Sprouted.

I am going to (thanks to a few requests) post some healthy food stuff on the old blog.

We try to eat as clean as we can and getting a three-year-old to do that is no small task.

One of Lilly's favorite things to eat are sprouts.

We sprout lentils around here.

She likes them probably because she gets to watch the process and then picks them apart to eat.

Its just too much fun. :)

You will need:

* Bell Jar (any will jar will do) - needs to be at least 

* Rubber band or jelly jar lid

* cheese cloth

* lentils

Here is how we do it:

1. Drop about 1/2 cup lentils (or any bean you may want to sprout) into the jar.

2. Fill jar half way with water, making sure the sprouts have a few inches of water covering them. They will expand.

3. Cover jar opening with cheese cloth and fasten with either the jelly jar ring or a hefty rubber band. This is how you will fill the jar with water and rinse the sprouts for the next few days.

4. Place in dark place overnight.

5. Next morning make yourself a cute reminder sticky note saying "rinse sprouts" and place somewhere in the kitchen that you will see it at least twice a day.

6. Rinse the sprouts a few times with water. Make sure all of the water is out & place jar on its side in cool dark place.

* You will rinse the sprouts 2x daily until they have "popped"

Once they have popped rinse once more, place into a container & refrigerate. I keep a paper towl in the container to absorb the access moisture and avoid mold. :)

Get the kiddos involved. Its fun. 

A few health benefits of sprouted foods are:

Rich source of proteins, folate, iron

Vitamins! The vitamin density for some sprouted beans increase from 100% to 2000% after several days of sprouting. Awesome!

 Antioxidants! (substances that prevent the damage to your bodies cells and repairs existing damage that has been done to those cells.)

Sprouts are alkalizing

Great for digestion

Calorie free