We still have a few nasty-cold weeks before spring arrives, meaning we still have a few nasty-cold weeks of hanging around indoors. So how about learning a new hobby—one that you can get pretty good at in just a couple tries? And to top it off, this hobby will boost your health at the same time!

I’m talking about sprouting. While alfalfa sprouts have gotten a bad rap the last few years because of a risk of food poisoning, when done correctly, there’s no justifiable cause for concern. It’s all about HOW you sprout. With the right technique and the right equipment, you’re in for some fun and good nutrition as well.

And that’s why I’m talking about it now. Maybe some of you have tried to sprout and for whatever reason, gave it up. Now might be a good time to revisit the idea.

For starters, just look at all the positive reasons for learning to sprout:

And if it ever gets difficult to buy salad greens (due to a grocery recall, regional drought, a crazy price-hike, or…), knowing how to sprout will be your answer to continuing to get live enzymes and chlorophyl into your diet. It’s an easy and smart way to be self-reliant when it comes to protecting your health.

So what’s the best sprouter on the market? I’ve tried them all, and hands down, it’s the Easy Sprout®, made by Gil and Lori, the “Sprout People” (www.sproutpeople.org). Here’s what they say about it:

“Overwhelmingly our most popular sprouter of all time—Easy Sprout is also a personal favorite of ours and thanks to its small footprint we can have more than a dozen growing sprouts in our very small kitchen. It offers great drainage and the best air-circulation of any sprouter. It’s also BPA-free and Kosher!”

This terrific piece of equipment is made up of a 1 quart (litre) growing vessel, a solid container/base that catches excess rinse water, a small seed insert that snaps in when sprouting small seeds, two growing lids (1 for home (domed) and 1 for the road (flat), and a solid lid for refrigerator storage of your sprout crop.

Easy Sprout is almost a mandatory choice for high humidity environments. And as inferred in the product description above, it’s great for traveling. In other words, the Easy Sprout is very versatile; it’ll sprout virtually any seed, anywhere!

Perhaps now is the place to state that I do not have any connection to Gil and Lori, other than being a super happy customer. I do not know them and I don’t receive any monetary compensation for recommending their sprouter. It’s all about my enthusiasm and wanting to pass on some really good news!

Their website (www.sproutpeople.org) is also a great place to go to learn all about sprouting. They have a simple video showing you how to use the sprouter, clear instructions on how to sprout any seed you want, and great recipes for using those sprouts. As you see in the above photo, this sprouter comes with easy-to-understand and follow instructions. Follow their suggestions and you’ll succeed.

For about $16 you can invest in an awesome, easy-to-learn hobby that’ll bless your health in so many ways! And maybe now’s a good time to give it a try!

    Alice Osborne
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
    Email the author! alice@dvo.com