Frugal Babe

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The Cheapest Health Food

August 25, 2008 By Frugal Babe

I’ve written before about how much I love sprouts.  They’re about as close to a perfect food as you can get, as far as nutrition goes, and most of them are pretty tasty as well.  I eat small amounts of sprouts on sandwiches and salads, but by far the majority of the sprouts we grow end up in our green smoothies.  It’s a lot easier to just blend them into a drink, so that’s what I do.

On Saturday, my husband went to a local store that sells bulk sprout seeds.  He got a pound of mung beans, a pound of alfalfa sprout seeds, a pound of broccoli sprout seeds, and four ounces of fenugreek seeds.  The total came to $33.  I use about an ounce of seeds to grow a quart of sprouts (within a few days the jar is completely full of sprouts).  So the seeds my husband bought us should make about 50 jars of sprouts.  That works out to 66 cents a quart for fresh, homegrown sprouts.  Maybe not the cheapest food ever, if you count stuff like ramen noodles.  But I can’t think of a less expensive food that’s as nutritious as sprouts.  Or as quick and easy to grow.  So if you’re feeling the crunch at the grocery store, buy a bag of sprout seeds.  If you don’t like the taste, just blend them up with fruit or something that you do like.  Your health and your wallet will thank you.

Filed Under: organic living, ways we save money 7 Comments

Comments

  1. Kelly says

    August 25, 2008 at 4:25 pm

    I love, love, love sprouts. I haven’t tried growing them yet, but it sounds like something I might try. But one question, I thought I read somewhere that if they get moldy they can be poisonous? I don’t remember where I read that, so I always use them immediately when I buy them. Have you ever heard anything like this? It is part of the reason I haven’t tried growing them yet.

    Reply
  2. FrugalBabe says

    August 25, 2008 at 5:00 pm

    Kelly,
    Yes, I’ve heard that, which is one of the main reasons why I grow our sprouts myself (the other reason is cost). When I grow them at home, I know that they get rinsed frequently as they grow, and that they are eaten as soon as they can be. With pre-grown sprouts from the store, I don’t know how careful the growers were, and I don’t know how long they’ve been sitting in the package at the store. So I prefer to grow my own. But, I didn’t eat any sprouts while I was pregnant – homegrown or store bought. Just on the off chance that I did get a bad batch, I wasn’t going to take the risk. I’m not too concerned about it as a healthy adult – a food borne illness would not likely be a huge problem for me or my husband. But while I was pregnant I decided it was better to be safe than sorry. I went back to making sprouts a few weeks after our son was born, and we’re eating them more than ever now!

    Reply
  3. Big Winner says

    August 25, 2008 at 8:54 pm

    I really like kale. I’m not sure if it’s the cheapest health food, but it’s got tons of antioxidants and a bundle is usually only $1.00 to $1.50

    Reply
  4. Frugal Trenches says

    August 26, 2008 at 3:08 am

    I love sprouts, may have to look into this!

    Reply
  5. Frugal Babe says

    August 26, 2008 at 8:37 am

    Big Winner – I love kale too, and it finds its way into my green smoothies a few times every week. I’m growing some in our outdoor garden at the moment, and will soon add some to our hydroponic garden. In the stores around here, it’s always at least $2/bunch – good work finding it for $1 or $1.50!

    Reply
  6. Rebecca (Green Baby Guide) says

    August 27, 2008 at 1:23 pm

    This post gave me a flashback to my childhood. We used to grow sprouts on a sponge on top of the refrigerator. I can’t remember eating them on anything other than sandwiches and salads, but throwing them into a green smoothie is an excellent idea. You have inspired me to jump back onto the sprout-growing train again!

    We hope to see you on the Thrifty Green Thursday blog carnival tomorrow over at the Green Baby Guide!

    Reply

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