Thursday, February 05, 2009

Sprouts!

Yes, as I indicated yesterday, I'm growing my own sprouts. Lentils and quinoa at the moment. Lentils for salads and wraps, quinoa for homemade raw crackers. I love sprouts! They're tasty, nutritious and cheap. You also don't need a fancy set up to grow them. Here's what I did:

I bought some mason jars at Michael's, because that was the only source I had:











Also at Michael's, I bought some of that plastic needlepoint canvas:







Using the metal flat, I traced out a circle of plastic. That became the new flat, to be held on by the metal ring. Now you've got a way to drain the sprouts and allow them to breathe.

Take about 1/4 cup of lentils, wash them and soak them overnight. You can do this right in the jar. The next day (they may already have begun to sprout!), rinse them, drain them well then tuck them somewhere out of direct sunlight. I actually put a towel over mine (careful not to block the open end so they can breathe!). You'll need to rise them one more time before you go to bed. Do this for about three days. At the end of the third day, stick the well-drained jar and sprouts into the sun for a few hours to let them green up a bit. That extra bit of chlorophyll does wonders for their nutrional value.

Afterwards, keep them in the fridge. I actually keep mine in one of those clear plastic containers that salad greens in - if you do that, keep a folded paper towel in the bottom to soak up any excess moisture. That's it! If you're so inclined to try this, I'd love to hear about it.

13 comments:

  1. Wow. I'm wondering if I could do this. (I don't have a green thumb)
    But I think I MUST try it.
    I LOVE sprouts. I would totally use them in my sandwich wraps with some of my homemade hummus. My mouth is watering already!

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  2. Look at you fancy pants! This sounds like so much fun and I'm not a sprout eater.

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  3. I'll have to try this. I tried a kitchen garden this summer with little success, but this sounds like something I can handle! Thanks, Kristen.

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  4. I LOVE sprouts, and I'm going to do this today. And I always soak my lentils before I cook them -enough for them to begin sprouting, but this is awesome. I love sprouts on sandwiches, roo. Tuna, tabasco and sprouts is a fave.

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  5. You're healthy it makes me sick.
    lol

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  6. I think they'd be good on a salami sandwich with hot mustard

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  7. My mom always grew sprouts when we were kids. My bro called them "whale sperm" to gross me out.

    it worked.

    ENJOY!

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  8. Hi!

    I'm "Samantha," the girl who wrote in to The Simple Dollar. I was blown away to see all the advice that started pouring in!

    I just wanted to thank everyone personally. I think that the current environment is one of cynicism and distrust - it's really nice when something like this shows that there are lots of wonderful, thoughtful people in the world. Thanks so much for taking the time to write!

    I was lucky to have eagle-eyed parents who threw the credit card offers away :)

    By the way, I just want to mention that I've recently started a blog of my own - www.alternativelivings.blogspot.com. It's all about ways to earn money outside of a traditional 9-5 job (as a college student, I'm very interested in this subject :) ) Please feel free to drop by, I'd love to keep in touch!

    And sprouts? YUM!!!

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  9. Look at you! I don't have a green thumb when it comes to growing food, but I can grow the heck out of crab grass and ivy! This is a cool idea to do with my oldest son who likes to cook. Thanks!

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  10. Anonymous1:49 PM

    spouts = NO

    Tastes like I'm munching on grass (moo)

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  11. HUH.
    My sentence didn't make sense. LOL
    What I MEANT to say is: Your healthiness makes me sick.
    Hehee. Not really. Just a little envious. :-) But congrats on growing your own. That's pretty cool!

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  12. You are turning so crunchy granola hippie, right before our very eyes! I love it. As long as you don't start wearing patchouli.

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  13. Ok I keep marking your posts to come back to later! I want to try this.

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