There's been a lot of buzz about sprouts lately in the nutrition world, and in particular
broccoli sprouts. Broccoli sprouts contain very high levels of sulforaphanes, which activate our detox and anti-inflammatory responses. Sulforaphanes, therefore, allow us to cope with the stressors and harmful compounds we are exposed to daily. In addition to being full of sulforaphanes, they're also rich in fiber and vitamin C.
Sulforaphane is found in broccoli sprouts and other vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts. These cruciferous veggies are renowned for being rich in antioxidants, containing compounds important to cellular detoxification, and having anti-cancer properties.
Why sprouts rather than the 'adult' vegetable? Broccoli sprouts contain 50-100 times the amount of sulforaphanes than mature broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables. If they are hard to find at your local grocery store, you can easily sprout them yourself. And if you prefer broccoli, add some mustard seed to increase the availability of the sulforaphanes.
Growing your own 🌱 While I can buy broccoli sprouts at my local grocery stores, I decided to experiment and grow them myself, as well as other sprouts. They are super easy-to-grow and can successfully be grown (quickly) in a kitchen, in the middle of February in New England. We keep our house below the recommended growing
temperature of 70° and so my crops aren't quite as green as you might find in a store. I'm pretty certain that when I grow these in the summer time, they will be greener.
What do I need to get started? ✔︎ seeds
✔︎ sprouting container (lots of options)
For sprouting supplies I went through a company called SproutPeople. They are certainly not the only supplier around and another option would be SeedsNow.
The details. Once you have supplies, it's about a 4-5 day process from beginning to end, and you have about 3-4 days to consume the sprouts. These steps are for the sprouter I used in the pictures, which is called the Euro Sprouter.
• 2 TB of seeds soaked in cool water for about 8-12 hours
• Transfer seeds to sprouter, rinse, and then fill the sprouter about half full with cool water; place sprouter underneath the felt cover (it looks like an elf's hat)
• About every 8-12 hours, pour out any remaining water from base, rinse the seeds, and add back some cool water to the sprouter base, and cover again
• Repeat that for about 3-4 days, depending on how fast your sprouts develop
• Once matured, remove sprouts, place in a salad spinner, and begin the de-hulling process via the salad spinner
• Place ready-to-eat sprouts into a container, glass is preferable
In addition to Euro Sprouter I've added 32 ounce wide-mouth mason jars with mesh tops, which can be found at the sites above or Amazon. There are so many different sprouts and micro greens to grow, it's almost endless. The next sprouts I'm trying are called a French Garden Sprout Mix and contain a mix of clover, arugula, cress, radish, fenugreek, and dill.
How to use sprouts. For best results, eat them raw and chew them well. About 1/4 cup per day is a good serving size to start with.
You can add broccoli sprouts to:
🌱smoothies
🌱grain bowls, salads 🌱soups 🌱sandwiches
🌱avocado smash toast
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