[MelodyL]

I have created a monster. I have been learning about growing my own sprouts, and doing quite nicely for about one month now.

I bought a rack, I have all of my jars, and bowls and we are eating VERY HEALTHFULLY in this house.

I was NOT AWARE HOWEVER, how much SPROUTS GROW, (depending on the sprouts).

So I had been growing Fenugreek (which is especially GREAT FOR DIABETICS). Believe me, you eat Fenugreek every day and you have a nice chance of lowering your numbers (that is if you do everything else right). Nutrition is only part of it, this I know.

So I happen to like Bean Sprouts (you know, when you go to the Japanese Restaurant and they put some bean sprouts on your plate and put some chicken on it.

I have been sauteeing these with a dash of olive oil and fresh garlic. OH MY GOODNESS, are they delicious!!! I do this with both the fenugreek and the mung beans (which will sprout into BEAN SPROUTS).

You can buy fresh bean sprouts in any chinese market, or you can go to your local supermarket and buy a can for $1.50 or so.

WELL!!! did I get a lesson today!!!

I went on youtube and watched a video on how to grow your own bean sprouts. The guy said "be careful, these things grow like crazy, so only grow what you can use in a week".

Did I listen?? Of course not. I purchased a little bag of mung beans (that is what a bean sprout is before it's sprouted).

I paid $.89 cents for this package of mung beans.

I said "what the heck can this little bag grow into?"

Well, I used THE WHOLE BAG. I soaked them over night and it's been only 2 and a half days so far.

I made a video (I am also showing you how little fenugreek seeds can turn into a whole bunch of fenugreek sprouts).

But you won't believe the bean sprouts.

In a few days I shall be feeding my neighborhood.

NEXT TIME, I shall know to use a quarter cup of mung beans and not the whole bag.

Here, have a good laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC8UIYKULtE

[FranksAngel]

great video ... thanks for sharing ...

[MelodyL]

Originally Posted by FranksAngel

great video ... thanks for sharing ...

You are welcome

I just got off the phone with my friend. I said "you have to help me". She said "what's wrong?" and I said 'I'm being overcome by sprouts". She said 'don't get me started on you and your sprouts (she thinks I'm nuts).

We laughed and I said "in 3 or 4 days, my kitchen will be over-run and you have to take some off of my hands. She said "fine".

Now at least I know not to grow more than a few beans at a time. I would never have known. I've bought them in the La Choy section of my grocery store. And I've seen them in BIG HUGE VATS at my local grocery store and I've purchased them.

Had I known how easy, simple AND CHEAP it would have been to do this, well, I'd have done this YEARS AGO.

Alan is afraid to walk into the kitchen. He says:

"ATTACK OF THE SPROUT PEOPLE".

lol

[DM]

Hey Mel! I really like bean sprouts, but don't you get tired of them? What else are you doing w/them to jazz them up? Just curious~~~

PS: Those sprouts may attack you; watch out; think I saw a horror flick about them one time!!

[MelodyL]

Originally Posted by DM

Hey Mel! I really like bean sprouts, but don't you get tired of them? What else are you doing w/them to jazz them up? Just curious~~~

PS: Those sprouts may attack you; watch out; think I saw a horror flick about them one time!!

Hi DM:

I had to transfer them to A BIGGER CONTAINER. I never laughed so hard in all my life. And because I rinse and drain ALL MY SPROUTS before I go to bed for the night, I had just put all the jars and the BIG CONTAINER near my kitchen sink.

Alan walked into the kitchen, and almost jumped. He said "oh my god". I laughed my head off. But when they are all rinsed and drained, they are neatly stored on my sprout shelf thingee that I put together. They are up against the kitchen wall and not in anyone's way. I love this.

I have to do rinsing and draining in very low light because you are not supposed to expose sprouting mung beans to any light source. It makes them bitter (bet you didn't know that did ya???). lol lol Neither did I. I learned this a few weeks ago because I go on a sproutpeople message board.

My goodness, the things I've learned from these people. One guy is an agricultural teacher who gives lectures at colleges. He grows EVERYTHING.

Now...you ask me how I jazz up my sprouts.

Okay. here's what I do.

And I do this with fenugreek sprouts also. (these have a slightly different flavor than the bean sprouts but they look exactly alike after sprouting is complete).

For lunch, I take the fenugreek sprouts and chop them up. I add them raw to my already blooming, colorful salad bowl which includes grape tomatoes, red onions, black olives, beautiful fresh grown alfalfa. (and anything else you like to put in your salad). It makes the salad SO interesting.

Now I also stir fry these sprouts.

I would do exactly the same with either the fenugreek or the bean sprouts.

Here's how I might stir fry them.

I spray some no stick spray in my frying pan. I use the olive oil PAM. I then grab a whole bunch of sprouts, some fresh garlic, some turmeric, and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.

You stir this around for maybe 90 seconds.

You can eat this just the way it is. Or you can do a veggie stir fry.

You stir fry any fresh diced veggies you like. Then, when you are near the end, you just grab a big handful of sprouts and you stir fry for 90 seconds or so.

If you cook any longer, they will get smaller and then they look exactly like lo-mein noodles.

Hey, wouldn't that be a cool thing. Use them like you would use lo-mein noodles. I think I'll try this tomorrow night.

Now for my husband Alan, he likes these only one way.

I do the non stick spray, I throw in a bunch of sprouts, I drizzle on some honey, and a dash of splenda, and in 90 seconds this man devours it.

You can also do a veggie, bean/fenugreek (try them both together), stir-fry and instead of garlic, you can add some teriyaki or some low-sodium soy sauce.

Just know that if you cook this for more than 90 seconds, your amount of sprouts dwindles because they shrivel. They taste amazing, but I LIKE THEM JUST COOKED UP A BIT.

If I think of any other way to use these sprouts, I'll let you know.

I can't wait to see what they look like tomorrow morning.

I also have a big container of various beans soaking.

The expert on the sprout people message board says he soaks his beans for 4 days (changing the water once a day). This way, all the enzyme inhibitors get thrown out and there is MUCH LESS GAS when you eat them.

That's what I'm doing now. In four days, I'll see how this turns out.

This is so cool (and CHEAP), let me tell you.

melody

[Koala77]

You did make me smile Mel, when you said that you grew a whole packet of Mung beans.

I haven't grown my own sprouts in ages now, but I do remember how big the Mung Beans grow, and how little you actually need to keep yourself in sprouts.

But..... you have enthused me!

I think I'll go back to growing my own again, as DH likes to cook Asian stirfries, and we do use sprouts in most of them. He cooks beautiful stirfries BTW.......

In the stirfries we use Mung Bean sprouts, and I like Alphalfa sprouts in my salads (it's summer here at the moment).

So.... it's back to sprouting again for me! Thank you Mel for getting me interested again.

[MelodyL]

Originally Posted by Koala77

You did make me smile Mel, when you said that you grew a whole packet of Mung beans.

I haven't grown my own sprouts in ages now, but I do remember how big the Mung Beans grow, and how little you actually need to keep yourself in sprouts.

But..... you have enthused me!

I think I'll go back to growing my own again, as DH likes to cook Asian stirfries, and we do use sprouts in most of them. He cooks beautiful stirfries BTW.......

In the stirfries we use Mung Bean sprouts, and I like Alphalfa sprouts in my salads (it's summer here at the moment).

So.... it's back to sprouting again for me! Thank you Mel for getting me interested again.

Good. Happy Sprouting!! I adore stirfried anything.

I'm afraid to go look in the container. god knows how BIG they got over night!!

lol

[MelodyL]

Originally Posted by DM

Hey Mel! I really like bean sprouts, but don't you get tired of them? What else are you doing w/them to jazz them up? Just curious~~~

PS: Those sprouts may attack you; watch out; think I saw a horror flick about them one time!!

I WAS WRONG ABOUT THE 4 DAYS SOAKING BEANS INFORMATION.

I just contacted the guy to get it straight and he actually said something completely different than what I had read.(I must be losing my mind).

SOAK THE BEANS OVER NIGHT.

Then rinse and drain every 8 hours FOR 4 DAYS.

Thank god I checked. I would have been over run by soggy beans after 4 days of soaking.

lol

mel