Sprouts: The Miracle Food
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by Steve Meyerowitz, "Sproutman", author of Sprouts the Miracle Food The National Cancer institute and the National Institute of Health both recommend eating five fresh fruits and vegetables every day. A great way to help reach that goal is to include sprouts. Sprouts are the only form of agriculture that can be locally grown and available in all four seasons. These "baby" vegetables are grown from seed to salad in only week. In fact, one pound of alfalfa seed will yield ten to fourteen pounds of fresh mini-salad greens. Whether you are on top of a mountain or in a bunker with artificial light, you can still grow this fast, organic food. |
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Yes, it is fast food, but you will not be sacrificing any nutrition. Alfalfa sprouts have more chlorophyll than spinach, kale, cabbage or parsley. Alfalfa, sunflower, clover and radish sprouts are all 4-percent protein. Compare that to spinach -- 3-percent, Romaine lettuce -1.5-percent and Iceberg lettuce- 0.8-percent, and milk -- 3.3-percent. These foods all have about 90-percent water. But meat and eggs are the protein foods for Americans. Meat is 19-percent and eggs are 13-percent protein (and 11-percent fat). But Soybean sprouts have 28-percent protein, and lentil and pea sprouts are 26-percent. Soybeans sprouts have twice the protein of eggs and only one-tenth the fat. |
Grain and nut sprouts, such as wheat and sunflower, are rich in fats. While fats in flour and wheat germ have a reputation for going rancid quickly (stores should refrigerate them), fats in sprouts last for weeks. The valuable wheat germ oil in wheat sprouts is broken down into its essential fatty acid fractions over 50-percent of which is the valuable Omega 6. While sunflower oil is our finest source of omega 6, germination of the sunflower sprout micellizes the fatty acids into an easily digestible, water soluble form saving our body the trouble of breaking it down and simultaneously protecting us against the perils of rancidity. This is a great bonus for a sprout that is already popular for its crispness and nutty flavor.
Radish sprouts have 29 times more Vitamin C than milk (29mg vs 1mg) and 4 times the Vitamin A (391 IU vs 126). These spicy sprouts have 10 times more calcium than a potato (51mg vs 5mg) and contain more vitamin C than pineapple. If you examine what is happening during germination, it looks like a vitamin factory. While mature radishes contain 10 IU/100g of provitamin, the radish sprouts contain 391 IU, 39 times more! No wonder, sprout lovers say you can feel the vitamins!
Great Ways to Get Your Sprouts
- Add to tossed salads
- Use in coleslaw (cabbage, clover, radish)
- Try in potato salad (mung bean, lentil)
- Try in wraps and roll-ups (alfalfa, sunflower, radish)
- Stir-fry with other vegetables (alfalfa, clover, radish, mung bean, lentil)
- Blend into fruit shakes or juices (cabbage, mung bean, lentil)
- Blend with vegetable juices (cabbage, mung bean, lentil)
- Replace celery in sandwich spreads (lentil, radish)
- Mix with soft cheeses for a dip (mung bean, radish)
- Grind up and use in sandwich spreads (lentil, radish)
- Top grilled cheese sandwiches after grilling (alfalfa, clover)
- Stir into soups or stews when serving (mung bean, lentil)
- Mix into pancake or waffle batter (buckwheat)
- Eat them fresh and uncooked in a sprout salad (salad mixes)
- Top omelet or scrambled eggs (alfalfa, clover, radish)
- Combine in rice dishes (fenugreek, lentil, mung bean)
- Add to sushi (radish, sunflower)
- Saute with onions (mung bean, clover, radish)
- Puree with peas or beans (mung bean, lentil)
- Add to baked beans (lentil)
- Steam and serve with butter (mung bean, lentil)
- Use in sandwiches instead of lettuce (alfalfa, clover, radish)
See also: Sprouts from our sister site, BellyBytes.com
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