Meal planning and Cooking

How to Grow Your Own Sprouts

How to Grow Your Own Sprouts

Have you ever thought about eating sprouts (or micro-greens) to get your greens during the winter? Instead of a big salad that you might not be able to finish off, these could be your new favourite sides! And why not growing them yourself?

Step 1:
Select a certain amount of your seeds/beans/pulses (not too many, they will expand).
Rinse them in a sieve and pour them into a nice wide jar. Make sure your hands and all equipment are clean. You can also get special sprouting trays but a jar works just fine. Cover with water and soak overnight.

Step 2:
Rinse again the following day and leave them wet but not soaking.

Step 3:
Repeat, rinse at least once a day.

Step 4:
After a few days, some little shoots will appear! You can let them grow for a couple of days, depending on how you like them. Once they’ve grown enough, rinse again and store in the fridge. Your sprouts can be added raw in small amounts to your meals for some nutritious, waste-free crunch! They can also be cooked and used in dishes as you would do with the unsprouted version.

Pouring wet seeds in a jar
Wet seeds in a jar
Sprouts in a jar

The moist warm condition needed to sprout seeds is perfect for bacteria too so make sure the sieve, jar and your hands are well cleaned before starting.

Seeds that are produced for home sprouting are subject to strict food safety rules so these are a good option. If the seeds begin to discolour or smell, do not eat them.

For more info see: https://www.fsai.ie/faq/bean_sprouts.html