You can ensure that you have a constant, inexpensive supply of fresh vegetables all year if you grow your own sprouts.  While most people are aware of bean sprouts and alfalfa sprouts they may not know about other varieties that have as much or more flavor and nutrition.

In fact, growing your own sprouts takes only minutes a day and the varieties are almost limitless.  They are very versatile vegetable, and can be used in cooking, salads, and baking.

No matter how you use them, sprouts will add flavor and nutrition to your diet without a lot of calories or fat.

There are a lot of reasons why it is better to grow your own sprouts. First of all, growing your own allows you to control the conditions surrounding your food. You can be sure of the cleanliness, the conditions, and other factors. No worries about rodents or other pests contaminating your food supply and causing you to get sick. Other reasons for growing sprouts at home are:

• Full of vitamins and minerals
• Antioxidants
• Living foods
• Fresher
• It is fun
• It is easy
• It is inexpensive
• Greater variety
• Year round availability
• Can be done in the smallest apartment

There are many different kinds of sprouts, many more than the standard few that you may see at your grocer.  Each has different flavors and textures and you can add variety to your salads, sandwiches, and even breads by using different ones.

Some of the different ones are:

• Wheat-sweet
• Rye
• Barley
• Buckwheat-mild
• Sunflower-nutty
• Pumpkin-buttery
• Lentil-peppery
• Adzuki-rich
• Cabbage-peppery
• Broccoli-mild
• Alfalfa-like lettuce
• Radish-spicy
• Fennel-aromatic
• Garlic-piquant

Sprouts are easy to grow and do not require much in the way of supplies. You will need:

• Mason jar for each variety of sprouts, be sure to sterilize it
• Mesh or a nylon to fit over the top
• A ring to secure the mesh on the top

Each variety of sprouts will take a different amount of time to sprout. Alfalfa sprouts may take only a few days while garlic sprouts may take nearly a month. Always buy the seeds from a reputable company and be sure that they are specifically organic sprouting seeds and have not been treated.

1. Rinse the seeds
2. Place the recommended amount of seeds in the jar
3. Cover with three times as much warm, not hot, water.
4. Soak for the period of time recommended by the seed company, usually two to eight hours.
5. Place the nylon or mesh over the jar lid and secure
6. Drain out the water.
7. Put the jar in a warm, dark spot.
8. Rinse twice a day.
9. Allow alfalfa and other green sprouts to sit for a couple of hours in sunlight to develop color.
10. Rinse and store in the refrigerator.

You will probably not find a huge variety of sprouts at your local store but you can usually find whatever you are looking for on the Internet. You can find a variety of sprouts at the following companies

• Sprout People
• Mumms
• The Sprout House
• Handy Pantry

Enjoy this frugal way of stretching your grocery budget and eating healthy, nutrient packed foods. Don;t be afraid to try new things and new ways of using homegrown sprouts.