Why Add Alfalfa Sprouts to Your Diet?

Alfalfa sprouts not only reduce the risk of breast cancer and minimize menopause symptoms, but they can even help those that have excessive bleeding during menstruation and reduce the symptoms of PMS. These little sprouts can even help prevent osteoporosis.

They are a great source of vitamin C, can lower glucose levels and treat diabetes, help with aging due to large amounts of antioxidants, and they even combat cholesterol. Who knew alfalfa sprouts could be so good for you?


Nutritional Benefits

Now, let's take a closer look at the nutritional benefits of alfalfa sprouts. Alfalfa sprouts contain a good amount vitamin K (38% daily value), vitamin C (14%), folate (9%), manganese (9%), and copper (9%) per 100gm serving. Alfalfa sprouts also contain phosphorus, magnesium, riboflavin, zinc, iron, thiamine, and vitamin A. You get all of that for only 23 calories. That's simply amazing for such a tiny plant.


How to Grow Alfalfa Sprouts

There are a few different ways to do it. I'm using the flat tray/soil method and sprouting these in a kitchen drawer. Once they were sprouted, I took them out and placed them in indirect sunlight to green up.


Supplies:

• Alfalfa seeds
• potting soil
• a bowl
• a colander and cheesecloth
• a planter or cardboard tray
• a garbage bag
• plastic wrap
• a spray bottle filled with water

They need to be rinsed and soaked first. Place the seeds into a cheesecloth or other fabric set into a colander and rinse them under the tap. Place them in a bowl and cover with water. Let them soak overnight, then drain through the cheesecloth again.

After the 2nd day soak

Now I'm prepping my tray. I grabbed a cardboard tray from Sam's Club. You could also get them in the grocery store (you can ask someone if there's one you can have), or you could get a plastic tray from a garden department of the kind that they ship plants on.


If your tray is cardboard, just line it with a plastic garbage bag. If your tray is plastic, omit that step. You can also attach your bag to the top edge of the tray with a stapler if you like, but it's not necessary.


Add potting soil to your tray about an inch deep, then spray it down with water to make sure it's nice and damp (not soaking wet, though.)


Add your soaked seeks to the soil evenly. No need to cover them with soil.


Cover the whole tray with plastic wrap and place somewhere dark like a drawer, closet, or cabinet.


After about 3-5 days, you'll see your sprouts are well-sprouted! You can now take off the plastic and set them somewhere in indirect sunlight to green up.


Mist them with water every day to every other day. You'll be able to see if they're drying out.


It is possible to grow these completely out of the sun in a closet, but they won't be as pretty and green and probably not as nutritious.


You can start harvesting these in 8-10 days.


You can pull out a bit and rinse the soil off as needed for sandwiches and salads, even stir-frys.


Or you can just cut off as much as you need right above the soil line.


You can store whatever you don't use in a sealed container in your refrigerator for up to a few days.



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Have you had alfalfa sprouts? What is your favorite way to eat them? I love reading your comments!