To learn more about living foods and sprouting read the following:
- Why Sprout at home?
- Will it take me a long time?
- What are the benefits of sprouting?
- What do I need?
- What seeds are good for sprouting?
- I have everything I need... What do I do now?
- How long do sprouts take to grow?
- How to preserve left-over sprouts
- Is sprouting expensive?
- Other useful hints and tips for perfect sprouting!
- What should I do if I forgot to rinse the sprouts?
- Are all seeds good for sprouting?
- What seeds and foods should one soak instead of sprouting?
- It is possible to sprout more that one kind of seed at a time in the same jar?
- What about growing other greens?
- Growing Greens such as lettuces at home
- What happens during the germination process?
- Are sprouts nutritious?
- Why are sprouts and green lettuces so good for our overall health?
- What are enzymes?
- How do I know if the food I eat contains fresh enzymes?
- Why are enzymes so beneficial?
- Are enzymes destroyed in the stomach?
- What is wrong with heating or cooking foods?
- Convince me that cooking affects the enzymes in food
- Conclusion
- Pictures of sprouts!
- Picture of sunflower & buckwheat lettuces!
- More information on a vegan raw natural diet
- More information on vegetarian and vegan diets
- Take a course with Verónica on sprouting and growing greens!
- Tell me more about Verónica's books: contents, reviews, how to buy them...
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Last revised: August 23, 2000.
Most of us living in today's fast-paced societies depend on fresh produce that we have to get from supermarkets. Most of the time this produce has been transported across the country or several countries depleting the produce of its rich nutritional value and freshness. In addition, most people living in North America are not yet buying organic foods. This means that even when they do get their produce it is more likely filled with chemical products which are harmful in the long term to one's overall health. For those buying organic food, we still have to pay heavy prices for all the labor involved in producing chemical free produce. On top of that, we also have the present worrisome problem with Genetically Engineered Foods. All this leaves the consumer and his/her health in a very vulnerable situation.
As a result sprouting can supply delicious, fresh sprouts available right from the convenience of your kitchen counter. These sprouts can be grown very cheaply and practically without any of the drawbacks resulting from the commercial production.
2. Will it take me a long time?
Not at all! Sprouting at home could not be any easier! It is simple, straight forward and it can be done by devoting just a few minutes sometimes even seconds of your time each day. If one wanted to draw a comparison between having to go to the supermarket to get your fresh produce and investing some time to grow your own sprouts at home, most certainly the latter will always turn out to be the best choice! Growing your own sprouts will take you just a few minutes and you do not have to move from your house or jump in your car to go and buy your produce.
3. What are the benefits of sprouting?
Besides all of the above, convenience, cheap cost, freshness and organic produce, there are yet other benefits to sprouting. One of the many benefits is the fact that sprouting will bring more meaning to your life by getting you hands-on involved with producing your own food.
Many years ago making a living, did not involve jumping in your car and driving to your job to earn some money to come home hours later and on the way stop by the supermarket to buy some food. On the contrary, making a living used to mean being completely involved in the process of producing your own food, getting fully involved in the actual process of living and building your life with your hands and your full personal participation. When we go and buy to a store a prepackaged product; such as: a box of sprouts, we are automatically somewhat detached from the chain of events that resulted in the production of such produce or product. Therefore, we are left feeling somewhat alienated and separated from the whole process instead of being a full part of it. This in the long turn leaves our lives deprived of true meaning and personal involvement.
Sprouting at home will involve you more in participating in living your life and taking steps towards producing some of your food in an attempt to become self-sufficient and less dependance on the Mega Farm produced fresh produce. In this way, you will feel substantially more connected, part of nature and involved in your life. This in turn will make your life more joyful, happier and greener with each new batch of fresh greens produced at the convenience of your own house.
Furthermore, the benefits do not just end there. Your participation influences others who surround you. All your actions can affect others positively and hopefully encourages new circle of friends to take steps to explore this much greener direction. Also it favors the environment for you will not be putting so much drain on the planet. By producing sprouts at home and not having to drive to buy them you will not have to participate in the long trip that most produce needs to travel in order to make it from the farms to the store shelves. Many people gorwing their own sprouts and using their cars less, means less strain on the environment!
If you have a jar, some screen or some kind of netting, a source of fresh filtered water and basic light as that one coming form any window in the house, your are ready to move on to a very gratifying and fulfilling sprouting journey!
This is exactly what you'll need:
1. A jar: This should be a liter to four liter glass jar, depending on the quantity of sprouts according to your own needs and those of your family or maybe even neighbors.
2. A bowl of the right size or weight to prop up the jar.
3. Some screen or netting. This could be either nylon tulle from a fabric shop or gray fiberglass screen from any hardware store.
4. A rubber band to wrap the netting or screen around the mouth of the jar.
5. Seeds which are good for germination. It is better if you can buy organic seeds. You can get them at most health food stores. Most seeds keep fine for a year or more in a cool and dry place. So if you want to save some extra money you can buy them in bulk.
6.A few minutes of your time each day and your enthusiasm and eagerness to participate in this wonderful unfolding miracle of life called germination!If you have all the things listed in the above list, you are ready to enter the sprouting fun and game!
5. What seeds are good for sprouting?
Most seed are good for sprouting and can be eaten, but if not sure consult a knowledgeable source before eating!
The most common seeds used for this purpose are:
Alfalfa
Fenugreek
Radish
Lentils
Red Clover
Mung Beans
Mustard
Broccoli
Peas
Garbanzos
Quinoa
Rice
Popcorn
All hulled grains; that's to say grains without their hulls can be used for growing short sprouts or added to shakes or to make milks or pates out of them after soaking them overnight to activate their enzymes.
Try all of them and pick the ones you like the most!
Growing your sprouts at home is easier than you think. Just follow the following easy Sprouting Directions and enjoy great tasting fresh and healthy sprouts with your meals:
SOAKING SEEDS:
In order to activate the germination process and let the seed know that it is time to grow, you need to expose it to humidity. The best way to do this and make germination even faster is by soaking seeds overnight.
You can do this buy putting 1 to 4 tablespoons of your chosen seed or a combination of a few seeds in a wide mouth jar.
Then cover with the screen and secure with the rubber band.
After, simply add water, swirl and drain.
Add, one cup of water and let the seeds soak overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours for most seeds.
RINSING THE SEEDS:
Twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, refill jar with cool fresh water, swirl and drain. Invert jar and prop at an angle in sink or bowl.
ENJOY!
In 3 to 6 days when the sprouts are 3 to 5 cm ling you can enjoy their organig freshness in your salads! If you want to keep them for a few days, cover the jar with plastic and a rubber band, or transfer to a covered container, and refrigerate to store.
7. How long do sprouts take to grow?
Depending on the seeds and other conditions, in three to six days, when the sprouts have reach about 3 to 5 cm in length, you can use them and enjoy them in your meals!
8. How to preserve left-over sprouts
Once the sprouts have grown and are ready to eat, you can store them in a jar covered with plastic and a rubber band, or transfer them to a covered container and refrigerate to store them. They can last up to a week. If they look wilted, it is a good idea to rinse them once a day just to keep their freshness. Make sure to rinse the sprouts well before putting them in the fridge.A good idea is to rinse them one last time in the morning before storing them and leave them without a cover throughout the day. Then you can cover them in the afternoon or even evening and refrigerate. In this way, there won't be extra moisture which can cause the sprouts to go bad or rotten.
Not at all! You will actually be saving time and money by sprouting at home. Seeds are generally way cheaper in comparison to buying produce at a store once the seeds have been sprouted. For example a 250 g. bag of alfalfa seeds can grow 45 cups of sprouts, or sometime even more!
10. Other useful hints and tips for perfect sprouting!
You can grow alfalfa, red clover, radish, fenugreek and other small seeds such as these ones up to 1.5 inches long.
Lentils and peas are best small, with sprouts 1/4 to ½ inch long. They taste much better that way! Also They do not need to be in the light. If you want you can place them somewhere else where it can be more convenient to clear some counter space.
If you feel like it, you may taste and try sprouts as they are growing. There is no problem at all with doing that!
If you want to green up your sprouts, the best way to do it is by simply placing them by a window seal or under a bright grow light for just a few hours.
Mung beans grown in complete darkness are not bitter and look whiter.
11. What should I do if I forgot to rinse the sprouts?
If you skipped a rinse, do not worry. No big deal! Nature will always strive to live and maintain its life force by adapting to all sorts of friendly and not so friendly conditions. You can trust nature will do its job and take good care of itself for even up to a whole day...sometimes more!
Although it is not recommenced to forget to rinse the sprouts if it happens once or twice during the sprouting period, it will not kill them right away. As a matter of fact, you might hardly be able to see the difference. All you have to do in that situation is just continue with your normal and regular rinsing cycle and most likely there will not be any bad consequences. Only if you see mold forming you should make sure to take that area out.
12. Are all seeds good for sprouting?Not all the seeds are good for sprouting. In some instances it is better just to soak the seeds to activate the living enzymes. Then these seeds wake up from their dormant state and become "living foods". At this stage is when your body get the most nutritional benefit out of them!
This is the case in many of the nuts and some of the hulled seeds; such as hulled sesame or sunflower seeds.
Read # 13 for more information.
13. What seeds and foods should one soak instead of sprouting?
It is better to soak to activate the enzymes in the following foods adn seeds:
Herb seeds: celery, caraway, poppy, fennel, cardamom.
Nuts should be soaked overnight or for a minimum of 5 hours. These include:
Pumpkin seeds: soak a minimum of 1 hour.
Walnuts: soak 12 hours.
Filberts: soak 12 hours.
Pecans: soak 8 hours.
Brazil nuts, macadamia may also benefit from soaking but it does not make much difference.
14. It is possible to sprout more that one kind of seed at a time in the same jar?
Of course! You should have fun and play with all sorts of different combinations and find your favorite ones!
Try Sprouting the following Seed Mixtures:
Mung/adzuki, fenugreek.
Mung/adzuki, dill seed.
Lentils, black-eye peas, alfalfa, radish.
Sunflower seed, moth, fenugreek.
Alfalfa, red clover, radish, fenugreek and broccoli.
15. What about growing other greens?
Growing your own produce does not just end with being able to grow your own sprouts. You can also explore the fascinating new world of growing your own green lettuces from unhulled grains such as:
Buckwheat (which is actually an herb)
Wheat Grass
Barley
Sunflower (unhulled)
These examples above grow fantastic chlorophyll rich grass crops in just as little as a shallow layer of organic soil in about two weeks and they taste and look delicious in your salads!
16. Growing Greens such as lettuces at home:
Soil sprouting can produce a variety of lettuce-like greens such as backwheat, pea shoots or sunflowers lettuces. These can be used in salads or other dishes. Also other chlorophyl rich greens such as wheatgrass and barley can be grown and later be used for juicing.
How to grow lettuces using soil?A. First of all make sure that you have everything you'll need in the following list:
A tray with holes for drainage. Or you can use any plastic container and make holes in them for drainage. this is a good way to save money and recycle!
Organic earth to fill to fill 1 inch layer of soil in any of your chosen kind of container.
Fresh filtered water.
Growing your own lettuce at home is easier that you think. All you have to do is soak in a container in water overnight or jar unhulled buckwheat, sunflower, wheatgrass or barley seeds. Then place a netting to cover the mouth of the jar and drain the water. Let it sit in inverted position at a 45 degree angle for a day or so until you see the first white tails breaking through the seeds.
The next step is to rinse the seeds once more and then spread them over the damp soil. You may cover the seeds and soil with a plastic bag or a plastic top in order to produce a green house effect and keep the necessary warmth for the seeds to germinate. You should check the seeds once a day to make sure that they have not died out or that they have not yet germinated.
As soon as you see the first green shoots it is time to remove the plastic cover or bag and let fresh air circulate. You can place the tray in a sunny window seal or under grow lights. Grow lights are not necessary. They are just optional for faster growth or during winter time when there are many cloudy days in a row.
Make sure to water whenever the soil is dry and watch the greens grow day after day. After about 10 to 14 days depending on watering and temperature conditions you will be able to cut and eat the lettuce as you need it. The lettuce can grow 5-6" high.
Remember to keep the growing medium always moist yet do not overwater.
- Once you learn how to grow your won lettuce you will develop a cycle that works for you. In my case I usually have two sets growing. When one lettuce is mid-way in its growth I start the process for the following batch. In this way, I always have fresh greens to add to my salads. Do the same with your sprouts. Have two batches going. When one is mid-way through start soaking the seeds for the next one. In this way you will never run out for fresh produce at home!
Seeds are full of minerals, vitamins, enzymes and essential fatty acids. They are also a very good source of protein. When sprouting a seed which was in its dormant state, the seed wakes up and starts to activate and develop its nutrients to provide nourishment for the potential maturing vegetable or tree. The true and great news about seeds is that a sunflower seed has in it the basic formula for nourishing a full-grown plant. The same is true for all seeds!
- The following are the changes occurring in a seed when it starts sprouting:
1. Nutrients are broken down and simplified: protein into amino acids, fats into essential fatty acids, starches to sugars. This increases nutrition and improves digestion and assimilation. That is why sprouts are living foods which contain enough living enzymes to make the digestion process easy and enjoyable. They are in a way predigested foods.
2. Proteins, vitamins, enzymes, minerals and trace minerals multiply from 300 to 1200 per cent!
3.Chlorophyl develops in green plants.
4. Certain acids and toxins which would ordinarily interfere with digestion are reduced or eliminated.
5.Size an water content increase dramatically.
All the above changes in the dormant seed once it sprouts, make sprouts a very rich living food which is excellent for you body and health!
If you are wondering if including sprouts in you diet is beneficial just take a look at the chart below:
Nutrient Content of Alfalfa & Radish sprouts versus Iceberg Lettuce & Spinach:
ALFALFA ~~~~~~~~~RADISH ~~~~~~~~~~~LETTUCE ~~~~~~~~~SPINACH
Water g. ...............91.14 .......................90.07 ..................................95.89 .............................94.00
Calories ................29. ...........................41........................................13.................................. 14
Protein ....................3.99......................... 3.81................................... 1.01 ..............................1.50
Fat ..........................0.69......................... 2.53 ...................................0.19............................... 0.20
Carbohydrate.......... 3.78 .........................3.06....................................2.09............................... 2.50
Fiber ........................1.64........................ 0.53 ...................................0.70.......................................
Some Mineral Comparisons:
Calcium g ................32......................... 51 ........................................19................................. 58
Iron ..........................0.96 .......................0.86 .....................................0.50 ..............................0.80
Magnesium .............27......................... 44.......................................... 9 ..................................39
Phosphorous ..........70 .......................113......................................... 20.................................. 28
Potassium ...............79......................... 86....................................... 158................................ 130
Zinc .........................0.92 ......................0.56........................................ 0.22.................................
Copper ....................0.157................... 0.120 .......................................0.028...............................
Manganese ..............0.188 ....................0.260 .......................................0.151
19. Why are sprouts and green lettuces so good for our overall health?
Sprouts and Lettuces as well as all greens in their natural state are foods that contain enzymes. Enzymes are degraded only under106 degrees F conditions or more. As a result, as long as they are eaten raw and not cooked these can be considered living foods for they contain their intact enzymes and our bodies can get the benefits derived from them. Enzymes are destroyed completely or partially when food is cooked.
According to the dictionary enzymes are any of the various complex organic substances, as pepsin originating from living cells and capable of producing certain chemical changes in organic substances by catalytic action, as in digestion. This is to say, enzymes assist in the digestion process of foods. They are the energy and life force in foods.
Enzymes are also very important because besides assisting in the digestion of food they assist in its absorption as well. When one eats foods devoid of enzymes, the body does not get the full utilization of the food and also needs to provide by its own sources the enzymes to digest the food, depleting the body in this way of valuable life-force enzymes. This causes depletion of energy in the body and in the long term accumulation of toxicity in the body.
As long as you eat fruits, vegetables, sea vegetables, sprouts, soaked nuts, seeds and grains in their natural organic state without having them processed at all, you can know for a fact that these foods are living foods containing their full life-force.
Enzymes make digestion easier for the body. All raw food, including sprouts and greens, contain the proper types and proportions of enzymes necessary to digest itself. When raw food is eaten, the act of chewing ruptures the cell membrane and releases the enzymes to begin breakdown.
Food enzymes play an important role in digestion by predigesting food in the stomach. As long as the body is given raw living food the body does not need any supplementation of enzymes. However, in the typical North American Diet the enzymes are destroyed when food is cooked. As a result the body's digestive process can become over stressed with full digestive burden and vital nutrients may not be released from food assimilation.
Plant enzymes work at the pH found in part of the stomach - where food can sit for a while before gastric secretions begin action - and can improve utilization.
Enzymes are the very spark of life - they run the entire body. Vitamins and minerals are not activated until they join enzymes. You can put in your body an incredible amount of vitamins and minerals but without enzymes, nothing works!
All people need enzymes. This is why they are so important! These enzymes enhance the nourishment of the body so it can heal itself.
No! Enzymes are not destroyed in the stomach. They are simply deactivated by the stomach's acidity. When the food and the deactivated enzymes reach the small intestine, the body's alkaline reserve reactivates these enzymes at a higher, more alkaline pH. This is where pancreatic enzymes join activated plant enzymes.
Plant enzymes help you absorb and assimilate food. When your body functions properly, food is digested into tiny particles of nutrition that go into your blood and then into your cells. If you lack any necessary enzymes, however, this does not happen. People need to eat enzyme rich foods or they will never absorb all the nutrients in their food to the optimal degree.
- Remember that all foods which have been processed in any way, shape or form by exposing them to heat are not living foods containing their active enzymes alive any longer.
Cooking destroys the enzymes in our food. If one eats only devitalized food and take no additional enzyme rich foods, the pancreas has to do all the work of digestion and the entire metabolic enzyme system is drained.
The solution to this situation is to incorporate more raw foods, which have enzymes still intact. Edwards Howell, MD, the father of enzyme research, discovered that people who eat a large proportion of raw foods do not get as ill and are able to recover from illness more quickly than those who eat mostly cooked food.
If your body cannot break down properly, it's lacking enzymes. Particles of undigested food sit in your stomach and intestines and enter directly into your blood. Whatever you don't digest becomes like poison to your body.
Then the body sends antibodies to get rid of this material. The particles of undigested food often land in soft tissues and cause inflammation, which can lead to bacteria build-up and disease. Many different conditions can develop in this way from simple cases of acne to cancer or other illnesses.
What are the consequences of enzyme deficiency?
If you do not consume enough enzymes there are many conditions that can overtime appear. For example, lack of certain enzymes can lead to attention-deficit disorder, mood swings, and other mental and emotional problems. Also other symptoms include a low immune system.
Taking into account that enzymes are the very life-force in foods, it can be said that whenever you cook food over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, the enzymes in the food start to die. After a few seconds of being exposed to high temperatures, all enzymes in food are dead.How can you demonstrate that?
Take two seeds. Bake one at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, do nothing with the other one. Now plant the two beans and water them. Which one will never grow? The cooked seed. Why? Because during the cooking process all the enzymes have been destroyed and what is left is a dead seed that no longer can grow.
Another example to show this point is to place one finger in boiling water. Don't do it! You will burn! Just imagine if you placed it how terribly your skin would burn. If you left it there the heat would totally eat through your skin and destroy all the living cells of your finger. The same is true when you place any vegetable or food under extreme heat for any length of time.
Yet one more example if you need convincing is cooking potatoes. It you cook a potato and then let it sit, it will only last a few days and then rot. Nothing at all will grow from it. The potato will not be able to give life to another potato plant. However, if you take a potato in its raw form and let it sit under any humid condition, it will eventually sprout and start giving out green shoots. This proves that there is life in the raw potato while the life in the cooked potato is not longer present.
To conclude, when we cook food we kill the life-force. What we eat is dead and life-less. Think about the difference between a raw carrot and a cooked carrot. The raw carrot is strong, colorful, and alive. You could plant it and it would probably grow. What about the cooked carrot? It is limp and less colorful, and life-less. Its taste is mostly gone, and its appearance not as inspiring.
What is then the wise thing to do?
Whenever possible do not cook your food! Eat it in its fresh and natural uncooked state if you want to get all the benefits. It doesn't make sense that most of us spend so much money in good quality food to then proceed to destroy all the enzymes and a large percentage or the nutritional value by cooking it.
If you cannot change all your food intake to raw food, just gradually increase the amount of fresh produce in your diet. With time your own body will guide you to wise fresh and alive choices!
What's the good news?
The good news is that by incorporating more and more amounts of living enzymes in your diet you can develop a very strong immune system and your body can start to heal itself of many of its ills and conditions!
26. Conclusion
- To conclude, growing your own sprouts and greens is a perfect way to incorporate more living enzymes in your diet while having fun and establishing a deep connection with nature and your environment.
- It is healthy for the planet and for you!
- Include more living foods in your diet and your whole body will shine with splendor and life-force!
- Include organic fresh raw and living foods in your life and your rewards will be long-lasting and plenty throughout your life!
- Go and get some seeds, rinse them, soak them overnight and the watch them sprout and develop into radiant nourishing food for you, your family and friends!
27. Take a course with Verónica on sprouting and growing greens!
- Learn how to grow and prepare organic sprouts adn greens conveniently and cheaply at home!
- Enjoy the incredible nourishment of living raw enzymes.
- Learn all you need to know about including raw veggies in your diet to give your body its optimal deserved health!
- Learn to make incredible and tasty raw foods at your home!
For information on this fun and enriching courses, please email:
