Growing Sprouts: For Health!
SPROUTS ARE ONE OF THE MOST NUTRIENT DENSE FOODS, IDEAL FOR SMALL SPACES
Sprouts are an authentic “super” food that many overlook or have long stopped using. In addition to their superior nutritional profile, sprouts are really easy to grow if you’re an apartment dweller, as they don’t require an outdoor garden.
A powerhouse of nutrition, sprouts can contain up to 30 times the nutrition of organic vegetables grown in your own garden, and allow your body to extract more vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fats from the foods you eat. During sprouting, minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, bind to protein, making them more bioavailable. Furthermore, both the quality of the protein and the fiber content of beans, nuts, seeds and grains improves when sprouted. The content of vitamins and essential fatty acids also increase dramatically during the sprouting process.
Sunflower seed and pea sprouts tend to top the list of all the seeds that you can sprout. You can sprout a variety of different beans, nuts, seeds and grains, and in general sprouts have the following beneficial attributes:
• Support for cell regeneration
• Powerful sources of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and enzymes that protect against free radical damage
• Alkalinizing effect on your body, which is thought to protect against disease, including cancer (as many tumors are acidic)
• Abundantly rich in oxygen, which can also help protect against abnormal cell growth, viruses and bacteria that cannot survive in an oxygen-rich environment.
Here's how to plant healthy, nutritious, sprouts:
STEP 1:
Plant sprout seeds in a sprouter, available at most garden centres and health food stores.
STEP 2:
Add fresh water daily and keep on a window sill or bright area. Sprouts will grow within two days.
STEP 3:
Ready for eating within 3-4 days! Add to salads, sandwiches, soups, eggs, or eat on their own as a snack.
- - - -
Silver and Gold magazine for Boomers Plus!
Read more articles and recipes here: