Here are the top 5 reasons for growing sprouts at home & how to grow them year-round in 4 easy steps.

— Permacrafters gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post. We encourage you to prioritize secondhand goods whenever possible. —

About eight years ago, I was suffering from chronic fatigue, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and bad skin. I had heard from a family friend that the Life Transformation Program at the Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida (which is based on eating mostly raw food and no sugar) had cured her arthritis and was helping people heal from many illnesses. Eager for a solution, I skeptically turned to eating a similar raw food diet.

For 3 weeks, I ate nothing but raw food, and 60% of that food in volume was – you guessed it – sprouts! If I’m being completely honest, going into it, I really was not a fan of the taste of sprouts. Little did I know there was actually a huge variety of sprouts to choose from that were so varied in texture and taste. What happened over the course of those 3 weeks absolutely surprised me. First, my taste buds changed. I wasn’t forcing the sprouts down anymore; I was actually excited to pile the delicious sprouts onto my plate and dig in. Second, the transformation that took place in my body amazed me. The first 10 days were terrible and I was craving cooked food and pasta – lots of it! But once I got over the hump, I was more energetic than ever, my skin cleared up and my mental clarity was back! Third, I experienced serenity. After dealing with anxiety about food and my body image, I felt serene for the first time in years. Mealtime had become a pleasure as opposed to a stressor. Needless to say, after just 3 weeks, I was sold on the power of sprouts and raw food.

All this to say that sprouts work wonders for your health. While I don’t eat sprouts every hour of every day anymore, I do add them regularly into my meals. If you’re curious about what incorporating sprouts into your life can do for you, here are my top 5 reasons for growing sprouts at home:

1.    Sprouting removes toxins

All seeds contain toxins to protect themselves from being eaten. When seeds, like lentils, are soaked in water, they shed these toxins as they begin to germinate. You can remove these toxins by cooking the seeds instead, but you end up losing a lot of their nutritional benefits in the process. Best to eat them as raw sprouts!

2.    Sprouting maximizes nutritional value

Let’s compare a sprout with a dry seed, or a sprout with its fully-grown counterpart. In both cases, the sprout will have more vitamins, minerals, proteins and essential fatty acids. Sprouts are at the peak of their nutritional value. As a seed germinates, enzymes are predigesting complex nutrients, turning them into easily digestible ones for your body to assimilate.

3.    Sprouts offer a balanced nutrition

When you sprout, you are growing your own medicine and vitamins from nature. If you eat a variety of sprouted leafy greens, legumes, grains and nuts, they are a source of complete protein. Sprouts even absorb minerals and trace elements from your rinsing water. They also help maintain or restore the proper alkaline/acid balance in your body.

4.    Sprouts grow indoors year-round

Sprouts don’t require any sunlight, they are low-maintenance and barely require any space. Living in your mom’s basement is not an excuse for not growing them 😉 You can eat fresh sprouts on even the coldest day in winter.

5.    Homegrown sprouts cost a fraction of the store-bought ones

Homegrown sprouts are so much cheaper (and fresher!) than those you would purchase at the store. Buying organic seeds in bulk from companies like High Mowing Organic Seeds will save you a lot of money. You can also grow some of your seeds to maturity and save their seeds.