Buckwheat sprouts

buckwheat sprouts

After trying the Raw Health Buckwheat Snax, I thought I would try sprouting my own buckwheat.  I have a sprouting jar, but it rarely gets used.  Actually, I go thorough phases.  Trouble is I get bored waiting for the sprouts.  Then I panic about using them when they are ready.  I thought it was time for a revival.

So, why sprout?  What you are doing is allowing the seeds to germinate, moving them from a dormant to an active state.  The nutrients which are stored in the seed waiting to give it the power to grow into a plant are activated.

Another reason is that soaking, and thus germinating, seeds helps to break down the phytic acid.  I think I mentioned phytic acid before when I was activating my nuts 🙂 Quick lowdown: it is a toxin found in the husk/skin of many grains, nuts and seeds.  Breaking down toxins makes the foods easier to digest and extract the nutrients from.  Just a note here, not all toxins are broken down, and there has been some discussion about whether they are still toxic in this state.  As with anything moderation is the key – just don’t overdo it 🙂

Finally, sprouts are said to be alkalizing.  Celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, and Victoria Beckham are said to follow an Alkaline Diet which claims to be able to heal a variety of ailments in addition to weight loss.

I’ve given some references below for further reading.

I’ve not tried sprouting buckwheat before, but then I am relatively new to buckwheat.  Guidelines said to soak them for 1 hour, I left them for a couple of hours when I went out to my exercise class.  Obviously you don’t have to start on a Saturday 🙂 here is how it went for me:

Saturday morning – soak a couple tablespoons of buckwheat groats for 1-4 hours

Stage 1 – soak the buckwheat

After a couple of hours drain and rinse the groats.  Buckwheat groats are notoriously slimy so give them a good rinse.  Put them back into your jar and allow any excess water to drain away.  This is easy with a sprouting jar, but you could just place some fine mesh (tights for example) over the jar opening.

stage 2 – germinating

Place in a sunny spot for a couple of days, rinsing once or twice a day.  I went away for the night, and when I came back on Sunday this is what greeted me:

stage 3 – sprouted buckwheat

Yay!  Mini sprouts.  This is all I required them for, but you could leave for a day or two more if you want proper tails on them.

I put my buckwheat groats on the dehydrator on Sunday night.  Most of them fell through.  Never mind.  When I got up 8 hours or so later I had perfectly dry sprouted buckwheat groats.

dehydrated buckwheat sprouts

Check back later in the week to find out what I made with them.  OK, you’re not daft, you know I’m making my own version of the buckwheat snax I reviewed earlier in the week.  Check back to find out the recipe for these:

Buckwheat crispies

Read more

• Nouveau Raw: How to sprout and use buckwheat groats
• Sarah Wilson: How to make your own sprouts
• Girl on Raw: How to sprout buckwheat

Have you tried sprouting seeds/nuts/legumes?  How do you use yours?

Tagged: Alkaline Diet, buckwheat, buckwheat groats, sprouted buckwheat, sprouting seeds, sprouts