Cultivate your sprouts and shoots: 3 favorite varieties for your energizing smoothies

Eating healthily, exercising more, and reducing stress levels: three wishes that your Passion Jardins merchants can help you achieve through plants and gardening. It's well known that having plants in your environment helps improve your quality of life by increasing happiness levels and significantly reducing stress and anxiety. Gardening is also a good physical activity that works several muscles in the body while allowing you to get plenty of fresh air. Moreover, with edible plants, vegetables, fruits, and herbs, you can eat fresh at any time... and it starts now with sprouts and shoots.

In winter, it's often more difficult to consume fresh and local foods. You may still have some potted tomatoes and frozen beans, but the harvests from last summer's garden are dwindling just when you need to recharge your energy during these cold and gray winter months. It's time to dive into growing sprouts and shoots, the first two stages of seed maturation, before they become "real" plants that you can transplant into the garden.

Sprouts

Sprouts are so simple to make that you'd be crazy to miss out. All you need are seeds, a glass jar or a commercial sprouter, and water—no soil required. Plus, for the impatient among us, it only takes a few days for the sprouts to be ready to eat, between 3 and 10 days depending on the variety. To learn how, click here.

Sprouts are packed with nutrients and energy, as the seed is ready to give everything to become a beautiful mature plant. They add a little kick to your favorite recipes for soups, salads, sandwiches, juices, and smoothies.

Shoots

Shoots are the stage following sprouts, and to obtain them, you need to sow the seeds in light soil. Use a pot or a seed tray filled with soil, then sprinkle the chosen seeds on top and press gently or cover with a very thin layer of soil. Place near a light source and ensure the soil stays moist. The shoots are ready when the first two leaves, the cotyledons, have grown. Cut them at the base with scissors and start again. The process takes between one and three weeks, depending on what you choose.

Shoots have the same benefits as sprouts while containing more fiber. They are also crunchier and have a more pronounced taste, resembling the mature plant.

Our 3 favorite varieties for your vitamin-packed smoothies

Both shoots and sprouts can be added to your juices or smoothies to increase their nutritional value. Here are 3 favorite varieties, easy to find and grow:

• Alfalfa: It is undoubtedly the most well-known of all, often found in food markets. It contains a good amount of vitamins A, C, and D, is an antioxidant food that helps prevent cardiovascular diseases and some cancers, and is rich in calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
• Kale: Its reputation is well established, and kale is recommended for its high fiber content and strong antioxidant properties, which help limit premature cell aging. Kale is also rich in iron, vitamins A and K, calcium, and potassium. It is a good ally for digestive health.
• Sunflower: We know its seed well, but sunflower is also consumable once sprouted. It contains nearly 25% protein, providing lots of energy. Filled with potassium, calcium, iron, and vitamins A, B, D, and E, it contains many fibers that lower blood pressure and facilitate intestinal transit.

Shoots and sprouts are superfoods that are worth incorporating into your diet. Plus, they allow impatient gardeners to be satisfied while waiting for the beautiful days when they can finally get their hands back in the soil!

To your health!