cook. preach. love.: Sprouting

Already at 1 1/2 weeks. This detox is just flying by!

I often comment about how I am never lacking ideas in the kitchen. This may not be the case for many of you and may be frustrating. Let me tell you, this was often the case for me as well. With a few detox's under my belt, I have had time to think up a few recipes and I pretty experiment with food on a daily basis. But I get that food is not everyone's passion. That is why I hope some of the recipes and ideas I have shared with you here have been helpful.

Although it would be great to have some fantastic, creative meal every night, time does not always permit. In that case, salads are always a great quick fix although they can be a bit boring at times. I would like to share with you a simple solution to sprucing up those bland salads. Sprouts!! I love sprouting. Totally intimidated at first, thinking I need all kinds of fancy equipment and loads of time, I was shocked at how easy it really is. Mung beans were the first beans I sprouted, but pretty much any bean, lentil or seed can be sprouted with little effort. All you need is a jar and some water - that's it!!

Start with 1 cup of the beans of your choice. Rinse them in a strainer under cold water until clean then place in a mason jar. Cover beans with pure water surpassing the beans by at least an inch. Cover with a cheese cloth or no cover at all and leave on counter over night or approximately 12 hours. In the morning, thoroughly rinse beans and put back in jar this time without any water. Rinse beans thoroughly evening and morning and within a day or two you will begin to see sprouts. That's it.

Sprouting has many benefits. It activates enzymes in the bean or seed which aides with digestion. Vitamin content in the food increases 3-12 times. Chlorophyll and carotene content dramatically increase when sprouts are exposed to sunlight (put them in your window sill for a while:). And not to mention, they are super cheap! Even though I add my sprouts to everything (salads, stir-fry's, smoothies, etc.) I still can't eat them fast enough. And they last over a week in a well sealed container in the fridge. I totally encourage all of you to give it a try. Theses sprouts will not only add nutrients to your meals, but they'll add a little needed funk as well!