Wednesday, April 23, 2008

They're Growing!

I know, I know, I've been very absent off and on these days. What can I say? It's only the last full week of April, and already our thermometer has climbed past 20C! Needless to say we've all been out enjoying the sunny, warm weather - I've even been able to drive around with my windows down, which is a big deal considering at the beginning of the month I was hard-pressed to turn down my heater! Unfortunately, we can't be too sure about being frost-free for the rest of the year, so we can't plant our mini-greenhouse worth of seedlings just yet (though I have some very strong tomatoes clamouring to escape their pots!).

So I decided to kick-start this year's gardening extravaganza with a slightly easier-to-accomodate planting measure for indoors: sprouting! I used this guide to get me started, and I'm in no hurry to stop! So far, I've finished growing (and with Andrew's help, eating) a batch of lentil sprouts, and my jar of mung bean sprouts finished today and is resting in the fridge for me to devour later on. Now I've got some mustard seeds on the go and I bought 1 kg. of alfalfa seeds too, which are far and away my favourite sprouts on the whole planet.

In fact, those sprouts have formed an integral part of my lunch for the past few days, with an incredibly delicious, flavourful "sour creme" tofu spread I concocted and some delicious tortilla wraps. With so many nutrients in such a small package (including saponins which lower the bad cholesterol and fat but not the good, and plant estrogens that promote bone health), I've been feeling quite the virtous luncher lately!

Herby Tofu Spread
Serves 2
1/2 pkg Mori-Nu Lite Firm Silken Tofu (or your favourite)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried dill weed
  1. Blend all ingredients until very smooth in a food processor.
  2. Chill thoroughly before serving, and stir well before use.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 35.5
Total Fat: 0.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 71.9 mg
Total Carbs: 1.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
Protein: 5.5 g

2 comments :

  1. Sounds yummy! Have you tried broccoli sprouts? They're supposedly quite good as well.

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  2. Your tofu spread sounds good, I will have to try it out. Thank goodness for blenders, huh?

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Thanks for the feedback!