By: Tamara Jacobi

You might want to consider adding sprouts to your list of “superfoods”.   

In the life of a plant, sprouting is moment of great vitality and energy. The seed, after having remained quiet for a long period of time, becomes more and more active and begins its journey up through the topsoil into the open air. When it sprouts, a healthy seed activates many different systems in your body. 

Sprouts are high in:

•  Life Force (vitality & energy)
•  Vitamins & Minerals
•  Easily digestible protein
•  Antioxidants
•  Enzymes
•  Vitamin C

What kind of sprouts, you might be thinking? As the spring progresses you’re probably seeing all kinds of different sprouts springing up out of the ground.

Though I love sprouts, I don’t recommend that you go scavenging for sprouts in your neighbor’s garden. A better option is to look for sprouts at your local health food stores and farmer’s markets. Of course, you can also grow your own!  Growing your own sprouts is simple and fun, and a great project for spring. 

Click here for simple steps on growing your own sprouts

So, what kinds of sprouts are good to eat? Generally the following are used for sprouting:

Beans & Legumes: lentils, garbanzo, mung, adzuki

Seeds : Alfalfa seeds, radish seeds, carrot seeds, coriander seeds, pumpkin seeds, alfalfa

Grains : buckwheat, amaranth, kamut, quinoa

Now you’re probably wondering how to incorporate sprouts into your diet. It’s easy to add sprouts to:

•  Salads
•  Sandwiches
•  Stirfrys
•  Wraps

Enjoy!  

Tamara Jacobi, Certified Health Coach

Tamara Jacobi is a certified health and nutrition coach who received her training at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She is the founder of Jungle Girl Health, www.junglegirlhealth.com, offering health coaching over the phone to individuals who are ready to feel and look their best. By using whole foods for healing and lifestyle balancing techniques, Tamara helps people understand how to heal and nourish their bodies completely.

Tamara leads an adventurous and active lifestyle, dividing her time between the Colorado Rocky Mountains and the Mexican Pacific coastline.  In Mexico, she is the owner and manager of the Tailwind jungle lodge, a certified sustainable jungle lodge and adventure tour company just north of Puerto Vallarta, www.tailwindjunglelodge.com. Tamara also guides adventure tours for the Tailwind jungle lodge including sea kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and hiking. In her free time she spends as much time as possible playing outside. She is a passionate skier, road biker, trail runner and stand up paddle boarder.