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A sprout's nutritious goodness starts with a seed. Seeds are the most nutritionally complete foods known, containing every food element required for the generation of new life. When a seed germinates, it becomes a veritable vitamin factory, producing large amounts of C, E and B complex vitamins in its growing tissues.
Most fruit and vegetable foods begin to lose vitamins as soon as they are cut. Sprouts are never cut; they keep growing until you eat them. They keep making vitamins even after we harvest them. Sprouting seeds produce ENZYMES, those ENZYMES energize your body's cells. Some enzymes streamline the breakdown of proteins into their component amino acids. Thus sprouts enhance digestion; they're metabolically friendlier than unsprouted beans.
The best way to reap the nutritional benefits of sprouts - the "living" food - is to eat them raw or briefly cooked. Heat can destroy protein and active enzymes, while cooking creates creates toxins which hinder digestion. Chicago's Indoor Garden's sprouts are all very tasty raw, seasoned or with a sauce. Most varieties also lend themselves well to brief sautéing, steaming or blanching. Toss them into cooked dishes to enhance taste and texture while conserving nutritional qualities. |
