In my Azure order that came Monday, I received another set of 3 Sproutmaster trays. Now I have 7 trays. Plus I have one sprout screen that I interchange on about 3 different jars, using it to rinsing them in turn (if only I could find my cheesecloth!). With my increase of growing supplies, I started all these sprouts growing — 3 trays got a mix of alfalfa/clover/radish seeds, 2 trays got lentils, 1 tray got garbanzo beans, 1 tray got flax seeds, 2 jars got mung beans, and the remaining jar got sesame seeds.
Jeff and I have been seriously looking into sprouting as a way to increase our fresh food that we eat, yet lower the amount of money we spend on produce, and lessen our dependence on getting to the store. While the latter two aspects are compelling, we aren’t convinced yet as to whether sprouting is the best way, nutritionally, to eat our vegetables. (I’m not suggesting that we’ll only have sprouts for veggies, but rather that we’ll have many more sprouts than anything else.) I am currently doing some research on the nutritional data available for sprouts and comparing it to the nutritional data available for the same foods in their mature form of vegetables or cooked beans.
The next thing on my agenda is a matter of prayer — asking the Lord to guide me to what we need to move grow microgreens indoors. I am looking for a table or sideboard to put in the dining room under the window, on which to grow the microgreens. I would love, love, love to run into something today at the thrift stores.
The microgreens are doing allright outside, except that they are getting water-logged in their trays because of all the rain and they are getting munched by banana slugs. It is the grossest thing to find a baby banana slug in the rinse water or a mature slug tucked in among the leaves while harvesting. But even so, if that was the only way to get the greens, I still would do it. God made those slugs, too.
This issue of sprouting and growing greens has been on my mind for a long time. Last week, a friend gave me a book she picked up at the library book sale on sprouting. That was so thoughtful. (Thank you, friend!) I have been reading it, and Jeff and I have been talking about it off and on for days. It isn’t that recent, written in 1986, but the information on sprouting history, growing of sprouts, and growing microgreens appears excellent. Did you know that sprouting (according to this author) is what saved many sailors from dying of scurvy on their long voyages without any other fresh food? In her research, she found that sprouts were more beneficial than anything else in preventing or healing scurvy.
The book is by Ann Wigmore, who has passed away. While I would not recommend her evolutionary stance, nor some of her discussions on “energy,” I do feel that most of the information presented is at the least, thought-provoking, and at the most, compelling.
Now I have questions for you.
What are your thoughts on sprouting? Can you guide me to nutritional data on sprouts? I have noticed that there is no information readily available on clover, cabbage or broccoli — as sprouts.
Have you heard of sprouting cauliflower?
What are good, organic seed sources?
I don’t know much about the nutritional aspects of sprouting but I did find some interesting sites with that info:
This site seems to have lots of number data:
http://www.easygreen.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=219
This site seems to be a little less enamored of sprouts :o) but has some charts with nutritional data
http://jmdl.com/howard/rants/sprout-nutrition.html
While we don’t eat a lot of sprouts we have always sprouted some of our garden plants and when I think them out, we eat them. Doesn’t matter what they are, we eat them in salads or stir fry. We even eat some of our flower sprouts :o)
Yes, I found that guy who is not enamored. I thought he was pretty funny. I read some of his rants on that Dr. Gillian were funny. But I hadn’t seen that other link. I will look later. Right now I am at the library. I found a good book on sprouting with numbers in it. Thanks for your help, Sylvia. Which flowers do you eat? all or some?
I have never sprouted, but now that my daughter has such severe food allergies, I will most likely be looking into it. Trying to find nutrition for her is an adventure.
Hi Wardeh, love your site, found it while looking up bean-making instructions.
I am curious too about sprout nutrition, as when I used to raise finches, had always read that feeding them sprouted grains enables them better access to the nutrients in the seed, which are released to feed the growing plant until it develops adequate roots. And, there is all that Ezekial bread stuff, about the biblical recipe literally making a food you could live off of for months with nutrition comparable to an egg.
But, I appreciated the “rant” link above too, always good to hear both sides, and he’s right about the silly “1,000% increase” claims.
He’s right in one sense. A 2000% increase of a negligible amount still is very little. But who eats just one sprout? I eat a cup at a time.
The one thing that struck me about his data was that it was by weight and not by volume. I think this might be a critical error, because veggies vary so much in water content, and we don’t weigh our portions, we eyeball them. Since we might likely eat 1 c of sprouts or 1 c of broccoli and feel full from either, it would be important to know which *volume* contains the greater nutrients.
That’s an interesting point. I visited the USDA website where you can get nutrition info for many foods. You can choose a weight and/or volume measure for the returned info. For instance, you can get the results for both 100g of the food as well as 1 cup of the food. Some foods have even more choices than that. I have pulled down as many results as I could find but have not looked through them yet.
But I suspect this might hurt the case of sprouts even more, because they are so water-rich. They may have loads of nutrients in their non-water parts, but we may have to eat larger volumes of them to compare with a “dryer” vegetable like a carrot.
Do you think that sprouts contain more water than mature fruits and veggies? I am not sure, that is why I am asking.
And then, there is the question of bio-availability: just because the nutrient is in the product doesn’t guarantee we synthesize it. So, I think, we need more data!!
Curious to hear what you learn from your library book!! 
Which, I think, is the inherent flaw of relying on USDA data. The nutrition may be present but I tend to believe the sprouters who say that sprouting does all the work on converting the stored carb, fat and protein in the seed into components that are ready to go. If you think of God’s design for seeds, that does make sense. The process of sprouting gets all that nutrition ready for a healthy plant, while the seed had it in a storable form.
Thanks for your thoughts on this. Love, Wardeh
Hey Wardeh, I have that same sprout book. I couldn’t give you anymore information than you already have. I find that I don’t eat the sprouts fast enough. What are some of the ways you eat them? Once we ran out of lettuce for salad, and I used mixed sprouts instead. We never missed the lettuce.
At this point, we’re eating them fresh. Salads. Although I sprouted some chickpeas and sesame seeds to make sprouted hummus today. I will follow a recipe in the Ann Wigmore book. I’d also like to do crackers and bars with some of the sprouted grains. Love, Wardeh
I don’t have answers to your questions. Sorry.
But your description of banana slugs reminded me of childhood summers spent at my aunt’s house in Illinois. We’d soak fresh-piced broccoli in salt water, and then shake it and watch all the tiny green caterpillars fall into the water. As much as I adore broccoli, I can’t help but wonder how many caterpillars I’ve unintentionally eaten over the years… Ugh.
Karen, Ugh is right. I have wondered the same thing, too.
One book that helped me overcome Crohn’s disease and talks of sprouting is called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Its full of recipes and tons of info.
Tiffany, I have read that book about 3 years ago. I checked it out from the library and didn’t get to digest most of it then. I would like a copy of it. I keep my eyes peeled at the used bookstore and at thrift stores but haven’t seen one yet. I have Jordan Rubin’s book and all his recipes come from there. Tell me, did you follow NT or The Maker’s Diet for your healing or a blend of the two or something else entirely? Do you do any sprouting? Love, Wardeh
Here’s some flowers we have eaten out of the garden. We use sprouts,small plants and the flowers themselves:
nasturtium
dandelion
cornflower
lavender
hollyhock
marigold
Some are bitter, some are lettuce-y tasting and some are unique. :o)
Hello dear Wardeh..
It is of my opinion and I have much to learn as well as I am just a sprout myself when it comes to sprouting lol.. that anything( that we can eat as matured growth) and that is a seed form is edible…it may be bitter and such however it may also be quite benficial.. I am intrigued and will do some research on this as well. I love research..
I shall also continue to Pray for You, my friend. If i gleen something new I shall pass it on to you also.. Thank you as always for sharing.
Hugs
Erin
I am following this conversation avidly, as this thought of yours parallels my own. May I ask your source for sprouting seeds and beans, and microgreen seeds? Do you get them mail order?
I hope I eventually have something to add to the discussion.
Peace to all,
Patricia
Let’s see… these came from Azure Standard: alfalfa, sesame, radish, buckwheat (hulled, like for breakfast), buckwheat (unhulled, for microgreens), sunflower seeds (in the hull, for microgreens), chickpeas, lentils
From a local raw food supplier: I can get everything above at this place, with a better selection than Azure, only it is an hour away so I only go every other month. At this point, I have gotten from them: red clover, buckwheat (both types) and lentils.
At the health food store yesterday: broccoli, fenugreek
Everything I have purchased is organic and raw.
I am still wanting to get cabbage, cauliflower, celery, carrot, onion… I will first check Azure Standard for those and others I run across in my research. If Azure doesn’t carry them, I may ask my HFS to order them or I will do the mail order thing.
I am looking forward to whatever you have to add. This can be a journey for us all!
Love, Wardeh
I read The Makers Diet when I was still sick and that is what got me started on healthier eating. I didn’t follow his exact recommendations, it just gave me a place to start. I have actually written a cookbook and will be getting it published in the next few months. I’ve taken ideas from NT and other recipes and converted them to fit my needs. My diet: no sugar, I use raw honey, no white flour, I grind all my grains, mostly wheat right now but I am experimenting with spelt, rye, etc, free-range fertile eggs, (I cannot eat store bought eggs) raw milk, (this healed my stomache!) no preservatives, artificial food coloring etc, natural meats as much as possible, reverse osmosis water, fresh fruits and vegetables. I haven’t yet tried
sprouting but am very interested in it.
Thank you for all the info. Do you have to have the trays to sprout? Is there another method I can try without having to buy equipment? What is Azure we don’t have that in Utah?
Thank you!
Tiffany, I think it is wonderful that you’re writing a cookbook and that you’ve healed yourself by getting down to the basics of good, real food. With the exception of eggs and dairy (oh, and we don’t do gluten for the sake of my daughter Haniya), I feel our diets are very similar.
I do have the trays for sprouting. I would like to make some of the crude linen sprout bags about which I’m reading. Those would be for grains and nuts and beans. The trays however are from Sproutmaster. You can order one tray at a time to try. But in the meantime, you can sprout in a fine mesh colander. The holes have to be small enough so the seeds don’t fall through. Soak the seeds overnight. Remember that they’ll increase by 3 times in volume, on average. So don’t use too many or they’ll overflow and be crowded. After soaking, put them in your colander. Or even a plastic bag (my dad travels with Ziplocs full of sprouts). The thing is to keep them perfectly warm, always moist (but not too) and with plenty of airflow. Rinse every morning and night, draining thoroughly so the seeds aren’t left sitting in water to rot. I’m sure if you look on the internet you’ll find more detailed directions.
Azure may well be in Utah. It is a natural food supplier that supplies all the Western states. They are in Oregon, but go up and down the I-5 corridor and east into Montana, too. They also go up to Alaska. Go to Azure Standard and see if they serve you. You could also see if United Natural Foods supplies you. When we lived in CA, we got our natural food bulk through them. They serve the PNW, too, but I like Azure better. The only thing is that with both of these, you’ll probably have to have an ordering group. With Azure, the group minimum must be $400 and the individual minimum must be $40. With UNF, the group minimum (2 years ago) had to be $1000. So if you contact either company, ask them if there is already a group in your area with whom you can order. They should give you a contact number for someone in your area if there is a group.
Love, Wardeh
Thank you again Wardeh.
I have made sprouted wheat bread, where you just sprout the wheat for about 24 hours, just until the bud pops out. Then I blended the wheat in a Vitamix, added some flour and other ingredients and made bread. It was pretty good, but I didn’t blend the sprouted wheat enough so there were some hard pieces in the bread.
I am going to try sprouting the way you do as I am looking for a way to decrease my food budget. I really appreciate all of your help. And will look up Azure today.
Thank you again,
Tiffany
Hi Again! Good discussion on this one!
Re: water content, I’m not sure either, just my gut feel based on running stuff through the juicer–seems like sprouts mostly kick out liquid & not much pulp, where carrots have a lot of dry pulp, and not as much liquid, and start to jam up the machine!
BUT- maybe I’m making an assumption about “water”–it could be that the liquid in anything is the most important part, if it contains the nutrients in a more soluble form? So maybe sprouts win here?
Argh, sometimes I get overwhelmed by too much information. Maybe if we assume God designed us pretty wisely, we should find guidance more in what we crave and what tastes good to us?
I make whole foods for my dogs, and have noticed they seem to regulate what they need on their own, like they will sometimes set aside a certain morsel, or skip a meal. And each one is unique in their choices. Makes me wonder if we really DO know what we need innately, it’s just that we humans sometimes forget to listen to our bodies?
Hi, Michelle. Thanks for continuing your thoughts here. I really don’t know either way on the water issue. I really don’t think it ultimately matters though. Its all good stuff.
Jeff and I, while we do strive to have good information on which to base our decisions, ultimately come down to saying, “Did God make it this way?” and if He did (and we don’t have an allergy to it) then we think, okay, we can and probably should eat. I do agree with you on the cravings, but only with the given that one’s food choices are on a healthful level.
I mean, what I really crave is chocolate!
I am fascinated by your feeding whole foods to your dogs. If we ever have dogs (the kids wish we would), I have always planned on feeding them whole foods. I know nothing about it, though. Now I know who to ask!
Love, Wardeh