better by seeing. 

And this may be a stupid question, but in order to grow more sprouts after your first batch is finished... you need more seeds, right?
Like I said, I know nothing about sprouting! 

Don't know of a visual site.

But yes, you need seeds with each batch of sprouts.
The sprouts are little sprouted seeds/beans.

The easiest to start with will be lentils. Start with a small amt, like a couple tablespoons at first.
I soak them in filtered water in a glass jar overnight.

Drain them and rinse them with cool filtered water in a.m.

The glass jar needs to be covered.  I bought sprouting lids from a healthfood store, but I wonder if cheesecloth and a rubber-band would suffice as well.

After you drain them well, you need to tilt jar upside down at an angle so that the seed can breathe and drain at the same time.  I just lay it on it's side/upside down in a shallow bowl.  It's kind of at a 45 degree angle.

You'll need to rinse them with cool filtered water a few times a day.  Typically Lentils will begin to sprout in a couple days.



Keep

[smithzonian]

I have also been wondering about how to properly grow sprouts. Ever since watching the TV serious called "Jericho" I have been curious about sprouts because that is something they survived off of after the terrorist attacks debilitated the country.

All I have ever done with sprouts is to accidentally grow them from my own neglect of the fruit/veggie. Like when I was preg I was always barfing and unable to do things like clean the fridge out so the grapefruits in there got old and started growing sprouts.

What spouts can we safely eat?

Can we eat the sprouts of all fruits and veggies or just some?

Can we eat them both raw and cooked?

Do they have just as much nutritional value as they would in their mature state?

Yes, sprout contain all the life/nutrition needed to grow a plant.  It activates the bean/seed into this little plant that you get to eat.
Think of it, a whole plants worth of nutrition in this little dormant seed/bean you get to activate and eat. However, I don't know if it's as much as a mature plant. 

I like to use mung beans and make bean sprouts to add to stir fry's.  Now, you'll lose some of the benefits by not eating it raw, but with proper stir fry, you should barely even cook the vegetables anyway.

I've never heard of sprouting fruit seeds.  But I do like to eat the seeds of fruit (especially apricot seeds) for their vitamin B17 and Laetril (cancer fighting nutrients). I just eat them raw, not sprouted.

[MamaChildress]

Thanks! 

Does anyone know of a website where they show step by step the whole sprouting process?

I learn better by seeing. 

And this may be a stupid question, but in order to grow more sprouts after your first batch is finished... you need more seeds, right?
Like I said, I know nothing about sprouting! 

Don't know of a visual site.

But yes, you need seeds with each batch of sprouts.
The sprouts are little sprouted seeds/beans.

The easiest to start with will be lentils. Start with a small amt, like a couple tablespoons at first.
I soak them in filtered water in a glass jar overnight.

Drain them and rinse them with cool filtered water in a.m.

The glass jar needs to be covered.  I bought sprouting lids from a healthfood store, but I wonder if cheesecloth and a rubber-band would suffice as well.

After you drain them well, you need to tilt jar upside down at an angle so that the seed can breathe and drain at the same time.  I just lay it on it's side/upside down in a shallow bowl.  It's kind of at a 45 degree angle.

You'll need to rinse them with cool filtered water a few times a day.  Typically Lentils will begin to sprout in a couple days.



Keep

Thank you for being so helpful!
Another question, how long do you let them grow/how big should they grow till they're ready to eat?

[smithzonian]

I just let them get a short "tail".  I don't usually let them grow too much.

If they green, I just start eating them right when they first show "green".  I don't let them go until they develop a root-that would be too long.  Once they have a short tail I usually throw them into the fridge to stop the growing. 

I suppose it's up to your preference.

When looking at sprouts at the store, the alfalfa sprouts are green, but the mung bean (standard bean sprout) is not.

I wonder if that sproutpeople.com would have more insight 'cause I've only sprouted lentils, mung and alfalfa.  (And I'm still new at it myself)


Sorry if that wasn't much help. 

[MamaChildress]

Oh, you are being very helpful to me! Thank you for answering my questions. 

[SC]

This may help with some of your questions:
http://www.urbanexod.us/discuss/index.php/topic,8463.0.html
Also, there are some pictures of (and a description of how to) sprouting beans here:
http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,2836.150.html
Scroll down to reply #174

[MamaChildress]

Thank you SC! I appreciate your photo teaching. 
I get it now! 

Now for another question....
How do you cook sprouts? What dishes do you put them in? 
I assumed you just ate them raw in salads, on sandwiches, etc.

I didn't know you could sprout regular dried pinto beans (like from Wal Mart) and then make a chili out of that? (sorry, I told ya I'm clueless)

[naturalgirl]

Thank you SC! I appreciate your photo teaching. 
I get it now! 

Now for another question....
How do you cook sprouts? What dishes do you put them in? 
I assumed you just ate them raw in salads, on sandwiches, etc.

I didn't know you could sprout regular dried pinto beans (like from Wal Mart) and then make a chili out of that? (sorry, I told ya I'm clueless)

Cooking sprouts usually takes much less time than the original grain does. Try 1/4th of the regular time. You can basically eat them in anything, but we like them best raw in salads, cooked in oriental meals, or cooked and then stuffed along with cabbage and ground meat in our runzas.

Anther few ideas is:
-Cook, then add butter, a little vinegar, and salt/pepper it
-Cook, blend in food processor, then add to vegtable stew
-Sprinkle on pizza
-Use instead or along with lettuce in taco meals
-Look into making sprouted bread
-Stir fry

One thing we like about sprouts is that it is a wonderful supplement to greens in the winter when lettuce prices go up in the store.

SC also had a great post about sprouting beans like pintos http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,2836.120.html,  but be forwarned, inorganic beans may not sprout because of preservatives they apply or use in growing for that very purpose, in my opinion. We have a bag of pintoes that mom tried several times to sprout to no avail.

Happy sprouting!

[YoopreMama]

I saw there were a lot of sprouting, sprout, and sprouts threads.  I'll stick w/ this general one. 

What if you forget to rinse in a period greater than 24 hours in the summer?  After the initial soak and rinse?

I have a salad blend (alfalfa, radish, mung and clover) that I soaked, rinsed and was supposed to rinse again after 24 hours, but it's getting closer to 48 by the time I recalled.  They did sprout on the frig top.  Any possible bacteria, too?  I'm using a Sproutamo product, Easy Sprout:  http://www.sproutamo.com/.     It's suppose to be a no rinse deal.

[called2Bhelp]

You can also sprout organic lentils. We love these on a salad or just eat topped with some olive oil and apple cider vinegar, add a little salt and pepper, Yummy. You sprout these the same way you do any other seeds.
They have to be organic or they will not sprout. I have also sprouted OG
sunflower seeds these are really good on salads. I love sprouts. 

Molli.

[HappyWifey]

I just made some sprout bags a week or so ago and they are wonderful and definitely the way to go for sprouting! They are very easy to make too!

We sprout all kinds of things, lentils, beans, broccoli, cabbage, alfalfa, wheat, barley, sunflower seeds.....

My two favorite are sunflower seeds when their leaves have just opened up fully, and alfalfa sprouts.

I have sprouted lentils and beans to add as a topping onto beans soups, very yummy! Don't cook your sprouts though because then the only thing you will have accomplished by sprouting them is making them easier to digest.

My favorite way to have sprouts is sprinkled on a salad or in a sandwich. Especially a sandwich with pesto sauce, alfalfa sprouts, dijon mustard, tomatoes, roast beef, and avocado. oooh yummy!

[BJ_BOBBI_JO]

Give me some ideas on what all to sprout other then beans.

I heard clover seeds are safe for sprouting.

What else?

[HappyWifey]

I mentioned a few in my post like wheat, barley... I would try anything you had on hand that is sproutable! I have tried corn, that didn't work out to well but a lot of others worked out great and were quite yummy.

[daisey]

I just made some sprout bags a week or so ago and they are wonderful and definitely the way to go for sprouting! They are very easy to make too!

We sprout all kinds of things, lentils, beans, broccoli, cabbage, alfalfa, wheat, barley, sunflower seeds.....

My two favorite are sunflower seeds when their leaves have just opened up fully, and alfalfa sprouts.

I have sprouted lentils and beans to add as a topping onto beans soups, very yummy! Don't cook your sprouts though because then the only thing you will have accomplished by sprouting them is making them easier to digest.

My favorite way to have sprouts is sprinkled on a salad or in a sandwich. Especially a sandwich with pesto sauce, alfalfa sprouts, dijon mustard, tomatoes, roast beef, and avocado. oooh yummy!

Can you tell me about your sprout bags?   I have never seen them..........how do you use them?  Thanks.

[healthyinOhio]

Can you tell me about your sprout bags?   I have never seen them..........how do you use them?  Thanks.

I bought one at the health food store. It looks like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Sproutmans-Sprout-Bag-Sproutman-Hemp/dp/B0014ZNIRW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1264601560&sr=8-1

But I'm sure you can make your own like Laura did. What kind of fabric did you use, Laura?

[HappyWifey]

I used some material I found in an old medical kit. The kit had some material for slings that was hermetically sealed. I cut that into a rectangle, folded it in half, and sewed up the remaining seams. Then  at the mouth of the bag (while inside out) I folded the edge over some twine, and sewed that. Then all I had to do was tie the two ends together and flip it right side out. Put some seeds that have been soaked for several hours in the bag, and every couple of hours just rinse and hang over the sink. It's super easy!