It has been so cold here this week. I’m talking 30s degrees. Rain and snow mix. Wind. Down coat.

What happened to the Spring that we had a glimpse of last week?!

I’ve been wearing bright lipstick to keep my spirits up.

I’ve also been busy sprouting – to make sure I get the most out of my new (temporary?) meatless lifestyle.

While studying up on adding legumes and seeds to my diet, I came across the subject of sprouting.

I knew that in order to make these new foods easier to digest, I needed to soak them overnight. However, what was new to me was that allowing them to sprout unleashes a nutritional powerhouse.

If you rinse most nuts and legumes, quinoa, oats and grains daily after soaking them, within a few days they will sprout.

It’s been so much fun checking on and watering my sprouts every day! I finally ate some sprouted quinoa and split peas today and waited for the energy magic to happen.

Apparently this is the stage in the plant lifecycle where the plant unleashes tons of nutrients vital to the development of the plant – like a baby needing nutritious mother’s milk.

There’s also research out there to suggest this process changes the structure of the grain, legume, seed, nut to be closer to that of a plant.

How did I not know about this before? My mind is blown.

In addition to my split peas, my sunflower seeds and quinoa have successfully sprouted. My almonds turned moldy and I had to throw them out (I read that sprouting almonds only works if they are truly raw). My chickpeas didn’t sprout, but I think that was my fault for not watering them enough. I’m still working on black rice.

Ready to experiment with these little energy bombs!