How To Sprout at Home

Romany Rose Pope
Aug 25, 2017 · 3 min read

create your own simple kitchen garden & harvest incredible health benefits

far out, brussels sprout! (that means “wow!”) I love sprouts so much. they’re high in essential vitamins, minerals & antioxidants and are ridiculously easy to grow at home.

sprouting seeds, grains & legumes increases their antioxidant level vastly, and when you sprout from your kitchen, it’s pretty much the most nutrient-rich value for money you can get! in addition to being powerful detoxifiers for our liver, broccoli sprouts produce the compound sulforaphane, which targets and reduces cancer cells, by eating just 1/4–1 cup a day. a delicious & nutritious addition to salads, sandwiches, avocado & kraut mash, and macro bowls.

gather:

wide mouth quart jar

sprout lids in fine, medium & large mesh

seeds of choice:

broccoli ~ 2–3 tbsp

radish ~ 3 tbsp

alfalfa ~ 2 tbsp

mung bean ~ 3–4 tbsp

cabbage ~ 3 tbsp

lentils ~ ⅓ cup

I use a mix of the first three most often, because I like the finer sprout texture over larger, crunchier bean sprouts like mung. but in saying that, lentil sprouts are great straight from the bowl to snack on.

how to:

spoon seeds into a jar and cover with a few inches of lukewarm purified water. leave to soak overnight (8 hours) and in the morning, drain off water. leave the jar turned upside down over a bowl or tea towel at an angle for proper drainage and ventilation, and place somewhere room temperature, out of direct sunlight.

rinse the seeds with fresh water, morning and night for 4 to 5 days, draining off all of the water after each rinse.

it’ll typically take 2–3 days for the seeds to open and begin to sprout. as the sprouts grow and shed their seed hulls, you can change the lid to a larger mesh top (if available) and rinse the hulls away. hulls will be flushed out while the sprouts will stay in the jar. there’s nothing wrong with eating the hulls, but they’re more likely to become host to bacteria that will make the sprouts taste not as fresh. repeat a few more times, then move sprouts to a brighter, warm spot (not hot) so they can begin to develop chlorophyll — keep rinsing twice daily so they don’t dry out.

at around 5 days, the sprouts should be almost filling the jar. they’re ready to eat when they’re about an inch in length with darker green, leafy tops. change lid to regular metal or plastic and store in the refrigerator. best eaten within the week — refresh by running under cool water when needed!

day 2: beginning to sprout
day 5: ready to eat!

thanks so much for reading :) if you like this how-to, please give it a clap so more people may see it and be inspired to grow their own living food! #naturesmedicine

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Romany Rose Pope

Written by

Herbalist, Kundalini Yoga & Reiki practitioner. I write about cacao, food medicine and rituals for living a vital & connected life. Follow me @romanyrose :)

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