I love sprouted grains & so should you .

[Bedford]

You don't have to but at least you're reading this .

One of my favorite meals of the day is when I get to have Ezekiel Bread with my Natty PB. Ezekiel bread is made from sprouted grains & in my opinion & many others it is one of the best carbs you can have in your diet. The bread is not made from flour but from spouted grains & is one of the cleanest carbs you can get along with the added protein it's a home run in my book.

The benefits of the sprouted grains are the real reason for me to have it in my diet instead of plain wheat bread or similar. So I'd like to talk about the benefit of eating spouted grains & why they are a better choice.

So what is a sprouted grain ? Grains are the seed of plants most of which fall into the cereal grasses category. There are 3 parts of the of the whole grains that we can eat . The Bran, The Germ & the Endosperm. Think of the Germ as the plants embryo & as it matures it will nourish the starch filled Endosperm. The third and least least important layer is the Bran . While the bran does provide some additional nutrients most of its mass is made up of the inedible husk found on most grains . The husks main job to protect the grain seed until the start of its growth cycle & hinders our normal digestive process,.

So, lets talk about a seed as it sits waiting to germinate. It has some distinct growth factors that are built into its genetics that keep it from Sprouting (germinating) until the moisture & temp. conditions are to its liking. As the seed starts to sprout the growth inhibitors are wiped out by the germination & thus transforms the Endosperms long term storage of starches into simple molecules that the growing plant embryo can digest easier.

Just as this new baby plant digests these enzyme activated molecules easier & so do humans making it so your body can more easily adsorb calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc.
Thus giving all the fullness of a whole grain but being considerably easier to digest.

The best attribute that sprouted grains have to me is that the sprouting process increases the bio-availability of Vitamin C. Sprouting increases the vitamin B2, B5 & B6. Sprouting releases more antioxidants that are naturally stored in the grains and seeds.Proteins & Fiber are also affected turning sprouted grains into nutritional beasts.

A good study I like to show is the increase of Crude Protein and Crude Fiber changes in Barley Sprouted over a 7-day period.

Crude Protein (% of DM) Crude Fiber (% of DM)

Original seed
12.7% 5.4%
Day 1 12.7% 5.6%
Day 2 13.0% 5.9%
Day 3 13.6% 5.8%
Day 4 13.4% 7.4%
Day 5 13.9% 9.7%
Day 6 14.0% 10.8%
Day 7 15.5% 14.1%
Source: Cuddeford (1989), based on data obtained by Peer and Leeson (1985).

This study ,while not shown for all grains is a good indicator of the potential benefits of including sprouted grains in your diet.
Now on a home scale this is a small endeavor to do. I sprout all sorts of grains & use them in homemade chili,shakes,crackers & dough.

We use mason jars with cheesecloth over the lids . It makes it easy to rinse & drain the seeds & helps to keep the conditions right. There are plastic lids out there for the sprouting process but from my experience the cheesecloth works best.
Germination usually happens in the 2nd or 3rd day . Some seeds make take longer.


Right now we have quinoa (which have a very nice nutty taste after being sprouted), Navy beans ,chickpeas,& two others being spouted.

[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]
Additional nutritional increases can be seen here

Sprouting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Health Benefits of Sprouted Grains | The Whole Grains Council

This is my 1st post where I thought I may be adding something actually useful to this forum so if you have any questions I hope I can answer them.

So give them a try you, may just like it & enjoy the benefit & taste .Thanks for reading.

[Igifuno]

Wow Bedford very interesting and solid quality post!!

I definitely learned something here.

So are you making this bread or is this something you can buy at a grocery store?

[RaginCajun]

Are you making scotch?

[thisAngelBites]

I love sprouted quinoa, but it bothers my husband's stomach, even though I wash it very well to remove the saponins that people say are responsible for the tummy upset.

I do sprout wheat and oats occasionally, and spread into a layer and dry in my dehydrator to make my own ezekiel style bread. To be fair, it's a lot of work and I don't do it as much I should. But even if you don't have a dehydrator, the sprouted grains are delicious on salads.

I need to do an experiment with the sprouted grain bread to see if it gives me that bad feeling in my stomach that regular gluten containing baked goods do. It would be great if I could sprout and dry wheat grains, and then grind to use for baking.

[mockery]

I wish i could find sprouted grain bread in Australia , so far no luck.

[RaginCajun]

I wish i could find sprouted grain bread in Australia , so far no luck.

I find it in the frozen section. Looks like you might have to start making ya own

[Bedford]

Wow Bedford very interesting and solid quality post!!

I definitely learned something here.

So are you making this bread or is this something you can buy at a grocery store?

The Ezekiel bread along with Food for life's other products can usually be purchased in the frozen organic section of major grocery stores . Food For Life
I prefer the low sodium bread myself.

As for the sprouting we do at home I have to give my wife most of the credit. She takes those sprouted grains & makes crackers,dough for my sons pizzas, & we use them in some of our variations meals such as Turkey chili ,navy bean "hummus" ,or in a stir fry. Many times I put the sprouted grains into a smaller meal as a filler or blend them in with a shake.

[Bedford]

I love sprouted quinoa, but it bothers my husband's stomach, even though I wash it very well to remove the saponins that people say are responsible for the tummy upset.

I do sprout wheat and oats occasionally, and spread into a layer and dry in my dehydrator to make my own ezekiel style bread. To be fair, it's a lot of work and I don't do it as much I should. But even if you don't have a dehydrator, the sprouted grains are delicious on salads.

I need to do an experiment with the sprouted grain bread to see if it gives me that bad feeling in my stomach that regular gluten containing baked goods do. It would be great if I could sprout and dry wheat grains, and then grind to use for baking.

I'll agree it is time consuming & if it were me just wanting the food I would go the simple fast route & buy it already made. My wife likes to cook & there is not a lot she can make for me that fits into my strict diet so this makes her happy & I actually enjoy it & can eat it.

[Lunk1]

Sprouted grain is Jim Tom's secret ingredient in his moon shine!

[jngymrat]

Great post and definitely something in the whole food world that has been way overlooked. I have been a proponent of sprouting every manner of raw food for years, much better for you and far more healthy, isn't that what we are all trying to achieve anyway? Good job on this post!

[ickythump]

This post is awesome, I know the benefits of some sprouted grains but didn't really know you could do it yourself, thank you for posting this!!!!!

[M302_Imola]

The best attribute that sprouted grains have to me is that the sprouting process increases the bio-availability of Vitamin C. Sprouting increases the vitamin B2, B5 & B6. Sprouting releases more antioxidants that are naturally stored in the grains and seeds.Proteins & Fiber are also affected turning sprouted grains into nutritional beasts.

Great post! I had forgot about the benefits you mentioned so thanks for bringing those to my attention. I've used Ezekiel bread (plain and cinnamon raisin) for a couple years now and love the stuff.