Home, kitchen, office or restaurant sprouting system. Proof that you don’t have to give up your urban lifestyle … to live a sexier greener life. Sprouting is a way of life anyone can live. It gives you maximum nutrition and fabulous energy. We call it living the Flexitarian Friendly lifestyle.
Flexitarian Friendly is the Nelson Mandela of modern day eating habits; a lifestyle of multi-food culture. It’s where herbivore and carnivore meet for dinner, where eco-awareness exists behind every food choice. It’s a flexible mind-set measuring the ingredients that work best for individual digestion. Think: digestive bliss, healthy attitude; a ‘no funny business’ approach, and the right to feel sexy. If you don’t recognise the ingredients, or feel good about the way it was prepared, neither will your tummy or your metabolism. You might be an eat everything person, a meat- eater, vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan, fruitarian or even a breatharian but the real deal is the conversation you have with your body. Listening to the body is key when mastering the Flexitarian Friendly lifestyle. Learn to love the plant kingdom and emphasise food that is fresh and alive. Be at the place where bushman and businessman come together and contribute to a nutritionally net-positive vibe. Celebrate the smashing journey of this sexy ‘feel good’ revolution.
So mind the body and feel sexy!
Why sprout? Well, because it’s like sprinkling delicious nutrients over every meal. Every sprout has its unique crunch and every bite has its very own jungle of flavours. Sprouting is the height of sexy garnishing, and as a bonus you form a relationship with the plant kingdom. When stored seed energy explodes into sprouts, they become complete sources of protein wrapped into the most absorbable vitamins, minerals, enzymes and still-unknown factors so necessary to our bodies’ digestive system. The ‘Sexy Sprout System’ creates greenery so fresh and alive, it’s still growing with every munch you crunch! All you have to do is get into the habit of sprinkling sprouts on your every meal and you are guaranteed a storehouse of ultimate nutrients and goodness.
Does sprouting require green fingers? Do I need a degree in the Art of Sexy Gardening (ASG)? ABSOLUTELY NOT, it’s far easier than brushing your teeth, light years quicker and more productive than planting your own veg patch, and heaps fresher than anything you’ll ever buy in the shops. In fact you’ll never need to purchase greens ever again. And by the way, don’t panic this sexy system is totally organic!
Why is sprouting so simple? Most importantly, sprouting requires zero sun and zero soil. As a rookie sprouter this makes growing super simple and enjoyable. All you need to do is pour dry seed into a glass jar and soak in water for 6 to 12 hours. After the soaking procedure your seed is activated.
From then onwards sprouts really thrive when rinsed with water under a tap morning and evening, then drained by putting your jar on a rack and letting the water drip onto the catchment tray. All this means, is quick on-the-go rinses morning and night, and letting them drain whilst you are out and about working.
Within 7 days, WHALLAH, you have beautiful baby tails sprouting everywhere, and your very own luxury organic greens to complement any meal. After the seeds have sprouted, put your jars on the table, remove the mesh covering and snack away. Simply return the jars and keep the sprouting cycle going.
Go wild and make the most amazing protein powerhouse sprout meals straight from your jar…. for a complete meal sprinkle Himalayan salt on them, drizzle olive oil or coconut oil, cut some avocado, a dash of lemon, mm mmm, and o you GO!
So where have I been all these years?
Well obviously supermarket chains don’t want you knowing about these easy kitchen secrets to sexy living, oh and doctors will never prescribe this sort of behaviour as they’d be out of work, and why would the government ever allow this to become mainstream as everyone would become critical clear healthy thinkers! You’ve been a silly banana, and now is the time to start.
Is it really this easy? But I’m always so busy on-the-go? Nothing can rival sprouts and micro- herbs for simplicity and luxury taste. Just think, high quality fresh food that grows incredibly fast in the smallest space on a counter in your kitchen, just a minute rinse morning and evening. They grow in any season, are extremely hygienic, so quick to clean and very affordable. Take your sprout system on holiday in your car to any destination, and always maintain optimum sexy garnishing standards!
This is the ultimate self sufficient-ish technique to carry on living your urban lifestyle, and always have a reliable supply of energising fresh food that is pesticide-free, high in fibre, and filled with vitamins, minerals and enzymes.
When a bean or seed is sprouted the nutrient content immediately increases. A sprout salad will cost about half as much as a normal salad and yet has five times as much protein, six times as much vitamin C and seven times as much vitamin B complex.
How should I eat these sexy sprouts?
Straight out the jar onto your plate with some dressing and seasoning. Sprouts can be sprinkled onto every meal from breakfast to dinner.Add fresh leafy sprouts to soups, salads, pizzas, burgers and sandwiches. Surprise your friends with stylish picture perfect dishes. Customize your own sprout combo’s for di erent taste sensations and garnishing appearance. Each sprout has a unique crunch and avour that compliments each meal in an endless amount of ways. Use sprouted peas and beans for cooking, and blending into soups. Sprouts can be juiced like wheatgrass shots, or added to vegetable juice blends. Spice and grill pea and legume sprouts till dark and crunchy. Enjoy as a smashing snack.
SPROUT (in detail)
How much seed do I use? Choose the seeds or beans you want to sprout with. Soon you will get to know the different tastes and find your favourites. Prepare the quantity of seed you need. If you are sprouting tiny seed like alfalfa you need about 2 tablespoons (25-30g) per small 1 litre jar, or 6 tablespoons (75-100g) per large 3 litre jar.
For beans or pea-sized varieties use 4-5 tablespoons (60-80g) per small 1 litre jar, or 12-15 tablespoons (180-240g) per large 3 litre jar
REMEMBER these are rough measurement guidelines to filling up each jar with fresh sprouts. Each seed differs slightly, and the longer your sprouting cycle goes on for, the larger your sprouts expand and grow!
sexy tip: Have a mix of small (1 litre) jars with large 3 (litre jars) on your rack, i.e. you might enjoy more alfalfa on your plate therefore use the large jar, and other sprout variations you might use less on your plate, therefore use the small jar! Large jars are great for families, restaurants, office staff, student ‘digs’, prepping for dinner parties, and people who LOVE sprouts!
FIRST STEP TO SEXY SPROUTING!
Soaking and activating the seed
Measure your seed quantity into a glass jar and cover them with water ready to soak. Let them soak for 6-12 hours overnight or during the day. The amount of water you add is roughly 2-3 times as high as the seeds. The bigger the seed the longer it needs to soak. Adzuki Bean has the longest soaking period – 14-16 hours, Mung Bean and Lentils are medium sized and soak for 8-12 hours, small seed like Alfalfa soak for 6-8 hrs. These are merely guidelines, there is no exact science, and you will learn along the way. Just don’t forget about them and leave them soaking for days!
After soaking time is finished
Add mesh and rinse. Cover the top of the jar with mesh. Do this by securing it with an elastic band. The mesh is used to stop the sprouting seed from falling out when you tilt it to drain o the rinsing water. (To secure your mesh without your jar catapulting onto the oor – please read the section on ‘how to safely place mesh on jar’) Once mesh is safely in place, turn the jar upside down to drain your soak water out*. Put your jar onto your sprout rack with the mesh facing down. Your seeds should be evenly spread along the side of the glass. Excess water will drip onto the tray below. Remember, when sprouting, seeds are only soaked once, from then onwards they are rinsed.
sexy tip: the murky soak water makes a fabulous nutrient dense food for anything growing in the garden.
From then onward
Rinse the seeds twice a day Rinsing can be done every morning and evening, (and afternoon if you feel like giving them a bit of extra love). Do this by pouring tap water/ spring water through the mesh into the jar. Circle the water around so each seed gets rinsed. Then tip the water out into the sink or into a separate container for watering the garden. You know you have rinsed enough when your rinse water is clear, double rinsing and sometimes triple rinsing is needed with beans and legumes. After rinsing is complete, put the jar back on the rack to drain. Keep going for about 3 to 7 days depending on what seed or bean you have used, or the season winter or summer.
Harvest time
Yum, taste the readiness When the seeds start sprouting (when the tails grow out) they are ready to eat! You can eat them when the tails are short or you can eat them when the tails are longer. Simple. Sprouts are ready to be harvested within 2 to 7 days of tails sprouting out the husk. If it’s crunchy and tastes good, food is served.
To maximize your yield you can let the babies keep growing until they are bursting out the jar, or separate them into another jar to give them room for more sprouting. While your sprouts are growing vibrantly in your jar, this is the time to empty some into a bowl and eat.
Serve the sprouts in their jars directly onto your dining table like salad bowls. Simply take the mesh o and feast away. After your meal, place the mesh back onto jar, and put them back on their racks to continue the growing cycle.
SEXY SPROUTING TIPS
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR SPROUTS OUT OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT. Indirect sunlight is good and will speed up the sprouting process.
For an on-going supply of sprouts, keep soaking new seed every 2-3 days.
Sprouts always smell fresh, if they don’t, it’s time to throw them out. Some of your seeds may not sprout, don’t be alarmed, just throw them out! (See de-husking tips below)
Cleaning jars. Once all the sprouts have been devoured, or decanted into the fridge, normally a quick rinse is all that’s needed between changing varieties. If a crop has gone bad on you, do a more thorough clean with hot water – don’t forget to wash your mesh as well. Do not use chemical cleaners.
De-husking your sexy sprouts (Removing the outer shells)
This is a voluntary step for optimum quality crunch! It’s not essential but recommended.
De-husking is a simple procedure to separate the outer shells/husks from the newly sprouted seed. This stage also involves removing the seeds that haven’t yet germinated. A smashing habit to get into!
After a few days of sprouting you will see the husks have totally come o all the seeds. You will also notice some of the seeds haven’t yet germinated and fall to the bottom or outsides of the jar. It’s very important to understand that everything in the jar including the husks, the sprouts and the un- germinated seed can all be eaten. The bushman will take the ‘eat everything’ option without doubt. BUT for maximum elegance and taste in your nal presentation, de-husking is recommended. There isn’t an exact science to when this procedure must take place, do it around day 5 or 6 of sprouting, or when the jar is nearly full, or when you are feeling the love!
- Empty sprouts out the jar and into a bowl 3⁄4 full of water; 2. Swirl the sprouts around and wash gently with your hands; 3. You will notice the husks rising to the top; 4. Un-germinated seed will sink to the bottom; 5. Slowly sift o the husks with the tips of your fingers; 6. Finished cleaned sprouts can go back into the jar, or into two separate jars to free up more space to sprout further; 7. Take the remaining water with all un-germinated seed, along with sifted out husks and throw wildly into your veg/herb garden. Without effort you will notice your seeds growing into full-term yummy greens and veggies! WARNING: Don’t chuck alfalfa husks and seeds into veg garden, alfalfa has an aggressive growing root structure and will take over other plants.
Storing and preserving sprouts in the fridge
Some varieties may last as long as 6 weeks fresh in the fridge!
Hooray, its harvest time! But I’ve sprouted too many baby tails to consume, I don’t have any more jars to separate, what must I do to preserve ultimate fresh crunchiness?
EASY AS SPROUT PIE. Sprouts must always be dry and well drained before going into an air-tight container and into the fridge.
First option is to place a strip of Carlton-roll (we call it the sprout nappy) onto kitchen counter, spread all the sprouts evenly over the Carlton-roll, and leave for a few hours until the moisture has absorbed. When the Carlton-roll is dry, this is a good indicator that sprouts are ready to go into an airtight container. Place a new strip of Carlton-roll on bottom of air- tight container, the fresh moisture-free sprouts go on top, and a last strip of Carlton-roll over the top of sprouts to catch any moisture dripping from the lid, then finally close the lid and preserve in fridge. Second option (quickest yet least effective method) is to skip the morning/evening rinse and after a day and night drying on the rack, place an airtight lid over the jar and into the fridge.
Additional rinsing with fresh water will keep them fresh and crisp, but this isn’t required if the first option drying/nappy process is done properly!
How to safely place mesh over the jar
A tricky little step, a monumentally important step, and once mastered, the sexy sprouting cycle becomes a slick operation!
Put your jar firmly on the table. Place the round mesh evenly on top of the mouth of the jar. Place both hands above the rubber band and insert both thumbs and index fingers into the rubber band, making sure your thumbs and index fingers are 1-2cm below the band with a comfortable grip.
Open the rubber band outwards creating tension with the fingertips. Keep the tension and place the four fingertips onto the outside mouth of jar. Create a solid secure grip with downward pressure of your fingertips onto the mesh and mouth-edge of jar. Simultaneously slide the rubber band o your fingertips by expanding your hands outwards, keeping your fingertips firmly on the mouth edge of jar. The rubber band will slide into position tightly around the mesh and neck of jar.
The mesh should fit flush around the jar mouth with minimal gaps for seed to get stuck.
NEVER PULL THE MESH OFF THE JAR without removing the elastic band first. This will cause wear and tear of the mesh, creating holes for the seed to escape. This specific food-grade mesh is fragile, the better this procedure is handled, the longer the lifespan of the mesh.
This technique becomes second nature in no time!
Keeping seeds
Store seed in airtight container, they last about 2 to 5 years.
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