I grow sprouts, ---power-full food and I found a way to buy the seeds a lot cheaper. At the feed store, the co-op they call it here. Many different seeds for sprouting (make sure they are the untreated ones) - Our health food store sells alfalfa seeds for about 7 dollars for 4 or 5 oz. - for 3.25 I bought a pound and a quarter at the feed store... last fall and still got a third of it left.
Before sprouting them I soak them in half household bleach and half water for a few minutes and rinse them real well. One of the most powerful, enzyme rich foods we can eat for pennies a serving. There are other seeds at the co-op cheap that cna be sprouted - sunflower, clover, etc. Raw fruits and veggies are the key to health (along with attitude of course) and sprouts are hard to beat. When they are almost ready put them in the sun to get them greening up -- the choloryphl is very healthy.
I love 'em so much I eat them just as they are by the handfulls. People say, I haven't got time but to grow sprouts takes about a minute of your time a day.
Do the bleach thing to kill any bacteria, soak overnight in a warm spot- use this water on your houseplants.I use a tea strainer to strain. Use a wide mouth jar, the bigger the better- with cheesecloth on the top held on by a rubber band. Rinse two or e times a day with tepid water-- just turn the jar upside down in you sink to drain or in your dish rack. Thats it. In a couple days put the jar in the sun.
Rasish,onion, broccolli, sunflower(must be in the shell) , alfalfa, clover, chick peas, mung beans (chinese bean sprouts) almost every vegetable seed can be sprouted
... not all of these are available at the feed store but untreated seed can be ordered in larger quantities via vegetable seed companies.
Seeds are storehouses of energy and when they sprout they go throught a chemical change- increasing
vitamins, proteins, minerals available etc. Everthing a plant needs for the first couple of weeks is available
int these tiny storeheouse - except for light and water. Raw foods are high in enzymes which are necessary
for digestion of food. As we get older the enzymes in our bodys can become depleted and so we need to get them from raw veggies and fruits. Cooking in any way destroys the enzymes in foods and the best is
raw and organic. Organic is expensive, unless you grow your own and store what can be stored for winter.
If you are on a tight budget at least try and buy organic root veggies and greens. Growing sprouts is one way of gardening in the winter with great rewards and tasty too.
If you have a big family or just like a lot of sprouts you can make a sprout grower with two recycled plastic pails like the kind fruit etc comes to the bakeries and food stores. They usually give thme away. Drill tiny holes in the bottom of one pail and this is your strainer. This bucket will then fit inside the other and you have a sprout grower. Extra sprouts can be given to friends or even sold to pay for the seeds. Yes, sprouts are fairly inexpensive but not if you eat them in large quantities. Those little square boxes they sell in the stores are great for a helathy snack but a very high price per pound.
If you like peanut butter try a peanut butter and sprout sanwich on good bread -- lots of sprouts -- and a great way to get kids to eat greens..... and they will love these sandwiches as the sprouts are juicy and sweet.
To give an idea of the power of this food just take a look at animals that thrive on grass and alfalfa and clover. Horses, cattle and even elephants are vegetarian and they eat nary a bit of meat.
Wheat grass can be grown and juiced and it is one of the most powerful cancer fighters there is. I grew it
one year and didn't have a juicer. It can be chewed till all the juice is out of it... or make a green drink in a blender. Whizz it up really good, add a cup or two of water, let it soak for about five minutes and strain and
drink it -- being sure to swish it around in your mouth before swallowing... in little sips. Parsley and almost any green can be used in the same way in a "green drink". I usually blend it twice and then boil whats left
to make a stock and drink this also- as I feel some minerals are still left in the pulp will come out in the boiling.... and the leftovers go in the compost.
With the high cost of organic veggies and berries you may wish to start gardening. Even a small space can grow a lot of veggies. The method I use called "Low Work Gardening" requires no digging, no watering and no weeeding- well a little bit of these but not much. Basically it's a "plant and harvest" method using a black plastic covering on the garden. (muclch). I've been using this method for about 9 years and wouldn't garden any other way. The plastic does not harm the ground-- the sod composts underneath, water is seldom required (except in a drought) weeds cant get through the compost. I would say it's about 25 per cent of the work of normal gardening. There are tricks to it. Send me an email with "Low Work Gardening" in the subject line (so I know it's not spam) and I will send you both parts of my method. One is for veggie and berry gardening and the other for creative gardening -- davidcoyote@care2.com -- FREE!
Please feel free to pass this on -- "Give someone some food and you feed them. Give them some seeds
and teach them to garden, you feed them, their family and friends and
their soul. Gardenng feeds you many times".