Growing Bean Sprouts

Grow sprouting seeds indoors for a nutritious snack between mince pies. Sprouted seeds are a very high nutritional value food. For me growing sprouts in my kitchen satises my gardening bug all winter long. They are a cheap source of high vitamin natural raw food. Soak overnight in water and transfer a few spoonfuls of seeds into a clean jam jar. Swirl seeds in fresh water everyday and drain. Most are ready in less than a working week. Great for kids! Good seeds to try are: alfalfa, aduki bean, cress, fenugreek, mung bean, mustard, and radish. Here’s the ‘123’: 1. Soak seed in tepid water overnight and rinse. Scatter seeds onto damp tissue paper in a shallow tray. Cover with polythene and place in the dark. 2. Rinse sprouts daily. Keep the tissue constantly moist, but not too wet as the seeds may rot. Drain any free water from the tray. Remove polythene as needed. 3. Move into light to ‘green’ sprouts as needed, eg alfalfa, cress, fenugreek, mustard, and radish. Keep pale coloured sprouts (‘forced’) in the dark, eg mung beans and aduki beans. If you want to increase vitamins, especially vitamin C, place the sprouts in sunlight for a half day after they have fully grown. They will green up and turn sunlight into extra vitamins. If in direct sunlight rinse them occasionally to keep them moist. Once grown they can be refrigerated to slow growth and keep them fresh longer. Add sprouts to any salad, sandwich or just eat them fresh. I eat a pile of sprouts with vinegar and oil or other salad dressing.