Sprout Your Own Bean Sprouts

Many, many years ago, my Granny taught me how to grow bean sprouts in a jar. Dark cool cupboard, rinse daily. Somewhere between 7-10 days, my mung beans are a success and will be added to my stir fry supper.

So easy, so inexpensive, so healthy!

Bean and seed sprouts are a good source of vitamins, including vitamins A, B1, B2, C, E, and K, as well as folate, and niacin.

This simple method is useful for both seed and bean sprouts, that can be eaten raw, used in sandwiches or salads or in stir frying, and it is a Wonderful interactive and educational activity to do with children.

Growing signifies the transformation of a seed, which is a dormant state, into a seedling, a young plant with roots and shoots.

Teaching children about "growing" from seeds helps them understand the basics of plant life cycles, from seed to seedling, and the necessary conditions for growth.

Activities like sprouting seeds in jars or planting them in soil provides a hands-on experience that allows children to observe and learn about the growth process firsthand.

As those of you know, kids can be very picky. This fun activity may encourage them to 'try' tasting something new.

Directions:

-Start with any glass jar. Wash thoroughly.

-Fill the jar with boiling water to sterilize, then allow it to sit until cooled, completely. I'm a water conservator, so instead of dumping cooled water down the drain, I'll water a houseplant with it.

-Now that you have your clean damp jar, add 1/2 tsp if seeds (alfalfa is great), or 1 tsp of mung beans. I buy the dried beans from the grocer. Surprisingly, most bags of dried beans work!

- Add water to cover and place a breathable piece of cotton, or nylon on top, and secure it with an elastic or twine. Place in dark cupboard for 12-24hrs. This first 24 hour period is the ONLY time that you'll leave water in your jar!

-After this first 24 hours, while keeping the cloth in place, swoosh your jar of water and seeds, and carefully drain your water. Again, I just dump it in a houseplant.

-Your cloth should still be in place for this next step...Place your covered jar under the tap and add a little water. (Brita and filtered water are fine). Swoosh to rinse the seeds, and dump into a plant. You DON'T want to leave water in the jar. You just wat to keep seeds damp. If using beans, they'll fall to bottom of jar, however, seeds will stick to the cloth, so gently tap the cloth and the seeds will fall to bottom.

- Place in dark cupboard for 24 hours.

- Repeat this water change and dump once each day, and place in dark cupboard. After a few days, you'll notice your seeds will start sprouting. Beans take a few extra days. Remember, you do NOT want to leave excess water in the jar. They will spoil and start to smell, then rot.

- After a week or so, your sprouts should completely fill your jar and are ready to eat! This may take a week or more, dependent on the temperature of your cupboard. The warmer it is, the faster they'll sprout. I'd recommend a cooler cupboard, so the sprouts don't rot.

- Eat and enjoy! If you don't eat them all at once, the sprouts can be refrigerated in a container with a puece of clean cotton or a paper towel, to absorb excess moisture. I prefer glass, but any container will suffice. They should be eaten within 3 or 4 days.

Experiment with different beans and seeds. I love using this method for brocolli seeds and alfalfa seeds, mung beans, lentils and adzuki beans.

Have fun, and Happy sprouting!

Wendy