How to grow chia sprouts: a quick guide for you

Foreword

In order to survive in any, even the harshest setting, you need to have your survival skills trained, situational awareness risen, and your survival gear packed. Besides, choose the right survival backpack for the purpose. After all, you will be facing danger, and you are the only person to help yourself out in the end. Food is really an essential thing, even in normal life. Survival foods are even more important. Read on to learn more!

Introduction

Chia seeds originally come from the chia plant (or Salvia hispanica, in Latin): a flowering plant from the mint family. They originally were grown in Mexico and were a usual product in a diet of ancient Aztecs.

As interesting as this fact is, that was a long time ago, and now we are wondering about a different question: whether you can somehow use them now? Short answer: yes, you can (by growing chia sprout).

But still, even knowing that they are of use, some might wonder whether it is worth sprouting chia seeds, and in our opinion, it is. After adding them to the list of our nutritious products, we understood that they could be used for many recipes, such as:

• Chia gel for adding into other survival meals,
• Yogurt with chia seeds’ sprout,
• Chia pudding
• As a healthy ingredient inside the salads, etc.

The plot

This gave us an idea to learn how to sprout chia seeds that do not require a garden like maple trees: which is easy but a bit unusual, as it is done not through a jar method but with the help of a terracotta dish for creating a decent sprout harvest.

You can also look here for some tips on how you can eat chia seeds.

Sprouting chia seeds: what health benefits do they have?

Chia seeds contain a great amount of protein, as well as calcium. In fact, chia sprouts have five times more calcium than cow’s milk: three tablespoons of sprout chia seeds are equal to the whole cup of milk. Unexpected, huh?

In an article by Mind Body Green on the reasons for which it is worth sprouting chia seeds, it is said that the process of sprouting seeds makes them green, and that gives you an additional rich source of chlorophyll.

Indeed, sprouted chia seeds have a lot of chlorophyll, as well as fiber. For this reason, vegans and vegetarians should always include chia sprouts in their meals, as it already helps our organism with so many important nutrients. The chlorophyll inside the seeds helps clean your blood and create a new one, and it also increases the ability of our blood cells to carry oxygen and deliver it to particular parts of the body. Pretty important stuff, as you can understand. Build a Walipini greenhouse to grow chia sprouts massively!

Chia extra features

Somewhere around now, you would not expect such a small plant to have anything else significant in it, but it does. Healthy omega-3 acid is also present in chia seeds, and the proportion is the following: for every ounce of seeds, you get 28 grams of omega-3, while the usual recommendation of doctors is 250-500 milligrams of omega-3 acid in your everyday diet!

This last nutrient that the sprout chia seeds contain should be important for meat eaters also, as our usual milk, eggs, or chicken meat from the stores are deprived of omega-3 fatty acids: cows are not allowed to roam on pastures for getting the acid, and chickens raised on grains are also lacking very much-needed nutrients.

No matter how sad this is, the great news is that we have chia sprouts that are very useful even for traditional dieters!

You might wonder why do we need omega-3 acid, and here is the list of reasons:

• This nutrient helps our organism to maintain the cardiovascular system, cholesterol, and insulin levels on the right track.
• It also plays a great role in our memory function and keeps our mood far away from any depressive and anxious thoughts.
• Moreover, it was proven by many pieces of research that the high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the women’s body system prevent them from getting postpartum depression, in time of which so may even kill themselves! They are also important for your pet’s health system.

Also important

In addition, chia sprouts have a spicy taste that you can add to a great variety of meals: from salads and sandwiches to soups and sauces.

And now, if you understood the need for getting some chia microgreens or seeds, go buy them! However, compared to the usual chia seeds, growing chia microgreens can be a bit longer until the leaves start appearing. But you can also grow them without any soil and do not need to eat the roots.

For more information, go to the happy kitchen’s website, find there more tips on sprouting chia seeds and even a delicious recipe for chia cucumber cups.

Sprouting chia seeds and then waiting for the whole four to six days?!

You might ask if it is worth waiting and keeping up with your patience for sprouting chia seeds and hoping for a good harvest: we say that it definitely is.

It may take some time to get used to this sprouting process, but after a while, it becomes straightforward to grow chia seeds and create sprouts from them.

Now you also know how good is sprouting chia seeds for your health, but what about the taste? For those of you who like broccoli sprouts, we have good news: chia sprouts’ taste is quite similar.

Moreover, you may need this sprouting skill for when survivalists’ situations come into our world, and we will need to somehow get all of the nutrients in a situation where no stores are available. Sprouting seeds will definitely help you with that.

From talks to actions: how to actually grow chia sprouts

Before going into the details, we would like to say that garden seeds do not have any differences from homegrown ones, do not worry about that, and be sure that yours will grow just as well!

Now, let us talk more about the growing process itself. As chia seeds are prone to take a gelatinous form when water is added by quickly observing the fluids, they CANNOT be sprouted in a jar with a strainer lid that has an open-air circulation.

We have tried to use the traditional jar to grow chia sprouts, as some of the online sources told us to do, but that was a bad idea to listen to them: chia sprouts either dried out or created mucilaginous seeds that you will not be able to use further.

It is better to buy a terra cotta dish (which is not expensive) for the grown inside the house moist and sprouted seeds.

The reason for this choice of terracotta dish is that these trays can hold the water for a long time, which is what we need for growing chia sprouts and creating a wonderful harvest.

However, note that you would need to find a shallow dish so that the small seeds would not fall into the cracks.

The sprinkling method of sprouting chia seeds

The approach that we are going to discuss in this article is called the sprinkle method.

First, note that the time for which the organic chia seeds will harvest (using this sprinkle method) can vary from four to seven days and maybe even longer during the winter months: this depends on the room temperature of the place where you keep your chia sprouts.

Second, try to memorize the fact that when one-fourth of an inch longitude is reached, put your terra cotta dish together with the seeds into direct sunlight, as this will allow your chia seeds to become greener in color and create bigger and healthier sprouts’ harvest.

Third, soaking your seeds before the sprouting seeds’ process is not necessary.

What to use

• The chia seeds. Note that one tbsp of them will give you two cups of sprouts.
• Terra cotta dish with the size capable of fitting into your container.
• Spray bottle with FILTERED water for sprinkling your seeds.
• A recycled clamshell container/glass baking dish/plastic bag for creating a greenhouse capable of holding the moisture in.

What to do

1. Soak your terra cotta dish in water for a few minutes to moist it.
2. Sprinkle in your chia seeds and evenly spread them into one thin layer.
3. Remember that you should accurately sprinkle chia seeds with filtered water. No standing water is allowed, as this will turn your sprouts into a gel.
4. Also, do not constantly spray your seeds. Usually, it is enough to do it once.
5. Create a greenhouse with your lid dish, the forms of which we have already discussed above.
6. Place your dish into a larger plate with water and add one-fourth of an inch of filtered water to help the terra cotta tray absorb water moisture.

• Afterward, simply put your terra cotta dish together with the seeds into the dark corner of your kitchen and wait for four to seven days for the chia seeds to sprout.
• Then decide whether you want to eat them like this or to sprout chia seeds even more and wait for the seeds to become green. For the second option, place your seeds under direct sunlight.

Other possible ways

An additional method is sprouting the seeds without a terra cotta dish, just under the usual glass baking lid: this is also a great method that DOES work but note that it requires more attention from you.

As no terra cotta plates are used, you will need to constantly spray your chia seeds with a fine mist a few times a day. Look online for more information on this method if interested.

A recipe on how to make a stuffed avocado with sprouted chia seeds

So here is a recipe that we upgraded from a book on sprouting and recipes with them, including the one on the chia seeds.

Ingredients

• three fourth of a cup of chia sprouts
• one-fourth of a cup of celery, sliced very thinly
• 16 0z tuna can
• four tbsps of mayonnaise
• 2 tbsps of green onion, sliced
• 3 tbsps of lemon juice
• paprika
• two whole avocados

What you need to do

• Take your avocados, wash them and cut in two halves.
• Accurately empty it in the center to make a bigger room for stuffings.
• Pour one tbsp of lemon juice into each of the halves.
• Combine the rest of the ingredients together with avocadoes and the seeds and put the result into avocado shells.
• Sprinkle some paprika on and enjoy the result.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are the benefits of chia sprouts?

We would definitely say that eating chia sprouts is vital for vegans and vegetarians, as they would have some problems with getting enough protein and calcium into their organism. For this reason, you should definitely grow chia seeds if you are a non-meat eater!

Moreover, this great sprouting superfood has fiber, chlorophyll, and omega-3 fatty acids: the last nutrient is of special importance for us because the eggs, milk, and meat that we buy at the stores will almost always lack it.

Why is omega-3 so important for us? It helps our organism in a great variety of things: in our cardiovascular system, cholesterol and insulin levels, keeping our mood from depression. For pregnant women, it can even help in escaping postpartum depression!

Can I grow chia seed using the Mason Jar Method?

You can try, but with a high probability, you will only get dried out or gelly and messy sprouting seeds that cannot be eaten.

For escaping mucilaginous seeds, it is much better to use terra cotta plates and some glass baking lids to grow chia seeds. All that you would need to do to sprout chia seed is :

• Soak your terra cotta dish in water for a few minutes, so that is would get hydrated
• Then sprinkle your seeds into the dish in a thin layer form and add one-fourth of an inch of the water
• Spray the sprouting seeds with your FILTERED water fine mist through a water sprayer
• Put a lid onto the plate and wait for four to six days for the chia seed to sprout
• Put your dish into a larger plate with water
• Let your sprouts grow in indirect sunlight before putting them under a direct one.

What is the difference between black and white chia seed?

We would say that there is none: both black and white sprouting chia seeds are almost the same in taste, but the black ones might contain more protein, while the white chia seeds – more omega-3 fatty acids.

However, these distinctions are so little that you probably should not care about them and choose either of the two types to grow chia seeds that would be packed with all the needed nutrients, or pick both of them! It is always great to have more seeds in your storage!

Does eating too many sprouting chia seeds hurt your stomach?

Chia sprouts can make a pain in your stomach when eaten too much: this is due to the fact that chia seeds’ sprout has a good amount of fiber in them so that it might be harder for your stomach to process so much at once. And from here, you can get some stomach aches, constipation, diarrhea, or bloating, and gases.

Also, as the sprouted chia seeds are rich in protein, eating too much of them can lead to some weight gain. Note that people with diabetes or blood pressure untreated have higher chances of getting abdominal pains.

All in all, do not eat more seeds than you are not capable of processing: a few tablespoons of sprouting seeds are enough for one day or so.