Growing sprouts is easy once you know how and get the hang of it. They're mostly grown from grains, seeds and legumes. However, not all grains, seeds and legumes can be sprouted.
This guide will walk you through the steps of growing sprouts, and it's a great way to include your family in a fun, healthy practice.
What Are Sprouts?
Sprouts are the colourful plant-like growth which forms when certain foods are soaked in a small amount of water. Soaking begins a natural process called germination. Nature uses seeds, grain, nuts, and legumes to grow new plants, and it all begins with a germination process.
When these foods become wet, it catalyses growth enzymes to begin a chemical process for the growth of a new plant. This is called a sprout, and sprouts are highly dense with enzymes, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.
In addition to being a living, enzyme–rich food, sprouts have many vitamins and minerals. By sprouting these foods, the vitamin and mineral content increases.
For instance, the vitamin A content in sprouts doubles, the B vitamins will increase 5 – 10 times, and vitamin C will also increase.
Once sprouted, the protein in grains, seeds, and legumes also become more digestible, and therefore more bio-available. This is especially important for those who are vegetarians.
What Can Be Sprouted?
- Beans and Legumes: lentils, peas, chick peas, mung beans, navy beans, pinto beans, black beans, lima beans, adzuki beans
- Seeds: alfalfa, clover, fenugreek
- Cereal Grains: oat, corn, rice, barley, wheat
- Pseudo Cereal Grains: quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat
- Oil Seeds: sesame, sunflower, flaxseed
- Nuts: almond, hazelnut
- Brassica Family Seeds: broccoli, cabbage, watercress, mustard, radish, daikon, arugula, mizuna, turnip, tatsoi
Certain grains and legumes can be poisonous, harmful or just plain unable to sprout and should be avoided: soy and kidney beans, white rice, oat grouts, tomato, potato, paprika, eggplant, and rhubarb.
Most sprouted beans and legumes have hemagglutinins, which inhibit the absorption of fats and proteins. Hemagglutinins, however, are destroyed by cooking, so these sprouts are best cooked in curries, soups, stir fries or made into a dip or pate.
Steps For Growing Sprouts
- Rinse the seeds, nuts, legumes or grains. This removes any debris or mucilaginous material that may have grown if the food was in contact with any moisture.
- To germinate, cover and soak seeds, nuts or grain in water for 20 min to 12 hours, depending on the size and density of the food. Once soaked for a sufficient time they are ready to sprout.
- To sprout, rinse the germinated seeds, legumes and grain. Then add enough water that they are wet but not covered. You want some air contact at this point, but only enough water to prevent drying out. This combination of water and air will begin the sprouting phase, and you will begin to see bits of white and green begin to form. Some seeds can even sprout beautiful colours like pinks and purples. Be sure to continue to rinse the seeds, grain or legumes 2 to 4 times daily until you are happy with the amount of sprouting. Then move them into the fridge to slow the process down.
Soaking increases the water content in the seed, legume or grain bringing them out of their dormant state called quiescence.
It is important to drain, rinse and add fresh water two to four times daily to ensure negative bacterial growth will not occur.
Each seed, grain or legume has its own time it takes to sprout. This is variable depending on conditions such as air temperature, water temperature and size of the seed, grain or legume. Generally, the warmer the air temperature, the faster the spouts will germinate and grow. Refrigeration will slow and even halt the sprouting process.
The following is a reference guide for how long to soak legumes, seeds and grains for.
Nutritional Information
| nut and seed sprouting chart |
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|---|---|---|---|
| an easy guide to follow for successful seed sprouting |
|||
| type of seed | quantity | soaking time | growing time |
| beans (all) | 1 cup | 10-12 hours | 3-5 days |
| chickpea | 1 cup | 12 hours | 3 days |
| fenugreek | 4 tbs. | 6 hours | 3-5 days |
| lentils (all) | 1 cup | 6-8 hours | 3-4 days |
| mung bean | 1 cup | 8-10 hours | 3-5 days |
| nuts (all) | 1 cup | 24 hours | 1 day |
| rye berries | 1 cup | 8-10 hours | 3-4 days |
| pumpkin seeds | 1 cup | 8 hours | 1-2 days |
| sunflower seeds | 1 cup | 8 hours | 2 days |
| soft wheat berries | 1 cup | 10-12 hours | 2-3 days |
Using Sprouts
Sprouts are great on salads, on sandwiches, or blended in health shakes. There is just no wrong way of eating them.
One exception is that they are best eaten raw. Cooking them can neutralize their beneficial enzymes. The exception to this is the beans and legumes listed above. These are best eaten cooked.
