Hey there little sprout!

Sprouts.

The wonderfully healthy wormlike little seedlings that you can add to salads, sandwiches, or just eat plain.

And I grew them myself.

In a Mason jar.

On my kitchen counter.

In four days.

Flat.

Want to know how easy it is?

Just follow this step by step guide.

Or if you choose to see a video, just google Mason jar alfalfa sprouts or something like that to be inundated with websites and youtube videos showing you how.

First things first.

The seeds.

I bought mine at the Natural Grocery store in the bulk section.

I got roughly 1/4 pound for a little over $2.

Next you need to find or buy a quart sized Mason jar. It needs to have an open top canning lid so you can replace the canning top with a screened one. Or you can use old pantyhose and a rubberband around the top too.

{I actually didn't have a screen and I didn't use pantyhose. And you don't have to, it just makes it a little easier to drain... but I'll explain that in a minute.}

Now that you have all the components, you are ready to start growing sprouts.

Begin by measuring 1 Tablespoon of the seedlings.

Next pour the little things into said Mason jar.

Then fill the Mason jar about 1-2 inches above the seeds and soak for 8-10 hours.

This is best done overnight. You put the water in before bed and then when you get up the next morning you just drain the water out.

This is where that screen comes in handy.

If you have one just tip the jar upside down and let the water pour out.

If you don't have one...

you can just use a paper towel and hold it tight to the lip of the Mason jar while the water streams out.

The seeds that end up on the paper towel just need to be "tapped" back into the jar. There might be a couple casualties each time. No big deal.

Next step is to simply rinse the seeds at two different times during the day.

{Best if you do it in the morning when you get up and then before you go to bed because it is easy to remember.} 

The first day they won't look much different. Maybe a little swollen.

By day two you will begin to see sprouting. Or as my kids called it "worms" beginning to show.

Day three the jar is starting to fill up.

And by day four or five you can visibly see that it is time to harvest and start the process again.

I laid mine out on a paper towel before storing them in a sandwich baggie in the fridge.

Excited to top my lunchtime sandwiches with these little guys.