Homegrown sprouted/microgreen vegetables - Higher nutrition-NO PESTICIDES!

[ElliotB]

In my quest to avoid pesticides on/in fruits and vegetables that I consume which is unavoidable with store bought produce, even with organic fruits and vegetables, I have been growing my own vegetables and some limited fruits for quite a while hydroponically. I have just discovered another couple of good options, sprouted seeds and microgreen vegetables that can easily and inexpensively been grown indoors at home WITHOUT SOIL and absolutely NO PESTICIDES.


The beauty of it all is that for about 30 seconds worth of your time twice a day, you can have an abundant supply of tasty, highly nutritious greens that are pesticide free. Since every diet recommends consuming vegetables, it only makes sense to eat home grown pesticide free vegetables over regular store bought veggies as much as possible.

Both growing methods are easy and give you fresh veggies with significantly higher nutrient levels that regular store bought vegetables, and IF you grow them yourself, there are absolutely NO PESTICIDES whatsoever. WARNING: Store bought sprouts can have health concerns and you should avoid them. ONLY consume home grown sprouts and microgreens.

ALSO, clean water is a must, don't use tap water. See my post below with additional information.


Microgreens:

Microgreens are greens that have been harvested before maturation, usually about seven to 14 days after the seeds have germinated. The result is a tiny green about one to three inches tall with more flavor and a higher concentration of nutrients.

Here is a link to a good introductory article about them:

https://facty.com/lifestyle/wellness/10 ... icrogreens

Sprouted Seeds:

Sprouts are simple seeds that are harvested after a few days of growth. You have likely seen them in supermarkets and even eaten store bought sprouts or had them mixed in salads on restaurant.
Sprouts may offer some of the highest levels of nutrition available, including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes that help protect against free radical damage


While I have not yet grown any Microgreens yet, I plan to soon. I gave been growing and eating sprouts. All you need to grow sprouts is a mason jar, a special vented lid (available on Amazon starting in price at just a few dollars).

How do you grow sprouts, A SUMMARY.

Growing sprouts is amazingly easy. And inexpensive, far less expensive than supermarket vegetables. You simply place a small amount of seeds in the jar or container you are using, let them soak for 8-12 hours, then rinse them twice a day until they are ready to eat. Some sprouts are ready in 3-4 days, some take a bit longer, 5-8 days.

There are automatic machines available with lower end ones selling for around $50 and the most costly about $150. These machines automatically water/rinse the sprouts for you. BUT frankly it is so easy to grow sprouts, a machine is not really necessary. It takes 30 seconds twice a day to rinse a jar of sprouts.

I found this site offering about 100 different varieties of sprouting seeds:

https://sproutpeople.org/seeds/

I have tried 5 varieties that I ordered on Amazon. There are many, many companies offering seeds and supplies for growing your own sprouts and microgarden vegetables, just do a GOOGLE search.

There is a lot of info on sprouting seeds on the web, and YouTube also has many, many videos on both forms of gardening.

Happy Gardening!



Virtually all diets, especially MS diets, recommend eating vegetables. Some MS diets recommend large quantities of veggies on a daily basis. With the amount of pesticide contamination on store bought produce, I simply cannot imagine that it is a good idea to consume them in the quantities they recommend. Pesticides are a poison designed to kill indiscriminately and in general are likely not truly safe for human consumption in any amounts other than minute amounts. You have likely seen numerous articles in the last couple of weeks against the maker of Round Up, Monsanto. Round up is used world wide in food production and it is virtually impossible to find fruits and vegetables that do not have Round Up on/in them. In fact even Organic fruits and vegetables, while not directly treated with Round Up typically have exposure one way or another to it, and have Round Up contamination. Round up has been linked to many major illnesses.

[NHE]

You may be interested in watching Richard Miller's experience with sprouting and how it eliminated 20 years of chronic health problems.





The sprouters he uses are made by Biosta and you can find them on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Biosta-Sprouter- ... 000CC5IBW/

[ElliotB]

Thanks for the video links, I will definitely watch them.

I prefer to use glass rather than plastic. Less work and cleanup too with the mason jars, when the sprouts are ready I just put them in the refrigerator.

I am thrilled with the results, love the taste and texture! And mostly the simplicity. And of course the claimed health benefits (I will keep my fingers crossed).

Jimmylegs, have you found any interesting flavors in seeds? What are your favorites? I find for the most part the taste is very similar in the several varieties I bought but the broccoli sprouts I just harvested have a slightly stronger flavor (a good flavor) than the others I planted and I also just harvested some Fenugreek sprouts which are also quite interesting flavor wise and the thickness of the sprouts is 3x-4x that of typical sprouts like alfalfa. And 5lbs of seeds costs about the same amount as 1lb of some typical seeds so they are also pretty inexpensive. Actually for the most part the seeds are very affordable, and certainly cheaper than a lot of supermarket greens.

[ElliotB]

NHE, watched the videos, very interesting. Thanks again for the links.

Surprising that I don't recall seeing any MS diet recommending them!! Wonder why!

[NHE]

I prefer to use glass rather than plastic. Less work and cleanup too with the mason jars, when the sprouts are ready I just put them in the refrigerator.

Here's a stainless steel sprouter.

https://sproutpeople.org/stainless-steel-tray-sprouter/

Be sure to watch the demonstration video for growing perfect sprouts.

[NHE]

NHE, watched the videos, very interesting. Thanks again for the links.

Surprising that I don't recall seeing any MS diet recommending them!! Wonder why!

I was interested in trying sprouts some time ago when I first saw the videos, but I was unable to find the seeds Richard Miller uses.

[ElliotB]

Not sure which specific seeds he is using but there are many very good online (easy to order, reasonably priced) sources of non-gmo, organic seeds. I found this interesting site with 99 varieties (I have not ordered from them) and their prices seem good as well:

https://sproutpeople.org/seeds/


There are many, many different sources available just like the one I linked to above and even Amazon has a nice variety.

[NHE]

Not sure which specific seeds he is using...

The seeds were discussed in the second video linked above.

[ElliotB]

Available here:

http://sprouting.com/product/522/Canola.html

but they are out of stock.
(This is where SproutMeister gets their seeds from.)

Also available on eBay (source unknown):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Canola-Seed-5- ... SwZaNaDefF

5lbs for $20.50

I confirmed with the seller that these are suitable for sprouting. I just ordered them and should get them in about a week...

According to the Mumm's website, these sprouts are high in Omega 3! This is certainly an interesting fact!!

The Mumm's site has nutritional info on the various sprouts they offer. This is the first time I have seen a site that offers nutritional info for sprouts. Another good thing about the Mumm site is that they offer a very comprehensive selection.


Based on what I have been reading about the extremely high nutrition of sprouts as compared to their mature counterparts, I will be switching the majority of my vegetable consumption to select sprouts.

[ElliotB]

A very important consideration when growing sprouts or any kind of vegetables at home is the water you use. I would suggest not using regular tap water. There can be many contaminants in unfiltered tap water that will be absorbed by whatever you are growing. You need a high quality filter system or store bought high quality filtered water - Those 'pitcher' type filters you see advertised often make the water taste better but don't remove enough of the many harmful contaminants in the water that you really want removed.

I suggest using only high quality filtered water that is either filtered through reverse osmosis or distillation. BUT both filtration processes remove important minerals that are good for you. A select few home RO units are available with re-mineralizers that add back minerals after the filtration process. Water filtered by RO with minerals added back are available at most major supermarkets but a home system is obviously more convenient and less expensive over the long run. Distilled water does not have this 'automatic' option, but you can add minerals manually. One of the easiest ways is to add half a teaspoon of unprocessed/unrefined Himalayan crystal salt per gallon of water. Pink Himalayan salt is thought to be the healthiest salt to consume as it has a lot of minerals and other healthy 'stuff' in it. You have likely seen Pink Himalayan salt at your local supermarket. It has been popular in my area for a couple of years and its popularity is spreading. I have used it for many years.

[ElliotB]

I posted the following in a separate thread but felt it was important enough and appropriate to re-post here a 2nd time as it is directly related to this thread:


Sulforaphane is produced from broccoli sprouts - it has been shown through extensive studies to have fantastic health benefits, including having an ANTI-INFLAMMATORY effect. At least that is what is posted all over the web. Believe it or not! I don't know if the info on the web or in this video is true or not, I am not a doctor/scientist/researcher. But who knows. It certainly could be. It is relatively inexpensive and available in powder and capsule form. If you take supplements, this is probably one to consider. I am consuming sprouts including broccoli sprouts and will also start taking a sulforaphane supplement.

Here is a link to one short video about broccoli sprouts and sulforaphane:



There are many more on YouTube.

[ElliotB]

A sprout seed shopping tip: Virtually all the seeds for sprouting are most expensive when purchased in weights of one pound or less. Going up to four and five pound bags or more brings the cost down considerably.

Broccoli sprouting seeds are $18.99 for 1 pound but are only $59.25 for 5 pounds or just $11.25 per pound.

Chia seeds are $8.98 for one pound but only $22.48 for 5 pounds or $4.50 per pound.

ALL sprouting seeds I have looked at are priced out in this manner.

[ElliotB]

I just enjoyed my first batch of sprouted sunflower seeds. They are absolutely delicious and have a very nice texture as well as the stem and leafs are thicker/larger than typical sprouts. In fact, they are possibly the best tasting green vegetable I have ever eaten. I ordered some without the shell not knowing what to expect from growing them with the shells but they are actually very easy to separate and had I known I never would have ordered them without the shells. I just started my first batch with the new seeds and have ordered several other varieties as well which I have not tried yet. IF you sprout, what is your favorite variety?

[Jaded]

Thanks for the video on the broccoli sprouting seeds ElliotB.

Apparently they are also v good for h-pylori!

[ElliotB]

Thank you. Although I am a novice at sprouting, I am a fast learner. It is extremely important to rinse the sprouts at least twice a day and to really rinse them well until the water that you pour out is clear, or else they get moldy. If the sprouts are ready to be consumed but you need to store them before eating them, be sure to thoroughly rinse them before refrigeration. There are some automatic machines available but unless you are in need of very large amounts, there are inexpensive simple to use trays or you can use mason jars with special lids (see links below). And there is only one machine that I have found that does not 'recycle' the water, see the link below). All the other devices circulate 'dirty' water and should be avoided IMHO.

In addition to mason jars which work great, this is the sprouter I am using. It is similar to the one in the video and it seems to work well, about $16 on Amazon. It has 4 trays, is easy to use and seems to work well. The trays are not huge, but large enough to supply a steady supply of sprouts for 1-2 people:

https://www.amazon.com/Deluxe-Kitchen-S ... 01AJJOJD0/

I have only had it for a few days and so far it seems to be working well except on sunflower seeds with the hulls (they got moldy) but sunflower seeds grow great in mason jars.

This is the type of lid you need for mason jars (6 for $10) plus you need wide mouth mason jars, quart size works well:

https://www.amazon.com/UPGRADED-Aozita- ... 078X3ZCXC/

For large amounts of sprouts, this 'automatic' machine for $180 is a good choice, and probably the best choice of all the automatic machines because it mists the sprouts with fresh water only (all the other so called automatic machines circulate 'dirty' water) and you have to drain/refill regularly:

https://www.amazon.com/EasyGreen-Light- ... 0774WQ62B/

You can save 10% if you use Subscribe and Save to get this reduced price. The review are quite good and some claim better quality sprouts. Since this machine uses fresh water to rinse the sprouts and they are rinsed regularly, this makes sense.

Unlike the mason jars and plastic trays, there is some simple weekly maintenance (basically cleaning) required. I prefer simple...



The flavors of these sprouts is amazing compared to typical supermarket veggies. No comparison!!! The sunflower seed sprouts are still my favorites. I just started 4 new batches of sprout seeds I have not tried before that should take about a week to grow.