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I've heard about the power of sprouts for a long time and how it's very cheap and effective way of getting a lot of great green foods. I don't see how it's that cheap since most seeds are close to 3 a pound. I have a couple questions.

 

First off, how do you grow them? Can you just soak the seeds and then put them out and let them grow or do you have to put them in dirt and other stuff? Do they have to been grown in sun light to get chlorophyll? any tips?

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At the same place you buy seeds, they should sell also a sprout kit. I have something like this URL A.Vogel Biosnacky and it works fine. You can also use any bocal you have at home.

It's simple. Rinse with water 2 times a day for about 3 days. It must not stay submerged in water for more than few minutes, but it must always stay wet. Not too much light. When it's grown, it's ready to eat, or you can sprout 4 more days, with more light though.

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The seeds last for awhile b/c you get a big yield once they sprout so it isn't as expensive as you might think.

 

I use the freshlife sprouter by tribest.

 

http://www.freshlifesprouter.com/index.asp

 

I kep it by my windowsill and they grow just fine even when it isn't sunny for days. My favorite sprouts to grow are from buckwheat kernels and baby sunflower seeds. When you order them, make sure you order kernels or seeds otherwise you'll get hulled grains that don't sprout; i've made that mistake before.

 

Here is a pic that shows what comes from my sprouter after about 5 days. It is super easy. I change the water once a day and they flourish. Sometimes I soak seaweed in water and use the soak water to feeed the sprouts so they soak up all the vitamins and minerals. I also like to use 3%food grade hydrogen peroxide about 1oz in the solution to keep them from building up mold.

 

I get my seeds from http://www.organicfruitsandnuts.com

 

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=64523765&albumID=1643059&imageID=22744291

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It's simple. Rinse with water 2 times a day for about 3 days. It must not stay submerged in water for more than few minutes, but it must always stay wet. Not too much light. When it's grown, it's ready to eat, or you can sprout 4 more days, with more light though.

Usually you need to soak beans or lentils you want to sprout overnight before using the regime "I'm Your Man" explained.

I love to sprout lentils because they are cheap and taste great after sprouting.

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Most beans in my area are only $0.99 per lbs...also thats dry weight for organic beans. One lbs of dried beans is like 4 cans of cooked beans in terms of total food...much more food for the money than buying canned beans.

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I ate sprouted kidneys a few times a week for a whole summer...along sprouted chick peas nearly every day for a year...not dead yet. I'd still be doing it now if I didn't get so lazy...I'll start again come summertime.

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I sprout alfalfa seeds and mung beans every week. Without soaking first. I should try to soak the mung beans first, because they look kind of weak. Usually I don't have enough light at my windows to make them become shoots, but I'll try this summer.

 

I agree with Flanders, lentills are so good sprouts and easy. Just need to soak first.

 

I tried quinoa and millet but forgot to soak first ! So it didn't work. I'm gonna try again quinoa, maybe buckwheat too and fenugreek.

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What is wrong with sprouting chickpeas? I was going to try that and make raw hummus.

Anyway, I have been sprouting alfalfa, quinoa, mung and lentils for a bit now. Quinoa sprouts really fast and is easy. lentils are also easy. When I first started I used mason jars and cheesecloth on top after soaking. I use mason jars with plastic "strainer" type lids now. It is really inexpensive and not to get into the whole enzyme thing, I am sure they add alot of protein to any dish. I use this for my alfalfa sprouts:

 

http://sproutpeople.com/devices/ez/easysprout.html

 

This site is also has some good instructions to get started.

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I use this for my alfalfa sprouts:

 

http://sproutpeople.com/devices/ez/easysprout.html

 

This site is also has some good instructions to get started.

 

They have some good info indeed, but for the same price you can get other germinator models that will grow 5 times more sprouts at a time.

 

Cool! Well, like I said I use that one for for the alfalfa sprouts and canning jars (wide mouth) for my legumes and quinoa. I never seem to finish all of my sprouts I make now. I am still new to being vegan as a whole, and I find I am still eating more proccessed stuff than I should be, I guess due to the newness of it all. As I transition more and more toward raw foods and better all around foods, I am sure I will be needing other items for sprouting so let me know some other resources if you have time? May be of help to the original poster of this thread too!

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  • 2 weeks later...

This week I tried to sprout clover and buckwheat... it was ok but nothing amazing.

Lentills and alfalfa will always give the best results at each time. Also mung beans.

 

Last time I forgot to soak quinoa before sprouting. So this time I soaked them and it gave the same results... tiny and sprouts. Very disappointing, I had to throw them away. Since day one of sprouting quinoa it starts to smell; is there something I do wrong? Maybe they're in too much humidity.

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This week I tried to sprout clover and buckwheat... it was ok but nothing amazing.

 

Last time I forgot to soak quinoa before sprouting. So this time I soaked them and it gave the same results... tiny and sprouts. Very disappointing, I had to throw them away. Since day one of sprouting quinoa it starts to smell; is there something I do wrong? Maybe they're in too much humidity.

 

Were they buckwheat kernels or were they hulled? Odd are that if you bought them at the health food store that they are hulled. Unhulled buckwheat kernels sprout really really well for me all the time in any conditions. You can get them at http://www.organicfruitsandnuts.com

 

I have never tried to sprout clover.

 

I have never ever had the issue of quinoa smelling rancid after a day of sprouting. But anyhow, I don't ever keep them in a bow of soak water; perhaps you are doing that? I just soak them in water and keep them in a sieve or colander (mesh drainer) and let the water seep out. They just need to be wet, not in a bowl of water. Try it that way if you haven't already or perhaps the humidity could be an issue I suppose....

 

Also worth mentioning is that if i do a big batch and i refrigerate the leftovers, they continue to grow bigger and bigger in the refrigerator which is pretty cool. They can last two weeks i believe.

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The buckwheat I got is organic and whole grains. Kind of a strange color and shape (grey-pale green-cream color, with a sort of pyramid-pointed shape). I tried without soaking. Next time I'll try by soaking first, then sprout them. I'll try cooking some too.

 

I use this to sprout and it give good results with alfalfa, mung beans.

 

This week I tried fenugreek and it's amazing ! It's now one of my favorites. In the first days it smells like pepper and tastes a bit spicy, then the sprouts goes longer. Really good!

 

The organic quinoa, I tried without soaking, then another time with soak, same results... I tried with the same tiny grains that I used for cooking. When I cooked it, it "sprouts" after 10 minutes.

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As far as the buckwheat goes, it should look like a seed. If you cannot chew it and it isn't edible without sprouting, then you have the right one. If it is hard and can crunch in your mouth, then it is hulled, still ok but not really great for true sprouting. Try to get 'kernels'

 

As far as the quinoa goes, i dunno, perhaps you got a bad batch, I suppose it's possible? Cooked sprouting, woah, that's a first! I think I know what you mean, it like splits open and you see the shells burst in the cooked batch. Therew's no way it could have grown sprout 'tails' from 10 min of cooking, that's impossible.

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yeah when we cook quinoa, it looks like it sprouts, but of course it's not really sprouted, it's sprouting by destruction instead of creation! Lol. We see the tail and sprout after we cook it just because the shell split, but I have the impression it grows a bit too, like when you soak it.

I'll try many times to sprout quinoa, perhaps it will work better one day. It's worth it because of course the raw sprouted quinoa is a million times more nutritious then destroyed/cooked quinoa.

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Thanks, this is helpful. I would definitely like to incorporate more sprouts into my diet (both seeds and legumes to start). I have a mason jar with the plastic lids and plan to begin with alfalfa/radish seeds and lentils.

 

Earlier in this thread it was mentioned not to sprout kidney beans or chickpeas. I didn't quite understand why and I was hoping that could be explained? Also, if I remember correctly I've read before that only green lentils should be spouted (although I have seen recipes calling for other types of sprouted lentils). Do you know if there is any truth to this?

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Just sprout the chickpeas and kidney beans...they won't kill you like many here want you to believe. As for the lentils I've had great luck with red lentils and the green French lentils...I've sprouted brown lentils but I'm not a fan of the taste.

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Earlier in this thread it was mentioned not to sprout kidney beans or chickpeas. I didn't quite understand why and I was hoping that could be explained?

 

well, I tought we explained it ? or maybe it was on another thread. It's simply because beans contain some toxins, they're only neutralized once cooked. Soy would be the worse, and lentills wouldn't be very harmful. The toxins in raw beans would simply inhibits their own digestion, would interfere with the work of enzymes, or maybe it's also really bad for the whole digestive system and can cause some illness after many years of such practice. How can we be so sure about all that ? We can't. But why taking the risks, while there's so many other good foods and other things you can sprout and that are absolutly safe to eat.

 

Of course Veganpotter says he ate lots of raw kidney beans and chickpeas and says it won't kill anybody and of course he's obviously not dead. But is it a reason to do the samething? I don't think so. Otherwise why not drinking cow's milk and eat meat, since people do it and they don't die from it right away ? Because we don't wanna take the risks, because there's plenty of other foods, 100% safe, and of course because we don't need to kill or exploit animals.

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I eat about 80% raw, but love my beans, and from what I have read, beans should be cooked to get the full benefits of the enzymes. Same with potatoes.

 

But I am going to start sprouting my own stuff soon and dehydrating. I live in Tucson so fresh foods is not always available. We do have a famers market the buys much of their produce from local farms so I figure I should buy in bulk and start dehydrating fruits. They are so cheap when in season and my goal it to eat living foods as much as possible.

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  • 2 weeks later...

May it be possible that I'm sprouting SICK LENTILLS? First time I see this, the morning after the first day of sprouting, each lentill has many tiny black spots on it. I'm using brown organic lentills, which then become more orange when sprouts. Maybe it's because they come from a bad batch, or the tap water I used was higher in lead than usual...

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  • 3 weeks later...
Some kidney-shaped beans contain a protein called "Phasine". I do not know how much it is reduced by sprouting. Cooking destroys it for sure...

To be sure sprout only alfalfa, lentils, wheat etc. and do not sprout kidney-shaped beans and chickpeas.

 

What's wrong with chickpeas? I've just sprouted some.

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