How to: Soaking and Sprouting

Mar 17

While we’re all at home working up experiments to entertain our kiddos with, I thought it may be high time to teach some simple “how to’s”. Starting with some soaking and sprouting first is a fun activity for kiddos and a highly nutritious one for the whole family. Bonus points as we’ll learn together that there’s more to learn when it comes to sprouts - that there is purpose behind soaking.

Why soak and sprout?

Nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes are plants that have adapted over time to protect themselves against predators. These lines of defense are known as anti-nutrients that include phytic acid, lectins, and other enzyme inhibitors that protect the seeds from premature germination and help to ward off predators. When we consume raw nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes we are also consuming these anti-nutrients.

Phytic acid is an anti-nutrient because it binds to phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc in the intestinal tract. This prevents their absorption by the body and can lead to mineral deficiencies, bone loss, and irritable bowel syndrome. Phytic acid is also an enzyme inhibitor as it blocks the production of amylase, trypsin and pepsin. These enzymes are needed to properly breakdown and digest starches and proteins.

Insufficient enzymes contribute to poor digestion that leads to stress on the pancreas, damage to the intestinal lining, and bacterial overgrowth.

Lectins are another anti-nutrient found in nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that are able to survive the acidity of human digestion and pierce the lining of the digestive tract. This can result in leaky gut, changes to gut flora, decreased nutrient absorption, autoimmune responses, and general GI distress.

Traditional methods of preparation used by our ancestors, such as soaking and sprouting, neutralize the anti-nutrients, increase the bioavailability of beneficial nutrients, and make these items easier for us to digest.

Increased nutrients due to sprouting and soaking include protein, fiber, and minerals like magnesium, zinc, calcium, manganese, and copper.

HOW TO:

1. Soak - submerge seeds in a mason jar with 1-2 inches of water on top. When soaking nuts, seeds, legumes and grains, you’ll fill much more of the jar.

For making sprouts, as Cal and I did here, I use 1 tablespoon of a seed mix in a large mason jar. I love these simple sprouting tops, as they let water and air in and out and pop on any wide mouthed mason jar.

2. Soaking and sprouting times vary. *See below. When soaking seeds for the purpose of sprouting to grow sprouts, soak 24 hours, then move on to step 3. Be sure to renew the water every 4-8 hours during this soaking window.

3. Rinse - when soaking is complete, rinse thoroughly until water runs off clear.

If you’re using nuts, you can now pop them in the oven at a low temp to dry them out, back to snacking state or even roast them in a bit of oil with salt.

If it was legumes or grains you were soaking for cooking - you can proceed with cooking them as intended. Your cook time will likely be much less as the legume is more saturated with water from the soaking.

4. Sprout - leave in a strainer and rinse 2 times per day until a tail or greens sprout. I rinse in the morning and evening.

5. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze in a mason jar for up to 6 months. Different seeds sprout at different rates. The green lid has only broccoli seeds while the blue lid has a broccoli, radish and alfalfa mix.