Sprouts!

Hey everyone!  I’ve just discovered something ridiculously cool, and bonus – the thing I discovered makes a food you eat all the time tens and hundreds of times healthier!

I’m talking about sprouts.  Set your scepticism aside, if you can, and push the image of the crunchy hippie out of your head.  Sprouting wheatberries and certain beans is super easy and adds a nutritional blast to your meals.  Supposedly sprouting unlocks nutritients in the grains and beans that your body normally wouldn’t be able to access in dried or cooked forms.  For nutritional specifics and also, for a list of beans that you shouldn’t sprout, see this Wiki article.

The first grain in my sprouting journey is the wheatberry.  I’ve passed wheatberries in the bulk bins many times, and finally, after my boss sauteed some that she had sprouted for me to taste, I decided to give it a try.  All you need is a cup or two of wheatberries, a bowl, and a strainer.

Step 1

Soak your wheatberries overnight.

Step 2

Strain the wheatberries and throw away the water.  Then rinse them and set the strainer on top of a bowl to drain.

Step 3

Rinse the wheatberries three times a day for 2-3 days.  By the second day, they should be looking like the picture I posted above. Be careful not to let them sprout too long.  Wheatberries have been sprouted too long turn into that superpowered smoothie ingredient – wheat grass.

Step 4

Either snack on them raw or saute them in a bit of olive oil and about a tablespoon of Bragg’s aminos/soy sauce.

Give it a try!  I’ll be trying mung bean (aka bean) sprouts soon.

Eat well,

Jen