Wow, we have been having the best time growing our own sprouts… it’s become a bit of an obsession. Lately, the Watson’s have sprouts on everything! Growing our own sprouts has been on the to do list for time, I don’t know why I thought it would be more work than it actually is. The growing process is quite short, giving the kids close to immediate satisfaction. It’s a great project for the younger kids as they can see the changes daily.
We started with a large mason jar and some sprouting seeds. We chose a “sweet-spicy mixture” that includes alfalfa, radish, green pea & yellow pea. We soaked two tbsp of seeds in water for about 5 hours, then drained them. You then let the seeds sit and start to grow. We rinsed the seeds twice a day and then let drain and sit for about 4 days. Everyday you can see changes, it is so much fun to see the kids faces light up when they notice the changes.
We are so excited about this, we have begun researching other seeds and mixtures we can start sprouting. A great resource is this website http://www.sproutpeople.com/. You can order all kinds of seeds. We found great pictures, easy to follow instructions and also some fun recipes.
Like I mentioned earlier, we have been putting sprouts on everything. They are great on eggs, sandwiches of course, in salad’s, a top a dish of beans & rice, a suprise on pizza, Olivia even took some to school for her milk-break snack. The fresh sprouts are 100% better than any sprout you can purchase in the grocery store, they have a wonderful crunch! Apparently they last about a week refrigerated, however we haven’t made it that long, ours are long gone within 3 days. Two tbsps of seeds yield approximately 1 quart of sprouts. As soon as we have 1 quart finished, we get another batch going so we can have a constant supply.  We will never go back to soggy sprouts again.
The attached pictures show the seeds just at the beginning stages of sprouting (day 1) and the next is a final product of sprouts atop a romaine salad with toasted almonds, feta cheese, carrots, edamame and a light red wine vinaigrette. I made this salad for the entire family, but decided to have a little before they all got home. Ooops… I had to find something else for dinner.
Try sprouting! You’ll get hooked!
