Juice bars seem to be springing up everywhere and people are talking about the advantages of wheatgrass juice and sprouting seeds.

As a person who mills my own flour, I always have a large supply of wheat grains in stock.  Sprouting grains is incredibly easy to do and you do not need fancy and expensive machines so save your money and use an old container and your windowsill.

I have an old Tupperware steamer that I use for my sprouting grains.  It is in three parts.  A base, a middle colander type basket and a lid.  This is rather a sophisticated set up actually and you can make do with an old jar and a pair of clean tights for straining the liquid off.

This is my method.

I get a few grains of wheat and rinse them under the tap to remove and dirt and debris. Then I leave the wheat grains in plain water overnight just to get the germination process started. 

 

 Next morning I drain them off and just leave them.  Within a day the little shoots are beginning to come through. A couple of times a day (when I remember!) I take the middle part of the steamer with the seeds in and let the water from the cold tap very gently wet the seeds.  This keeps them hydrated and ensures good germination. A day or two later I start nibbling on them every time I walk past the windowsill.  They have a lovely fresh taste that I would liken to podded peas.

You can sprout lots of different types of seeds and grains so experiment.  They are so good for you… its like eating little nutritional powerhouses!

Here’s a picture of my seeds set up. As you can see, the little steamer works perfect, no need for expensive seed sprouters!

Don’t worry about liquid feeding the seeds.  Each seed comes with its own little food supply built in and that will last it until you eat it.

If you leave the seeds for a week or so you will have the wheatgrass that is often seen in the juice bars. 

 

At this stage you can juice the seeds and make delicious wheatgrass juice.   If you don’t have the right type of juicer for the job then its best to eat the seeds before they grow to this stage.  They are still edible but you will probably end up spitting out the fibrous part once you have extracted all the juice and goodness from it.  Not very ladylike, but a lot cheaper than buying a glass from a juice bar!