Kitchen Counter Gardening: Try Sprouts

If you want to grow nutritious and tasty fresh vegetables during the cold months, sprouts are the answer to your prayers. In just a few days, a handful of seeds will turn into several servings of crunchy sprouts. It doesn’t get more fresh and local than that!

February/March 2009
By Tabitha Alterman and Barbara Pleasant 
lead sprout photo
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Sprouts can be grown easily in hemp or flax bags. And they come in a wider variety than you may realize. Try multi-colored purple radish sprouts or crisp sprouted peas.
EMILY HELLER
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Contained inside a single plant seed is all the nutrition it needs to grow into a healthy seedling. And that’s exactly why these tiny guys pack such a wallop of nutrients. You can certainly benefit from eating raw seeds and nuts, but soaking and sprouting seeds helps them begin to do what they were made to do: grow. And that helps unlock some of those powerful compounds. It’s a great — and easy — way to release all that nutrition into a tangy, tasty treat.

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When a seed is in contact with moisture, it begins to germinate. During this process, several key nutrients are increased or made more accessible to us. Some of these compounds include vitamins A, B-complex and C; minerals such as iron, calcium and potassium; protein; fiber; essential fatty acids; and various beneficial enzymes, antioxidants and phytochemicals.

Sprouted Cuisine

In culinary terms, sprouts are typically enjoyed as a flavorful addition to other foods, rather than eaten on their own. They can be enjoyed raw or cooked, and fall into three broad categories: salad-, grain- and bean-type sprouts. Eating a variety of different sprouts is the best way to take advantage of their complete buffet of flavors and health benefits. Here are a few dishes that will be improved by the addition of your fresh, homemade sprouts:

  • scrambled eggs or omelettes
  • salads
  • side dishes, such as coleslaw and three-bean salad
  • dips and spreads
  • sandwiches and wraps
  • stir-fries and sautés
  • casseroles
  • soups (added to the pot just a couple minutes before serving)
  • breads (added to the dough before baking; can even use 100 percent sprouted grain dough)
  • even desserts! (There’s a great recipe for chocolate tortes with sprouted almonds at Sprout People.)

And the Nominees Are …

Though some (alfalfa, mung bean) are more common than others, all of the following plants have great seeds for sprouting — experiment away!

  • Adzuki bean
  • Alfalfa  Kale
  • Arugula
  • Broccoli
  • Buckwheat
  • Cabbage
  • Chickpeas
  • Chinese cabbage
  • Clover
  • Cress
  • Crimson
  • Fenugreek
  • Garlic chives
  • Kale
  • Kamut
  • Lentils
  • Mung bean
  • Mustard
  • Onions
  • Peas (green)
  • Quinoa
  • Radish
  • Red Clover
  • Sunflower   
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