Your parents were onto something when they told you to eat your sprouts!
Sprouting is not just a new trend in the wellness world, it also has some incredible benefits to your health. Our manager Hollie at Amchara Gozo, gives the low down how valuable sprouts are in your diet.
Why are sprouts good for us?
Sprouts are the healthiest food on the planet! They up to 100X more nutritious than the plant.
For example, broccoli sprouts are much more nutrient dense (30X more!) than broccoli itself! Sprouts are essentially baby plants, so therefore they have a dense concentration of proteins, vitamins, minerals and enzymes.
Living foods have high enzymatic activity – meaning easy digestion (not costing your body much energy to digest), which increases your energy levels and therefore vitality. Sprouts are the freshest foods you can eat as you eat them as soon as you pick them – it’s like having a large crop field in your kitchen.
Living foods are high in phytochemicals which protect our bodies against disease and aging. Who doesn’t want to look great for longer!?
How do I use them?
My favourite sprouts are sunflower sprouts – they are crunchy, delicious and look fabulous strewn over salads or cooked foods. They even have more protein than spinach! I try and eat a portion of raw food every day, and sprouts are such and easy and cheap way to get living foods into my body. Sprouts are very filling due to their high fibre content, so great for maintaining a healthy weight.
Different sprout varieties are good for different things, so you’re eating foods with high versatility and your salads will never be boring again!
- Buckwheat sprouts promote circulation and are excellent to helping to reduce varicose veins
- Fenugreek sprouts reduce inflammation and are soothing to the digestive system
- Mung bean sprouts help lower cholesterol.
How do I grow them?
Last year I lived in a hotel in Texas for a few weeks and I was sprouting sunflower seeds and wheatgrass in my hotel room! So even though the housekeepers thought I was crazy, I can promise you sprouts are the EASIEST things to grow and super cheap too. All you need is:
- A couple of trays and a base to catch drips
- Top soil
- Water
- The seeds
- A sprout jar
Method:
- Sprout the seeds (rinsing twice daily) in a sprout jar for 3 days
- Line one of the percolated trays with top soil to 1.5 inches thick
- Spread the seeds over the top evenly, so you cannot see any soil
- For the first 3 days cover with another tray – this ensures the sprouts grow strong and tall – they will start pushing the covering tray upwards!
- Remove the covering tray and place in indirect sunlight – you will see the white shoots turning green and they photosynthesise
- Cut and eat before the jointing phase of the plant.
Growing sprouts is very economic – you can stores your seeds in a cool, dry space for years.
Eat living foods – do not lose H.O.P.E (Hormones, oxygen, phyto-nutrients, enzymes)!
At Amchara Gozo, we provide raw meals for guests on request – including our home grown sprouts on top.
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