Sunday, March 07, 2010

The Veggie Queen Sprouts Again

I have been following a partly-raw diet for most of my life. I have always eaten raw fruit and vegetables, and for at least 30 years, on and off, I have been sprouting. I love the simplicity of the jar method:


  • you put the seeds in a jar with a screened lid or piece of cheesecloth secured with a rubber band,
  • soak,
  • rinse,
  • put in a bowl on an angle in a cabinet and then rinse twice a day
  • When ready, place the jar in a spot with indirect sunlight and let the sprouts green up by absorbing light and turning it into chlorophyll.
Here is the first step in seed soaking overnight. This has to happen no matter which method you use. This jar has a screen on the top.









But for the past 16 months, I have been using the Sprout Master Mini Triple Sprouter which is like a little stacked sprout house which is available from a place called The Sprout House where I buy most of my exotic sprout seeds. I purchase the usual beans and grains in bulk at my local natural foods store and send away for mixes (check out the Veggie Queen mix) and exotic seeds such as broccoli, clover, radish and many more.

I have discovered why my compact sprout system works better for me than the jar method. I recently made mung bean sprouts and put them in the cabinet to sprout in the dark. Twenty four hours later I realized that I had not remembered to rinse them. They were still OK but had a forgotten longer they may have stopped sprouting or rotted which is a big waste. I see my Sproutmaster on the counter top and remember to rinse the seeds which is vitally important.



I also discovered that the seeds seem to sprout better in the Sproutmaster than in the jar so I ended up putting my "jar seeds" into the Sproutmaster to finish sprouting. I made this salad with all those sprouts (no apologies for no photo since I made it for the McDougall program participants and didn't stop to take a photo. Believe me, it was beautiful. If you were there and want to comment, please do. I have to wait a few days for new sprouts before I can shoot the photo so... in the interest of time and getting this post up -- NO photo of the actual recipe).

Contact Rita at The Sprout House if you want to become a great sprouter like me. For the month of March you'll get a free pound of St. Patrick's mix with your sprouter. (Note: I am an affiliate of the Sprout House but only recommend people and products that I personally love.)

Rainbow Sprout Salad
Serves 4
I recently ate something like this at a mushroom hunting potluck. I had already likely eaten too much but it was too beautiful and tasty to pass up. Vary the ingredients based on what you have available.

1 1/2 cups mung bean sprouts
1 1/2 cups lentil sprouts
1 cup shredded red cabbage
½ cup shredded carrots
3 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds
3 tablespoons dried cranberries or raisins (optional)
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons water
1-2 teaspoons mellow white miso
1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1-2 teaspoons agave syrup (optional)


Combine all the vegetables in a bowl and toss, adding sunflower seeds and dried fruit, if using.
In a small bowl, combine orange juice, zest, water, miso, mustard and agave syrup, if using. Combine dressing with sprouts and vegetables right before serving.

© 2010 The Veggie Queen™, Jill Nussinow, MS, RD http://www.theveggiequeen.com

6 comments:

jenna said...

sounds delicious. haven't ever sprouted before, but i bet my boys would love to watch them. i expect i'd forget to maintain the rinsing and they'd rot.

Annica Janes said...

Sprouting is so easy and fun and economical.
Lentils are a good one to start out with I think b/c they are simple and fast - not to mention delicious!

elizabeth said...

So the organic lentils and garbanzos straight from the store are fine for sprouting? You don't need special sproutable beans? I bought some lentils from sprouthouse and they are really good. There is a short window for eating them in there prime I think, so I end up giving some to my dogs if I don't eat them in time. I'm having fun sprouting, as I can't grow anything outside right now in Montana. Just had a huge salad full of crimson clover sprouts, red and green cabbage, tomato, pan fried chopped tofu, toasted sesame seeds, some warmed quinoa and miso dressing with extra white balsamic vinegar on top. I am looking forward to trying arugula sprouts and speckled pea shoots from sprouthouse. Thanks for the post!

Anonymous said...
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The Veggie Queen said...

Elizabeth,

I buy organic beans and grains to sprout at my local natural food store and they are just fine as long as they have not been hanging around too long. The seeds from the Sprout House have a great germination rate which is why I buy my seeds there such as clover, red cabbage, broccoli, etc.

I hope that you know that you actually have to grow the arugula on a sheet. You sprout it like a plant and then harvest it. I believe that you can do the same with the peas or sprout them with the jar or sprouter method.

My sprouts keep very well for about a week in my SproutMaster in the refrigerator but my dog also loves any of the bean sprouts, especially mung.

Your meal sounds divine. I wish that I were able to come share it with you. Thanks.

Kitty said...

Why is it not possible to click on recipes in your newsletter so we print them? It seems most cannot be found on your site or blog. Receive numerous cooking/recipe related emails daily & Veggie Queen is the only one where I can't click a link to the recipe. You may have a reason for that feature being disabled in the newsletter, but if not, please consider activating it. Thanks