Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Sprouting 101

What is so important about sprouting?
When you sprout a grain, a bean, a seed, or a nut you are eating something way more nutritious that your body recognizes more as a vegetable vs. eating processed flour, nuts, seeds...that your body has a harder time processing. Sprouted grains contain important enzymes that aid in proper digestion and they also contain good bacteria. When we eat food that is refined and over processed..all those enzymes are lost.
You can read more about sprouting grains HERE!
Here are simple steps for sprouting grains:
I use wide mouth mason jars with sprouting lids...you can also just go to the hardware store and get some screen cut to fit your jar lids you already have.

Fill however many mason jars you want 1/3 full of grain
(I have just done white wheat and red winter wheat. Pretty soon, I will be experimenting with more ancient grains, like kamut and spelt).

(This is from the first time I did it and it was way too much grain in the morning.. don't add more than a half of a jar full..before the water)

Fill the jars full with filtered water, cover with sprouting lids and let sit out of the sunlight over night.

In the morning, drain the old water and rinse thoroughly. I leave my jars sitting at an angle in my sink so the water can continue to drain.


Over the next 12 hours, you should rinse them a few times. As soon as you start to see the little white bud coming out of the wheat, this is a good place to stop.

I then dehydrate the wheat at 115 degrees until they are hard again.

Once the wheat is dry, it is ready to grind and use for whatever you want. I realized that when I let my wheat sprout too long, my bread did not turn out. I found out after reading, The Diet Rebels Cookbook, that it is because there wasn't enough gluten to hold together in baking.
That is it! Try sprouting some wheat, dehydrating, and grinding. I have a dry container for my vita mix that lets me grind my grains

1 comment:

  1. Oh how I dream of a vita mix! I have always wondered if you dehydrate the wheat after sprouting! Thanks!!

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