How to grow your own broccoli sprouts in a mason jar

Broccoli sprouts are known to have a crazy amount of health benefits, and are really easy to grow at home. I got super intrigued to start eating broccoli sprouts after listening to Joe Rogan’s podcast a few years ago with doctor Rhonda Patrick.

Give it a listen if you can! The podcast has some great insights on over-all health and nutrition, plus Rhonda Patrick is awesome and Joe Rogan does a great job at interviewing her, so its an easy way to learn some beneficial science health information without feeling like you’re in a biology class.

If you listen to the podcast, you’ll quickly learn the biggest benefit of eating broccoli sprouts in sulforaphane. The list of benefits from sulforaphane goes on forever, including anti-cancer affects, benefits for the heart, and blood sugar.

If you haven’t looked into it already, this article is another easy read that will give you the break down of the benefits of sulforaphane. Otherwise, there are many scholarly articles like this one if you need more proof its worth eating them.

Things you’ll need to get started:

• Mason jar
• Broccoli sprouts seeds
• Canvas or sprouting lids
• Water

For the lids, I saw a few DIY’s done by a few people who have used plastic canvas as a cover. This seems to do the trick, just make sure that whatever you use is clean. I have also tried drilling holes in the top of the mason jar lid, which worked just fine as well, however it was more of nuisance when rinsing the sprouts. If you choose to do it this way, using a sifter for the rinsing process works well!

Once you’re all set up these are the steps to growing these lil guys:

1. Put about two table spoons of seeds in the bottom of the jar, and cover will about 2 inches of water, make sure none of the seeds are stuck to the side of the jar!

2. Cover the jar with what ever lid you ended up making, and place it in a dark place. I put mine in a cupboard near the dishwasher to keep it warm (ish), but any cupboard is fine as long as it’s not too cold. Leave them for around 12 hours,

3. After 8 hours, give the seeds a fresh rinse. The timing of all this does not have to be exact, I usually just do it in the morning the day after I have set up the jar. You’ll see the seeds have started to (hopefully) sprout, you’ll see little specs of the lighter stem that’s coming out. Once the have began to sprout, place the jar sideways on an angle so that you can be sure the water is being drained out completely after a rinse. Personally, I use a bowl for this, but dish drying racks are also an easy method, just get creative with what you have at home!

4. Keep them in a dark place, now leaning on their side, and rinse them twice a day for around 2-3 days. You will see as they grow the importance of placing the jar on the side as the water does get caught within the sprouts.

5. Once the spouts have grown approximately an inch, you can place them out in the open, just try to avoid direct sunlight. Once you see the dark green leaves, its time to eat them!

Once they’re all done, you can store them in the fridge, just make sure you have given them time to dry out the moisture form the last rinse.

For maximum sulforaphane content, eat them as soon as possible! For the health benefits, I like to make a green smoothie with them, broccoli sprouts do have an acquired taste, but i find with the right ingredients it cuts the flavor.

• 1 banana
• 1/3 frozen avocado
• 1 cup broccoli sprouts
• Spinach
• Some pineapple ( or any other tart flavored fruit)
• Almond milk

Otherwise, broccoli sprouts are really tasty on a wrap or salad, it can make it super fresh! Get creative with it! I’d love to hear about your ideas and how it went.