Sprouting is a fun and easy activity that you can do with kids at home, especially during the cold winter months.  While growing healthy and nutritious sprouts you can be learning along with your kids. 

1. Get a large clear jar and some cotton or cheese cloth or muslin and hold it in place with a rubber band. (I use my kid’s old muslin clothes from when they were babies)
2. Pick your seed of choice and let soak it over night. Rule of thumb (one seed to 3 parts of water)
3. Place the seeds inside the clear jar and add cold water, then cover it with the cloth. 
4. DR – Drain and rinse the sprouts. You can just use any drainer/sieve you already have at home and drain all the water out, make sure you try and shake all the excessive water.  Then add in fresh water, swirl around a bit and then shake out all the water.
5. Once you have rinsed the sprouts turn tilt the jar upside down and turn it around in your hand.  With the seeds sticking to the side of the jar will increase the germination rate, it so the it has room to grown
6. Then you can just rest the jar on an angle on a bowl or a plate to rest.  It is important to keep the sprouts draining.  Leave it in a dry, dark place. 
7. Drain, Rinse and repeat the steps above twice a day. Keep repeating the steps until the satisfactory length of your liking.I personally prefer it around 1-2 inches long. 
8. Then harvest and enjoy your sprouts.

When it’s time to harvest, give your sprouts one last rinse and then drain them nicely.  On a clean cloth, spread them all out, let the cloth absorb the remaining moisture and let them air dry (preferably in the sun) for an hour before you store them.

Storing Your Sprouts.

I personally like to store my sprouts in a glass Tupperware for easy access.  Post-harvest moisture is sprouting’s worst enemy.  To prevent moisture, I will get another one of my kid’s old muslin cloths and line it along the container, wrapping the sprouts within. If you don’t have a muslin cloth, you can use a kitchen towel (otherwise, a paper towel will do) Your sprouts can be stored up to one week… enjoy!