Healthy Food:Sprouting Grains/Pulses
Posted by slang on 13 Apr 2007 at 09:31 am | Tagged as: Food & You
For healthy living, one suggestion is to sprout your own grains/pulses and use them in your diet.
Sprouting grains/pulses are easy to do. When a seed is put in water,enzymes are activated, mucus is reduced and digestion is aided, protein changes to essential amino-acids and starch changes to simple sugars and vitamin content multiplies.
Suggestion on sprouting:
- Choose seeds that are not too old and free from chemicals. Look for young,viable and whole seeds ( get them from organic farmer or healthshop).
- Seeds that can be commonly sprouted in a jar are alfalfa, beans, lentils, soyabeans, shelled sunflower seeds, peanuts, almonds,wheat, rye and spice seed(fenugreek,mustard seeds).
- Wheat grass, lentils, beans and oat grass can be grown
- Begin by washing the seeds well with fresh,pure water and then remove any broken ones.
- Soak the seeds in water overnight and rinsed thoroughly. Use the purest water for washing the seeds.
- Then drain the water and the seeds should be rinsed well
- The jar of seeds should be set upside down in a dish rack to drain off all the water for ten minutes or longer.
- Good rinsing & drainage give good healthy sprout. The sprouts need water two or three times a day. Then rinse thoroughly.
- Cover the jar with a mesh screen, cheesecloth or nylon stocking.
- Shake the jar several times a day to loosen the grains from the bottom of the jar. Excess water will spoil the grains
- The sprouts are usually ready in two or five days depending on the temperature.
- Do not place them in direct sunlight- it is too hot for the tender baby sprouts. Hence place them under indirect sunlight to bring the chlorophyll into the leaves.
- Remember to rinse the sprouts to give them a constant supply of fresh water. Do not let them dry up. If the sprouts are not rinsed, they will get spoilt.
- Eat the sprouts at their peak of their nutrititional value; sprout gardening is growing and eating fresh food at its peak of vitality!

