Remember this l'il fellow?  He's the L'il Green Sprout from the valley of the Green Giant (ho-ho-ho).  He is simply beaming over his first harvest of sprouts.  So am I.  This was my first attempt at sprouting. This uses a form of hydroponics, soil-less growing, with only water and little light to green 'em up a bit.  I started with what I had in the house, after going onto youtube.com to view some examples of how to do it.  I started with some lentils and some veggie seeds left over from last year.

I am so geeked about my sprouts. I have these babies on bagels with hummus, in soups, in salads and just about anything else I like.  I have even started to make up names for sandwiches and stuff.  For example, I am making 'Harry Potter 'sandwiches for a work associate's baseball team.  The sprouts kinda look like hair so I threw some on some potted ham sandwiches now I have 'Hairy Potted' sandwiches. LOL!

Now for the health benefits.  All that sprout goodness is chock full of antioxidants, riboflavins, vitamins A, B, C, E, iron and calcium, yes calcium from the lentil sprouts and more.  Shown in the photo are lentil sprouts, broccoli sprouts and spicy radish sprouts.  The radish sprouts taste just like tiny l'il radishes and are just as potent, so I mix 'em with the gentler tasting lentils.  As I've gotten older, out of my teens and twenties, I stopped drinking milk on a regular basis.  Milk is a major source of calcium for building strong bones and teeth.  And, as one gets older, one needs calcium to stave off osteoperosis and bone loss. Also, during the birthing years, calcium is needed so you don't lose your teeth during and after pregnancy.  Now I have found a flavorful substitute. 

I went to the local food co-op and bought wheat, clover, mung beans and sunflower seeds for future sprouting. The co-op had the sprouting jars and lids, as well, but I chose to sprout mine the way my Grumma showed me a long time ago, and that was in an old mayo jar with some cheese cloth. I'm getting tired of the cheese cloth, so I'll implement another method that she used, and that was by putting nail holes in a jar lid, the water drains out just as well and seeds stay in. (Works for me!)  It's great for the environment because I reduce waste to the landfill through the reuse of the jar.

Til next time...Happy sproutin' in Da 'Burgh!