I mentioned trying to grow alfalfa back in my mung bean post. Well the time is here, it's official... I'm an alfalfa sprout farmer!


Awww look at all those little babies... so cute.

I learned something since growing my mung beans... sprouts need good air circulation. Cheese cloth although easy and cheep, doesn't allow for as much air flow as needed. A few days into growing I realized my sprouts weren't growing as fast as I thought they would. I opened the lid and moved the cheese cloth down so about 1/2 inch was open to the air... no joke, the next morning, DOUBLED in size!! So just remember, air flow = good... but don't go with no lid... you'll let too much moisture out! Or you can also buy sprouting jar lids if you don't want to have to mess around with the cheesecloth, those will allow for better ventilation too!


OK here's how you sprout your own! Place 1-2 Tbs of alfalfa seeds into the mason jar and cover with water, cover top with cheese cloth and place jar ring on to hold the cloth in place. Let soak for 4 hours. Once they are done soaking drain the water (it's full of great nutrients so use it to water your indoor plants or something) then fill the jar to the top with new water let it sit 1 minute, swirl them around and drain it again. (When you put the cheese cloth back on at this point leave 1/2 inch open on one side) Place the mason jar in a bowl so it's tipped on its side somewhat (jar mouth facing downward) and place in a warm partially sunlit place. Rinse them again at night and repeat each night and morning for 3-4 days. Your sprouts will be around 1/2 - 1 inch when they are full gown. The hulls of the seeds will fall off at some point, you can toss them out. The only thing to watch for is mold, if you keep them to moist they may grow mold (GROSS) so keep an eye out!



OK now that you have your sprouts, what should you use them in??

It's true, and seriously fun and easy! My coworker Beth recently introduced me to the art of growing your own sprouts at home. I love sprouts but they can be so expensive at the store... problem no more! I grew this big quart size mason jar full for under 25 cents!


All it takes is a mason jar, a piece of cheese cloth, some seeds to sprout, and water! Easy cheesy. I had an extra wide mouth quart size mason jar laying around, and also had some cheese cloth on hand. All I needed were some seeds to get sprouting! I chose to sprout mung beans (bean sprouts) for my first try, I love the big crunchy texture and will totally be making pad thai with these!

Here's how you do it for mung beans (bean sprouts!) (I bought mine in the bulk section by the grains in an organic grocery store)

Place 3 Tbs of mung beans into the mason jar and cover with 6 Tbs water, cover top with cheese cloth and place jar ring on to hold the cloth in place. Let soak in a dark warm place overnight. In the morning drain the water (it's full of great nutrients so use it to water your indoor plants or something) then fill the jar to the top with new water let it sit 1 minute, swirl them around and drain it again. Place the mason jar in a bowl so it's tipped on it's side somewhat (jar mouth facing downward) and place back in a warm dark place (mung beans are eaten white, hence the dark place, if you are growing something like alfalfa, you keep them out in the sun so that they can turn green). Rinse them again at night and repeat each night and morning for 3-4 days. Your sprouts will be around 2 inches when they are full gown. The hulls of the seeds will fall off at some point, you can toss them out. The only thing to watch for is mold, if you keep them to moist they may grow mold (GROSS) so keep an eye out!

I think I'm going to grow some alfalpha next!

CHOW!!!