Sprouts can be a super healthy addition to any meal. Remember when you were little and you had chickpeas soaking in water and then they would shoot out little tail-like structures? It was like a little science project at home in the kitchen!
This process is called sprouting
While you have a variety of legumes to choose from, there is a technique to get it right. Sprouting may look like an easy process but it needs the right technique and precision to extract all the goodness. Sprouting is basically a process where seeds and legumes are germinated and eventually eaten raw.
When seeds are soaked in water for a certain period of time, they germinate, causing their outer layers to tear open and allowing a young shoot to blossom. Sprouted grains, legumes and beans are believed to be very nutritious and healthy. Grains are soaked in water so as to soften their outer membranes allowing them to sprout.
“Sprouts are the young greens, typically only days old, whose seeds have just germinated and begun to develop stems and leaves only a couple of inches in length,” says William Li, MD, a physician-scientist and author.
The benefits of sprouts shouldn’t be overlooked
There are a variety of different sprouts, including bean, broccoli, beets, and pea sprouts. The nutritional value of the many types differ, but they’re typically rich in many vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids.
“They are high in vitamin K, many B vitamins like niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, folate, and pantothenic acid, as well as vitamin C and vitamin A. Sprouts also contain minerals like zinc, calcium, manganese, and copper.” says Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, CDN, founder of Real Nutrition.
How to sprout safely
We love using our Sproutman’s Sprout Bag. It’s easy to use and made of 100% pure hemp and flax fabric with a draw cord.
Sprouting made easy
- Soak your seeds for 8-12 hours in a jar or simply by putting them straight into the sprout bag, dipping the whole bag, “seeds n all” into some water.
- After soaking, rinse quickly with fresh water, then hang on a hook or knob or lay it in the dish rack.
- You then only need to rinse them twice per day, roughly 12 hours apart by immersing the bag in a pot of pure water (preferably filtered) for at least 30 seconds.
- Within 5-10 days you’ll have fresh, crunchy sprouts – too easy!!
- When your sprouts are right to go, put them in a container, or put the whole bag, “sprouts n all” into the fridge where they should keep for up to 2 more weeks.
- After use, you turn the bag inside out and flush it with warm water to clean it.
You can see why we love using the Sprout bag. It’s so easy to use! In this ever-increasingly complicated world it is refreshing to find something that is so simple and cheap that does exactly the job you want it to do. The very fact that it is so simple with minimal parts also makes it much less prone to damage, or losing important bits.
The Sprout Bag also has excellent air circulation and drainage. This helps to minimise any mould problems that you can potentially have when growing your sprouts. The best part of all about the bag however is the quality of sprout it produces.
Some tips to get the most out of your Sprout Bag
- After a while of using your sprout bag, it may start to smell, have mould growth, show signs of wear and tear and leave you cloudy water when rinsing. This article will give you a quick breakdown of how to clean your sprouting bag or bags properly.
- Each time after you sprout, you should turn your sprouting bag inside out and give it a medium to high pressured rinse with cold water. Use your hands to remove any excess sprouting hulls or roots on the sprout bag.
- Never use soaps, detergents, a brush, bleach, hydrogen peroxide or anything harsh to wash your sprout bag with. You do not want to weaken the natural fibres of your sprouting bag.
- A good indication of when you should sterilize your sprouting bag is when your sprouts turn bad or the water starts to turn cloudy. To sterilize your sprouting bag, place your sprouting bag in a pot of boiling water inside-out for 5 minutes. Let it fully air dry and shake off any leftover sprouting hulls or roots.
- Some of the larger beans such as peanut, soy and garbanzo (or chick peas), should be rinsed 3 times a day to prevent the water from becoming cloudy in the first place. This is especially true if you are sprouting in a hot climate.
- To avoid letting roots getting caught in your sprouting bags and to extend the life of your bags, simply immerse your sprouting bags in a sink of water and let the sprouts move around while you rinse them. This way the sprouts are never in the same spot long enough for the roots to grow into the walls of your sprouting bags.
- A good indication of when you should sterilize your sprouting bag is when your sprouts turn bad or the water starts to turn cloudy. To sterilize your sprouting bag, place your sprouting bag in a pot of boiling water inside-out for 5 minutes. Let it fully air dry and shake off any leftover sprouting hulls or roots.
- Some of the larger beans such as peanut, soy and garbanzo (or chick peas), should be rinsed 3 times a day to prevent the water from becoming cloudy in the first place. This is especially true if you are sprouting in a hot climate.
- To avoid letting roots getting caught in your sprouting bags and to extend the life of your bags, simply immerse your sprouting bags in a sink of water and let the sprouts move around while you rinse them. This way the sprouts are never in the same spot long enough for the roots to grow into the walls of your sprouting bags.
We also have a number of other sprouters including manual sprouters and indoor gardens!