Types of Sprouts and How to Cook With Them

Learn how to grow sprouts and discover sprouts recipes for salads, quesadillas, and more.

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Sprouts are not only nutritious, they can be very tasty. Learn about different types of sprouts, how to grow them, and recipes for quesadillas, salads, stir fry and more. Originally published in the April/May 1993 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS.

Sprouts are rich in essential vitamins and minerals, low in calories, and high in dietary fiber. They are also inexpensive, especially if you decide to grow your own. Sprouts are a “live” food, and easy to grow indoors during the winter months. Flavorful varieties, such as radish and onion sprouts, are available (fresh or in seed form) at your local grocery store.

Every seed contains the embryo of a future plant and the nutrients needed to nourish its growth. When the seed (or bean) germinates, it releases these nutrients into the resulting sprout. In the course of its sprouting, the seed uses up some of its stored carbohydrates and fat, adds water, and manufactures some vitamins and minerals. You wind up with a reduced-calorie food that is still rich in protein, containing more nutrients than the original seed.

For example, the vitamin C in both soybeans and garbanzo beans increases from a mere trace during sprouting, until the soybean sprouts are as rich in vitamin C as tomatoes. Wheat berries have three times more vitamin E and six times more of some B vitamins after they’ve sprouted. They also contain superoxide dimutase. Dimutases are a class of proteins having the common feature of being antioxidants, which remove poisons from the body and aid the remission of aging symptoms.

Types of Sprouts

  • Updated on Dec 12, 2023
  • Originally Published on Apr 1, 1993
Tagged with: Anne Vassal, Bean Sprouts, hummus, Quesadillas, Real Food Recipes, rice, salad recipes, sprouts, stir-fry recipe
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