by Shannon Stonger
Health Impact News

We all know that salad sprouts are good for us, especially when we take the time to grow them at home. What’s more is that in the process we’re literally growing food in our own kitchen. It’s a simple, doable process that anyone can follow with a little time and some good seeds.

Using all of those sprouts is another story. Staring down a big bowl of fresh sprouts can make you wonder how you will find nutritious and tasty ways to use them all. In the traditional foods kitchen, there are myriad ways in which to incorporate them – mostly raw, some cooked, but all unique and delicious.

Salads

The most obvious choice, salad sprouts are most commonly used in the salad form. A stack of greens topped with freshly grown sprouts doesn’t have to be it, however. Mix things up by adding in different crunchy and juicy vegetables or change the flavor profile completely by using an Asian or Mexican-themed dressing. The sprouts will only play a part in a big, crunchy, nutritious, and tasty salad in these scenarios.

Sandwiches

This is an easy mix-in, either in place of the usual lettuce or in addition to. But consider other options as well. Mix salad sprouts into homemade mayonnaise or mashed avocado. Utilize sprouts in the sandwiches and wraps of other cuisines. Top tacos with a handful of sprouts, sprinkle them into a burrito or chicken wrap, or mix them with tzatziki sauce and flavorful meats for a Greek gyro. Finally, even breakfast sandwiches and egg tacos work well with a bit of extra crunch from the salad sprout.

Smoothies

Strange as it may sound, mixing in a bit of fresh sprouts with the fruits, dairy, or coconut we so commonly see in smoothies is rather unnoticeable. What’s more is that you are retaining the enzymes and nutrients of the raw sprout. To hide the sprouts, a good rule of thumb is about 1/2 cup gently packed sprouts per 1-2 cup serving. If you’re not afraid to taste a little green in your smoothie, try adding a full 3/4 cup to your fruit and liquid mix.

Soups

Cold soups are an obvious way to add in some extra nutrition in the form of sprouts. Gazpacho, chilled cucumber and avocado soup, and yogurt-based soups all work well with an extra handful of sprouts blended into the mix. When you have more sprouts than you can handle and you aren’t afraid to use them in a cooked recipe, there is still nutrition to be gleaned from salad sprouts. Mixed into any warm soup, sprouts can add lovely texture and crunch. Or, top any vegetable or cream soup – cooled just enough to eat – with a big stack of fresh sprouts to maintain their enzymatic qualities.

Dips

Sprouts themselves can have a strongly “green” or vegetable flavor, as though they are a distilled version of their fully grown vegetable counterparts. This quality can be off-putting to some, but when mixed with flavorful ingredients and traditional fats to form a dip for vegetables or breads, sprouts can be used discreetly in larger quantities than you might think. Mix large handfuls of salad sprouts into your favorite blended hummus, white bean, avocado, or cultured dairy dip. They lend a bit of zing so cutting back ever so slightly on any onions or garlic in the recipe and they key is to use a blended dip in which the sprouts themselves are not even recognizable.

Burgers

Grass-fed beef burgers are lovely topped with the usual tomato, lettuce, and onion; but sprouts can also enhance the burger. If a veggie burger is more your style, try mixing sprouts right into the burger mixture itself. Generally, veggie burgers are packed with legumes, grains, and veggies which are blended in a food processor. Add a generous handful of your favorite veggie sprouts to the mix, fry them up, and then top with additional salad sprouts.

Cold Protein Salads

We all know that tuna, chicken, and egg salads need a little crunch to be truly delicious. Go ahead and mix in the ubiquitous pickles and minced onion but don’t forget to throw in some sprouts as well. Chop the sprouts up into fine pieces and mix in with the rest of your ingredients and no one will even know they’re there. For those that don’t mind sprouts, you can double up the sprouts by topping your protein salad or sandwich with sprouts.

Stir Fry

Finally, when your sprout supply exceeds your ability to consume them in the raw, a stir fry is a really great method for getting in the last of your most recent batch of sprouts. Just saute those foods that take a bit of time in the pan – onion, carrot, beans, meat – in a bit of coconut oil. When you are getting ready to take the pan off the heat, mix in a good quantity of sprouts. The residual heat of the food and the pan will cook them just enough to take the bite off of a larger quantity of sprouts.

With a bit of inspiration, any meal or snack of the day can include fresh, homegrown sprouts.

About the Author

Shannon Stonger grew up in a small town in northern Minnesota. She studied chemistry in college, graduated, and married her husband one month later. They were then blessed with two baby boys within the first four years of marriage. Having babies gave their family a desire to return to the old paths – to nourish their family with traditional, homegrown foods; rid their home of toxic chemicals and petroleum products; and give their boys a chance to know a simple, sustainable way of life. They are currently building a homestead from scratch on two little acres in central Texas. There’s a lot to be done to become somewhat self-sufficient, but they are debt-free and get to spend their days living this simple, good life together with their four young children.