April 10, 2012

growing alfalfa sprouts


You cannot imagine how GOOD,  freshly grown alfalfa sprouts taste! They are so crisp and sweet and fresh! And . . . they take hardly ANY effort at all to grow.
Like, no effort people!


Really! 
It's so easy! 


Well, they do take a teeny bit of effort, but I promise you, it's no big deal!

Okay, first off, let me tell you about a sandwich I made the other day. Hang tight, we're still talkin' sprouts here! This sandwich was the sandwich to end all sandwiches. It was the bomb! I'm telling you, I was not even expecting it to taste this good. I cannot wait to make another, and another and another!


Here's the ingredient list for the sandy-sandwich:
whole wheat bread
ham lunch meat
turkey breast lunch meat
slice of provolone/mozzarella cheese
very large handful of alfalfa sprouts
sweet pickles
Hellman's mayonnaise

Yep.
That's it.
And it was to die for!
Trust me on this one!


I swear the sprouts were the star of the show! The slight crunch you get from the freshness of the sprouts is like . . . I don't know . . .it's just good! The flavor of the sprouts is a little . . . earthy . . . and sweet. I cannot describe it any other way. You are just going to have to taste for yourself!


Here's what ya do and how ya go about doin' it!

Grab a 1 quart jar.
Measure 2 Tbsp. alfalfa seeds and pour into jar.
Cover seeds in jar with about 1 inch of water.
Swirl water around to make sure all seeds are coated.
Cover mouth of jar with a piece of cheesecloth or a coffee filter with pin prick holes to allow for air circulation.
Fasten rubber band over cheesecloth or coffee filter to hold in place.
Place jar in dark place such as a kitchen cupboard.
Let seeds sit overnight.
In the morning, drain water from seeds through the cheesecloth or coffee filter.
Then, remove cheesecloth, fill jar with a couple inches of water and swirl around to rinse and then drain the water again through the cheesecloth.
Next, leave the drained seeds in jar covered with cheesecloth or coffee filter for about 12 hours, in a dark spot.
After 12 hours, rinse seeds in jar with a couple inches of water and drain through the cheesecloth.
Leave drained seeds to sit in dark spot.
Repeat the "rinse, drain, and let-sit-in-dark-spot" process, every 12 hours.
Within 4 days your sprouts will be approximately 2 to 3 inches long and ready to eat.
Store the grown sprouts in the refrigerator, covered with tight lid, or a piece of plastic wrap.
Sprouts will stay fresh for about a week.

Enjoy!

P.S. It's quite the gratifying experience to grow sprouts as it is almost full proof, and you will see the results with a day or so.

A WORD OF WARNING: make sure you buy organic alfalfa seeds that are specifically for food consumption. Do not use commercial seeds for farming that may be sprayed with insecticide. Also, follow directions precisely for sprouting...there will be directions on the package.  Follow sanitation and rinsing guidelines posted on package. A great brand to use is by Now Health Foods. http://www.nowfoods.com/

15 comments:

  1. I have ALWAYS wanted to do that. .I LOVE sprouts on my sandwich. .but after that. .I'm not sure what to do with them?? Any other ideas on how to use the sprouts? I have also seen lots of seed mixes designed for sprouting in my seed catalogs. .people sprout all kinds of things!! Great idea. .and think of all the nutrition you packed onto that sandwich!! Yum!

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    Replies
    1. Melanie, you can also put them right into your salad...the best way is to put them on top of your salad and it not only looks beautiful, it tastes great and adds more nutrition to your salad. Also, you can put them in wraps or those pita pocket sandwiches. That is all I have done with them. Although, I have been known to put them right on the plate next to a piece of fish and some roasted potatoes...you just pick them up and eat them with your fork...to me, that is so refreshing...kinda like a mini salad...but with no dressing. Thanks for stoppin' by!

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  2. I'm not sure I've ever tasted these...but I've been trying new things lately, so maybe these will be next. That sandwich looks delicious!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Alica! I hope you get the chance to try this. You can also use lentils and do the same thing. I will try that next. I will probably buy organic lentils as we have them at the grocery store in bulk and they are very inexpensive...I can buy about 2 cups of organic lentils for about $1.60...pretty good, huh!

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  3. I love sprouts. I tried to grow them once, but they got all moldy. Don't know what I did wrong. I also love pea shoots. Where do you get the seeds?

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    Replies
    1. Kathy, I believe the trick with sprouts lies in the rinsing with fresh water and draining every 12 hours. Yes, I have forgot and did it once in a 24 hour period...but really, when you are rinsing and keeping them fresh, they won't get stagnant. Also, keeping them in darkness and avoiding heat and sunlight will prevent bacteria from growing...and really, these are done growing within 3 days...I think I let mine go for 4 days...and then rinse and keep in fridge, tightly covered and use within a week. They should stay fresh. I bought the seeds at one of those health and nutrition stores that sells all of the interesting and weird stuff like gluten free products and stinging nettle tea, and vegan products and all that kind of stuff. I believe it was a package for about $4 or $5 dollars...maybe...and let me tell you, the seeds are so tiny, that will last you a very long time!! My sister in law and I split the package...she has the bag so I don't know all of the information. I think it might be by "Bob's Red Mill" brand. The seeds are a little tinier than a sesame seed.

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  4. I didn't know that sprouts came from alfalfa seeds. Many farmers around here grow alfalfa to cut and bale as feed for their stock. Cattle and horses love it. And I didn't know you could grow sprouts yourself, I guess I never thought about it. That sammich looks divine too Bonnie.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Suzanne....I know you would research it first...but I just wanted to say if you want to do this, make sure you use food-grade alfalfa seeds...you can buy them on-line or at health food store...alfalfa seeds for farming would be more than likely sprayed with pesticides. I just added an additional paragraph to this post about that and also about the safety of growing sprouts due to bacteria and what not. I just didn't want you going out to Harland and saying, "hey Harland can I have a few tablespoons of that stuff" (for those of you who don't know, Suzanne's hubby is a farmer)

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  5. I just had my salad with alfalfa sprouts and it was quite yummy. will have to to put them in a veggie wrap next.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Patti! I am so glad you enjoyed the sprouts!! Veggie wraps sounds awesome...especially with some avocado!

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  6. I get a lot of my alfalfa sprouts online. I buy the seeds and I grow them myself. It works very well growing them from home.

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