Sprouts: all the properties and health benefits

Vital and brimming with valuable nutrients, sprouted seeds are a little treasure for the body. Including them in the diet is a good way to consume fresh vegetables and to be rewarded not only with its delicate flavor but also with its antioxidant and revitalizing power.

Sprouted seeds have been part of ancient culinary cultures around the world. But what happens during sprouting to focus so much energy on them?

The seeds, when soaked, double their volume, the shell softens and opens, and enzymes are activated thanks to water and oxygen.

After a few days of keeping them in a humid and warm environment, the shoots rise towards the light in a process of intense metabolic work that transforms and increases nutrients that store the grains inside.

Sprout properties

These nutrients are what the plant needs to grow, but in sprouts they are spectacularly activated, they are more available and easier to digest.

Carbohydrates are predigested by enzymeswhich transform them into more assimilable simple sugars. Fats are converted to fatty acids and proteins are decomposed into simpler chains and therefore more profitable.

The vitamins multiply equally and the minerals become easier to assimilate. Besides chlorophyll is activatedwith high antioxidant power.

Health benefits of sprouts

Its health benefits are remarkable. Your regular consumption regenerates the intestinal flora and improves digestion. They are restorative, remineralizing and detoxifying, they stimulate the metabolism and pancreatic juices, strengthen the defenses and hardly provide any calories…

Its growth energy benefits us, especially in seasonal changes.

Also They are purifiers of the organism, enhancers of breast milk production and regulators of the endocrine system. In addition, they increase muscle tone, reduce meteorism… and have proven rejuvenating effects.

Use in the kitchen of sprouts

Although it is not always easy to find a variety of sprouts in the market (mung bean, the misnamed green soybean and alfalfa are the most common), we can germinate a wide variety of seeds that will enrich our menus.

You can germinate most seeds, including cereals and legumeswhich could be considered categories in themselves, with different soaking and growth times.

Seeds: fenugreek, radish, beetroot, onion, leek, sunflower, pumpkin, mustard, sesame, watercress, alfalfa… Soaking must be gentle so that they do not get moldy and rot. Cereals: wheat, oats, buckwheat, barley, millet and rice. They need a bit more soaking, except the oats.Legumes: lentils, mung beans, soybeans, chickpeas, beans… They are harder, so the soaking has to be much longer. It is convenient to blanch them slightly after germination. Sprouts are easier to digest than dried.

They can be part of different dishes: salads, sandwiches, tortillas, vegetables, cereals…

We will avoid prolonged cooking so that they do not lose their qualities, adding the sprouts moments before serving.

The best way to take advantage of the nutritional value of legumes is to eat them sprouted raw. But if we want to cook dry beans, they can be made to germinate slightly beforehand: will be more digestive and nutritious and they will cook faster.

A very original way of resorting to spices is to take cress, radish, mustard, onion or fenugreek sprouts. They will add a delicious touch.

If we mix several types of sprouts, we will not only discover New flavors but also a new aesthetic, also complementing nutritionally.

We suggest mixing sprouts alfalfa with cabbage sprouts and lentils. Or offset the spiciness of radish, onion, leek or mustard by combining them with cereal or legume sprouts. Sprouted carrots go very well with alfalfa, cabbage, or mung beans.

Caution: Although most of the seeds can be eaten as is, people with sensitive stomachs can blanch the legume sprouts beforehand (1-2 minutes), given their antinutrient content that sprouting does not completely eliminate. For the same reason, seeds that do not germinate should be discarded.

It must be taken into account that nightshade seeds (tomato, pepper, aubergine, potato, etc.) are toxicand they are not valid to germinate.

germinate at home

In bottle: a small quantity of seeds is put in the jar (a quarter of the jar) and covered with 3 times its volume of water. Store in the dark at 15-20ºC and leave to hydrate overnight.
The next day, the water is removed, the jar is covered with gauze or cloth and stored away from light.
Once a day the water is drained, strained and covered again and left in the dark.
In 4 or 5 days we will have the sprouts. When they are ready, we must put the jar in a place where sunlight reaches it so that the sprouts activate their chlorophyll and turn green.
To preserve them, it is best to put them in a hermetically closed container in the fridge, with kitchen paper on the bottom or a thin cotton cloth that absorbs moisture.In sprouter: The seeds are placed in the lower saucer of the germinating machine covered with water.
The next day they are rinsed and placed on the next level, while the lower level is filled again with soaked seeds.
Once the sprouts begin to germinate, they are raised to a higher level, which offers the sprouts ready for consumption.

7 types of sprouts: properties and how to prepare them

mung beans

Those of green soybeans are the most protein-rich sprouts after yellow soybeans and very easy to digest.

They also contribute vitamins A, C, and B (B1, B2, and B3), fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and copper.

These sprouts are easy to prepare, as all you need is leave the beans to soak between 4 and 8 hours inside a boat Then the water is removed and the can is deposited upside down and tilted. They are washed two or three times a day and in 3 or 4 days they are ready, although the skin must be removed first. green with water

Its crunchy texture is ideal in saladbut it is also exquisite cooked in soups and oriental dishes.

Alfalfa

Alfalfa is one of the most complete sprouts, rich in amino acidssuch as tryptophan (essential for the brain to secrete serotonin) and lysine (synthesizes proteins and metabolizes carbohydrates and fatty acids).

His perfect ratio between calcium and phosphorus helps strengthen bones. It also contributes iron, phosphorus and sulfur as well as vitamins A and E.

If it is allowed to sprout indirect light increases its vitamin C content; if it germinates in the dark turns out to be richer in group B vitamins.

They germinate in seven days. Crispy and with a nice liquorice flavorare ideal for salads, sandwiches, omelette…

Onion

Onion sprouts have the same virtues as this one: they constitute a ideal ally against infections and strengthen the lungs. They are also rich in vitamin C and zinc.

To germinate the seeds, a sprouter or a glass jar is used. In the latter case you have to put some seeds covered with 3 times their volume of water. It is stored at 20 ºC, the water is removed and it is left well covered with gauze, in the darkrinsing the seeds 2 or 3 times a day.

Very tender and of a fresh spicy flavorthese sprouts enrich the salads and the vegetable fillings.

Lentils

Very pleasant flavor, they have large energetic and nutritional properties. When the lentil grain germinates, the starch is broken down into sugars, while the proteins are predigested and, therefore, more assimilable.

The enzymes are still alive. the vitamins proliferate and the minerals maintain their organic state, so they assimilate better. Low in fat and rich in fiber, they provide iron, zinc, manganese, copper, vitamins C and B1.

They germinate in three days and they are very tasty carved in pate or in sauceor combined with any seasonal vegetables.

Wheat

It is the optimal way to eat the whole grain of wheat because starches and proteins are better digested and assimilated.

At the beginning of its germination antioxidant vitamins C and E are increased by 600%while phosphorus, magnesium and calcium containing they triple, reinforcing bone health. To a lesser extent it also provides B complex vitamins, as well as potassium, iron and zinc.

Its taste is sweet and pleasant. With them you can make breads and rnuesli or combine them with vegetables, such as green beans or chard. They keep up to 8 days in the fridge.

Soy

white soybeans They are a very complete food and rich in proteins of high biological value, but not very digestible and tend to acidify the blood. With germination its assimilation improves significantly.

They are very rich in fiber, calcium, magnesium and iron as well as in vitamins A, C (it multiplies by 7 with germination) and group Bespecially in B2, and B3.

The sprouts can be taken blanched or in soups, tortillas, in roasts and in Asian dishes.

They take four days to germinate and they should be eaten fresh.

Mustard

Belonging to the cruciferous family, Like cabbage, its sulfur compounds (responsible for its spiciness) are the same ones that provide protection against the risk of degenerative diseases and cancer.

The portion should be small, as it provides a spicy taste, reminiscent of watercress, but more exciting and juicy. These sprouts are a real delight in salads, sandwiches, soups and in fittings. They require six days to germinate.