Sprouting
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"What does Sprouting have to do with longevity", you may ask? Growing your own nutritious food at home and cheaply, gives you control over your food supply and peace of mind. You know exactly how it was grown and stored, what it isn't sprayed or contaminated with (think pesticides, glyphosate, or heavy metals), and how to easily make more, regardless of what else may be going on in the world.
There are many fantastic YouTube videos and sites available online that will walk you through the steps of growing your own sprouts. My method may be a bit more relaxed than others, but it works just great for me! 😄
Unlike microgreens, you'll find that sprouting is crazy-easy and very difficult to screw-up! And if somehow you do, you can just toss them out and start over again! It's super cheap, super easy, super fun, and super delicious!
If you've got kids, they'll find this to be a blast! It's a great way to get them to start eating salads and vegetables.
You'll be asking yourself "Why haven't I been doing this all along?" I know that I did.
Here's all that you'll need:
1) Mason Jars
2) Sprouting lids: They come in plastic or stainless steel. I actually like the plastic better because they're easier to clean and they don't oxidize.
3) Seeds! There are so many great sizes and flavors to choose from. Here are just a few ideas:
5) Water
6) Very little sunlight
7) A place to keep them where they can drain upside-down. I keep mine next to my washtubs in my basement laundry room, where they can drain right out onto the floor. If you shake them sufficiently, we're talking about only a small bit of water that is left to drip out.
8) A bottle brush to clean the jars and a stiff dish brush to clean the screen lids.
Step 1: Drop a few tablespoons of seeds into a Mason jar, fill it part-way with water (you just need the seeds to be submerged), and allow the seeds to soak overnight.
Step 2: The next morning, drain all of the water out of the jar, by turning it upside-down and tilted, shaking the jar until no more water-droplets come flying out. Now store the jar upside-down and on an angle to continue to allow the seeds to drain & breathe. In a few days, magic will start to happen.
Step 3 (which is really just repeating Step 2): "Water" them every morning when you wake up and every evening before bed, by rinsing the seeds through the lid under your water tap, then shake them dry again, and store them upside-down so that they can fully drain & breathe. Repeat this every day until they look ready to eat! Different types of seeds can mature at different rates. You can really eat them at any stage you like though!
Wet seeds can turn nasty, so don't let them become that way. If you somehow screw up once in a while by forgetting to rinse them before bed, or you don't remember to rinse them in the morning until after noon, it's all good! Most sprouting seeds are pretty darn resilient!
Different types of seeds are going to grow at different rates & sizes. If you put too many seeds in the jar initially and the sprouts begin to get over-crowded, use a fork to take half of them out and transfer them to a second or third jar. Just a little bit of seeds can grow into a LOT of sprouts. Pictured above, I sprouted WAY more seeds than I could possibly eat, and some will likely get too woody or go bad before I can consume them all, so they'll get tossed out. Oh well...you'll just learn to use less seed the next time.
Be forewarned that some seeds are stinky as they grow, like broccoli seeds. They get even more stinky when they go bad!
Once I've emptied a jar, I'll scrub the jar & lid with a bottle brush & dish brush and dishwashing detergent, and then soak them for a few hours (or overnight, because I'm lazy) in a soap & bleach solution. Then I'll rinse them thoroughly before reusing.
Once you experiment around and find the type of sprouts you like best, you'll learn to keep a rotation going, with a jar (or two) of more mature sprouts that you are currently taking & eating from, and another jar (or two) of a newer generation of sprouts that will be ready to use when you finish consuming the previous batch.