Kudos to our "administrator" for reviving the list. I learned about it
from a post in rec.food.veg back then.

I have experimented with sprouts for 15 months now, and found them
very enriching, but I have got some problems.

One problem is that it is very difficult to be mostly raw in the midwest
winter. I just get totally ravenous, go home and cook amounts of pasta I
could not have coped with when I was growing up. In the summer however
I found sprouts and fruits and steamed greens to be a fantastic combination.
I felt great throughout,the only problem is that in the summer, if you don't
have air conditioning, sprouts will mold all too easily...

I have also found that, although I have tried all common sprouts with the
exception of alaskan pea, chia and lettuce sprouts, one ends up eating mostly
wheat and wheat relatives (rye and spelt), alfalfa, and mung. It is a
combination of ease of sprouting (these sprouts are fool proof), nutrient
value, and balance. I am pretty sure that wheat and spelt are the sprouts
which make me feel best, though I have tried juicing them and they were
too much (I don't know what it was, they just did not feel good).

Mung beans make sometimes abit uncomfortable, and so do adzuki, but it is
usually OK if I eat them after only 2 or 3 days (mung) or 4 days (adzuki)
of sprouting. The only pulse not giving me any trouble seem to be small,
dark "french" green lentils. US "green" lentils seem a little heavy too.

The other problems I have are with sprouting techniques. Buckwheat and
sunflower are great sprouts, but a) only a small fraction of them does sprout
and b) the hulls are a problem. I am now aware of the importance of pre-soaking
and with good batches I usually have success and high sprouting probability.
I wonder if it is due to specific batches
( for example, when I was in Europe my adzukis were 100% sprouting, with the
current batch many don't sprout) and wonder also what other people do
(soak them more? or just buy a small batch first, then buy them in bulk
if they work?). This might be a silly question, but I bought my current seeds
in bulk 6 months ago, so really some of my experiences are with a single large
batch. I have become reasonably proficient at getting rid of the hulls of
radish, mung, alfalfa or clover, cabbage, etc. by just pouring water in the
jar and skimming the surface. Any other method?

I am also wondering if people have any clear ideas of which sprouting
technique (jar or tray) should be used with which sprouts. Because of ease
of operation and ease of hull-skimming I find myself using my 5 jars all the
time, and my two trays almost never.

I have also had little success with gooey seeds like flax, cress, and mustard..
advice? in the case of flax, I got none sprouting, in the case of cress I
got very few, and in the case of mustard maybe 30%... I tried both soaking
and not soaking...

So in conclusion, my questions are:

- any advice about increasing sprouts in diet in cold climates and without
  becoming utterly ravenous
- other people's experience about which sprouts you consider staple, and
  how are they related to your raw food percentage
- any advice about sprouting in the summer
- advice about sprouting success, batch selection, etc.
- advice about hull removal (a must with buckwheat or sunflower!)
- advice about gooey seeds

Thanks for any reply...

G. Bonvicini