During this period of time , when most of us are avoiding crowded markets again and again to purchase fruits and veggies , sprouting of the readily available beans and grains at home has become the best and cheapest way of getting complete nourishment. We have been using sprouts for ages either to recover post illness or to build muscle mass, increase stamina, to combat nutritional deficiencies and so on. 

What Can Be Sprouted?  

All edible grains, seeds and legumes can be sprouted. These include:

• Grains: Wheat, Maize, Ragi , Bajra, and Barley . 
• Seeds: Alfa-alfa seeds, radish seeds, fenugreek seeds, carrot seeds, coriander seeds, pumpkin seeds, muskmelon seeds, sesame seeds. 
• Legumes: Mung , Bengal gram, groundnut and peas ( commonly used )  .

Benefits Of Consuming Sprouts

1. Increase in Nutrition: In the process of sprouting, the vitamins, minerals and proteins increase substantially with the corresponding decrease in the calories and carbohydrate content.  There is an infinite increase in vitamin C content. 
2. Good For Pregnant Women: Being high in folate, sprouts are beneficial for pregnant women. Folate is quite essential for fetal development and proper development of brain development of a child. 
3. Ensures Healthy Eyes: As Vitamin A content also gets enhanced by a remarkable percentage, sprouts keep our eyes healthy and protect them from all the Vitamin A deficiency diseases of the eyes such as night blindness. Regular intake even delays the development of cataract due to ageing. 
4. Healthy, Shiny Hair: Being rich in Vitamin C and protein, they ensure strong and healthy hair.
5. Good Heart Health: Sprouts are high in omega 3 fatty acids which make them heart-friendly.
6. Easily Digestible: Now the question arises in our minds, the black gram, the mung beans, and some other legumes do produce flatulence… will it be ok for those who suffer from bloating and indigestion to consume these legumes and beans?  And the answer is yes! When we are consuming sprouts, they are in pre-digested form – which means they have already been acted upon by enzymes and made easy to digest.  In fact, they contain a lot of fiber and water. Hence, they help overcome constipation. 

When Can You Eat Them: You may have them as your post-workout meal in the morning, in your evening snacks when you are hungry and while raiding your kitchen for something to munch on.

How To Eat Sprouts: Besides having sprouts alone, you can make it delicious by adding chopped onion, tomatoes, cucumber and squeeze some lemon juice. You may make sprout dosa or pancakes or mixed sprout bhel with puffed rice. You can also try this delicious Sweet Potato Sprouts Tikki and Oats, Sprouts and Vegetable Uttapam. Make sure you are steaming or boiling sprouts in water before eating them. This will not only make them easily absorbable, but will kill any bacterial growth that may have developed during the process of sprouting. 

Eating sprouts is the safest and cheapest way to get all the advantages of fruits and vegetables. If you are having them in your breakfast, it’s going to be a perfect power-packed breakfast. No packaged Muesli, instant oats, processed cornflakes, etc. are going to provide this much nutrition. 

Please Note: Make sure the dried beans and seeds are of best quality, purchased from a good store where they are kept under good conditions and packaged as “food”. Seeds meant for planting purposes may contain mercury compounds and other toxic chemicals. Avoid purchasing seeds or beans of low quality because these may cause various bacterial infections like salmonella, e-coli infections. 

We hope this article helps you! Go on and get your sprouts. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below! For more on nutrition, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play. 

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