Sprouting 101

Sprouting is really easy. I mean it's super easy. The best part is that you don't need any fancy tools to sprout. All you need is a large jar, cheesecloth, a decent rubber band and a trusty guide for soaking time and sprouting days. I like the one in The Raw Food Book

It's pretty easy to follow and doesn't have too many crazy things to sprout.

So this week I am sprouting alfalfa sprouts in one jar and a mix of green peas and French green lentils in an other.  I chose the pea and lentil mix because they both have the same amount of sprout days.

Step 1

Determine your quantities

1 TBSP Alfalfa = 1 CUP Alfalfa Sprouts
1 CUP Green Peas = 2 CUP Pea Sprouts
1 CUP Lentils = 2 CUP Lentil Sprouts

I used 2 tbsp of Alfalfa and a half cup each of the peas and lentils

Step 2
Cover your jars

Cut a double swath of cheesecloth large enough to cover the mouth of the jar. Hold it in place with a rubber band

Step 3
Soak your seeds - yes everything you soak is a seed!

Alfalfa = 4 - 6 hours
Green Peas = 10 - 12 hours
Lentils = 6 - 8 hours

Sometimes I follow the soak times and sometimes I just let them go overnight. This week I let them go overnight.

Step 4
Wash & Rinse

This is why you cover the mouth of the jar with the cheesecloth. Rinse the seeds with fresh clean water then place in a bowl at about 45 degree angle. You want them to drain to prevent them from getting moldy. You need to do this at least twice a day. Each seed takes a different amount of time to sprout.


Alfalfa = 5 days
Green Peas = 2 - 3 days
Lentils = 2 - 3 days

Step 5
EAT!

Once your sprouts have reached your desired sproutiness you can enjoy in a salad, a sandwich, soup or on their own with a little lemon juice. I've heard of people having them in their smoothies.

I guarantee that once you have homemade sprouts you won't want to spend your hard earned cash on expensive sprouts. Especially not when they are so easy to grow at home.

mother's little helper

NYC Vegetarian Food Festival!

Two weeks ago was the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival. I went there with my friend Amy -  WoW, say what! 3-hour lines!

It was a real hit. There were about 70 vendors that included:

Sweet & Sara vegan marshmallows...  and more marshmallows. This was a big hit with Amy.






There were also lots of ferments like kombucha and kimchis and slaws



I ended up getting a great fermented Green Slaw from the very nice guys at BAO  It's the third row from the left.





To my utter delight there was also lots of raw junk food, Yippee!

There was The Raw IceCream Company that is probably one of the best ice creams, including cow's milk, I have ever had. Gnosis Chocolates where also there, I had heard of them but never had the chance to sample them before - it was out of this world!

After we had our fill of vegan cheeses, salty snacks and more sweets we went to check out the speakers.


The first one we caught was Victoria Moran, she was a motivational speaker and talked about the greatness of a plant-based diet, the good karma and how it's better for you, the animals, the earth. I liked the positive attitude she exuded. I agree with her philosophy. I may not have a lot of material things but I think I lead a pretty charmed life.




Next was Jared Koch from Clean Plates, I thought he looked familiar then realized I had seen him at the FRESH movie showing last summer. Jared spoke about vegan nutrition and while he isn't a vegetarian he did promote a healthy vegan diet by eating an array of food. He addressed the soy question by suggesting the eating of more fermented soy products rather than tofu (especially if it's GMO).

Ha! well good thing the next speaker was Doc Rob - A fermented food freak! I love fermented food so I was really looking forward to hearing him talk about the benefits. Well I was not disappointed, he talked about a whole lot of bacteria and how it's good for your gut. He's also inspired me to try my hand a some fermenting at home, should be interesting...



The grand finale was Keynote Speaker Dr. Neal Barnard, the President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). They are the ones that head the 21-Day Kickstart, it's a 3-week challenge to eat a strictly plant-based diet. The idea is that it takes 3 weeks to develop a habit... well I don't know about you but I think it takes me more like 3 years... Anyhoo, Dr. Barnard gave a presentation with some scary stats on Type-2 diabetes and heart disease, both of which are predominantly lifestyle diseases and on the rise. It wasn't all doom and gloom, he also showed us some of his success stories.

All in all it was a good day, we finished it off with a very yummy dinner at Bonobos.