Blue Dog’s Blog

Looking for an easy way to add organic produce to your diet during the winter? Sprout ‘em! Growing sprouts is easy, takes very little space and time and a great way to get your fresh veggies during the winter. This video is one of the easiest ways to grow sprouts.

The lids can be made or bought from your local health food store. If they don’t sell them, you can always purchase a lid from Sprout People. I use a three-tray Biosta sprouter. It holds the perfect amount of water in each try and has a large yield. The downside is that it takes up more counter space than using a jar but probably not more once you factor that you can grow three different types of sprouts at once.Sprouts are said to be the most nutrient dense food and they are highly digestible. These are two reasons why they are promoted by advocates of raw food diets. Curious about what the nutritional value of sprouts actually is? Here’s a table of some of the most common sprouts folks like to eat. Nutritional data is from the USDA.

Safety

There are some health concerns associated with eating sprouts that can be easily avoided.

• Toxins: Some legumes contain toxins that is reduced during the process of soaking, sprouting and cooking. If you are eating sprouted legumes raw, it’s best to limit the amount to 20 oz or less a day which is still quite a bit.
• Phototoxic: If you each large quantities of sprouted buckwheat, you may become sensitive to light. See an article by Gilles Arbour for more information.
• Salmonella and E. coli O157: Some people believe if you sprout your own seeds, you won’t have to deal with these issues but that’s not true. If the bacteria are present in or on seed, they can grow to high levels even under clean conditions. If this is of concern to you, do not eat the sprouts raw.