Growing sprouts and other microgreens in your own kitchen with minimal supplies is fun and easy. It is a nice project to involve the kids and make them curious about health foods too. Though I will give you a full update and tutorial in another post, the only thing you need to grow your own supply of spouts is a jar, beans or seeds, and water.

Given the tropical climate we live in it only takes about two days to get a jar full of yumminess, though in colder climates it may take a day of 3 or 4.

Though there are many seeds and beans you could sprout I like the taste of mung or adzuki bean sprouts. Plus, they are super cheap and always available here in Cambodia.

Nutritional value of mung bean sprouts

Each cup of sprouted mung beans contains around 31 calories and provides about three grams of protein and two grams of fiber. They are a good source of fiber, antioxidants and other essential nutrients such as Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Folate, Copper and Manganese.

And while many people eat them raw in salads, they are crisp enough to maintain their texture when used in stirfries or other cooked dishes.

FRIED QUINOA WITH BASIL AVOCADO SAUCE AND HOMEGROWN MUNG BEAN SPROUTS 🥑🌱

INGREDIENTS (serves 2-3 people)

For the basil avocado pesto

1/4 cup unsalted cashews, soaked
1/2 avocado
1 cup Italian basil
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
3 tbsp avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
3 clove of garlic
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the fried quinoa bowl

2 cups cooked quinoa (we used a mix of red and white quinoa, that's what we had left)
1 cup red beet, diced
1.5 cup cooked chickpeas
1.5 cup bean sprouts
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Cook the quinoa according to the instruction on the package.
Meanwhile, combine all avocado sauce ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Add water if needed. Set aside in the fridge.
When the quinoa is cooked, heat a skillet over medium heat and toast quinoa until brown and crisp. This will take about 5 to10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
In the same skillet, add a little more cooking oil and stir-fry the red beet over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until softened. Then stir in the chickpeas and cook until heated through and slightly browned.
Then add the bean sprouts and cook for a few minutes more or until heated through. Add the toasted quinoa. Stir well and serve with avocado pesto.
Optional: garnish with extra raw bean sprouts to give the dish a crispy touch.