Green Mom
July 16, 2014
Worth Sprouting About
By: Larraine Roulston
While raw veggies and fruits have enzymes, they are low in concentration
compared to sprouted seeds. The differences in enzyme concentrations
are enormous. At the sprout stage, a plant is at its highest nutritional
value.
Growing sprouts is not only easy and fun but also a way for parents
to provide their children with all the essential natural, how-to-grow-sproutsorganic
vitamins and minerals they require. Also packed with proteins,
enzymes and phytochemicals, sprouts have been shown to help digestion,
increase energy levels and provide a boost to the immune system.
Studies have also shown that mung and other types of sprouts contain
high levels of a natural cancer fighting compounds. What’s
more, everyone can afford to eat sprouts; they cost only pennies
per day to grow.
Sprouting is a method of germinating seeds to be eaten either
raw or cooked. It is a lifestyle change for families who are looking
for a non-pharmaceutical path to improving health and wellness.
It takes only a minute to put some beans into a sprouter. The
next day you can watch them start to grow, and in a day or two
they are ready to eat. They can be tossed into smoothies, placed
on salads and cereals, added to a sandwich, eaten as a snack or
put into a small lunchbox container. You can bake loaves of bread
with sprouts, as shown on www.breadexperience.com.
With whatever sprouter you choose and the recommended beans such
as mung, chickpea, lentils, adzuki or soybeans, you are ready
to begin. Simply rinse a small handful of beans and set them on
a screened tray over some water. Place the lid on top to retain
moisture. Rinse the beans and change the water twice a day –
every morning and evening works well. If sprouted beans are consumed
daily, one pound of beans provides approximately a month’s
supply of sprouts.
Teachers seeking practical and healthy fundraising ideas need
not look any further than sprouts. Sprouter advocate, Cathy Nesbitt
www.cathyssprouters.com,
who teamed up with Hornick in 2012, states that she has had great
success introducing sprouting to schools as a fundraising concept.
Schools can begin with a minimum order of 10 sprouters and a large
quantity of certified organic mung beans. Students then sell the
units for a suggested retail price of $35.00 and bag the seeds
themselves in 1/2- or 1-lb. bags that can be sold for $4.00 or
$6.00 respectively. Once parents realize their true value, sprout
kits make a great school fundraiser.
As Cathy says, “Sprouting is a big part of my health plan.
I start my day with two tablespoons of sprouted mung beans and
have done so for over 12 years.”
Tony’s passion in life is to share the benefits of sprouts
and sprouting with as many people as possible.
Larraine Roulston writes the Pee Wee at Castle Compost adventure
series. Visit www.castlecompost.com.
