Sprouting

Sprouting is one of those raw food practices that I'd always meant to try, but never got around to. It's simple enough, but I kept putting it off. That, coupled with my inability to grow anything(it always dies). But I finally gave it a shot, and it worked! It couldn't be easier either, requiring just a few minutes from your day to rinse the sprouts.

Sprouts are one of my favorite foods, they're awesome for bulking up sandwiches and salads, and they're incredibly nutritious. Seeds, grains and legumes are all beneficial to your health, but they're coated in phytic acid which prevents a lot of the nurience from being available to you. Once sprouted, the dormant seed becomes a live plant. Sprouting also neutralizes phytic acid and the enzyme inhibitors on the seeds, making them easier to digest and more nutritious to you. It also increases B vitamin content, produces vitamin C, and carotene.

Sprouts are also alkalizing on the body, we need a balance of acid to alkaline in our diet to maintain good health. Most processed foods and animal by products are acid forming(stress and environment can contribute to this too). Grains and legumes are acid forming as well, which doesn't mean you should avoid them, but simply be conscious that they need to be balance out by alkaline food, such as fruits and vegetables. By sprouting grains and legumes it makes them more alkaline.

Something to be wary of, however is that not all sprouts should be consumed raw. Some sprouted legumes are toxic until they are cooked, and raw sprouts contain irritating substances to keep animals from eating them. These substances are neutralized by heat, so gentle steaming is beneficial in some cases. Most sprouts are fine to eat raw, and you're not likely to over eat sprouts anyways.

How To 
Sprouts and sprouting kits are sold in many health stores, but they're fairly easy to replicate at home. You need a mason jar(like a jam jar), cheesecloth or the foot of a pair of tights(clean ones!), a rubber band, and seeds for sprouting.

Put about 2 tablespoons of seeds in the jar, then stretch the cheesecloth or foot of the tights over the top of the jar and secure with a rubber band. Fill with water and let the seeds soak for about 6 hours. Drain and let the jar sit upside-down on a slant. Rinse twice a day every day until the sprouts reach desired length! Sprouts are sensitive to polluted water so you may want to use filtered or bottled water to rinse them.