lfFE ana SLYIE

A troll in Burnaby: Seedlings grow into a second chance with sprouting,
perfect for students who want to save money and get healthy!

By Cody Klyne

he cautionary tale that I’m about to
T= you hits on many of the same

clichéd notes as the 1994 animated
movie, A Troll in Central Park, that
inspired it: passionate young love, bitter
betrayal, and finally (if years later in this
case) a happy ending.

In grade three, at the age of eight, I
was destined to be a gardener.

For those of you who haven’t
seen A Troll in Central Park, allow me
to summarize what is, looking back,
otherwise a very average affair: magical
troll saves the day with his green thumb.
Anyway, if that didn’t sell you on it,
regardless of the film’s quality, Stanley—
which, of course, is the troll’s name—
inspired me to pick up a trowel, spade,
or spoon and get to digging. Armed with
what Ill refer to as my “junior grower’s
kit” I had everything I needed to start my
garden. With my first harvest of tomatoes
and cucumbers sown and potted, over the
course of weeks of love and nourishment
in the form of tap water and moody looks
of desire from the kitchen window, I was
on track to bank a bounty of greenery.

To avoid coming across as immature or
overeager, I was going on nine after all, I
decided to wait one more night to let them
“finish up.” Then the raccoons came.

It was a complete and utter massacre;
snapped stems and half eaten tomatoes
littered our porch and marked the furry
intruder’s path of destruction. The
cucumbers had all but vanished entirely
while the only remaining evidence of their
existence, a turned over pot of soil, was
left sitting mockingly off in the corner,
as if it was ashamed. While the tears did
eventually stop, the damage was done and,
to this day, I have yet to plunge my hands
into the ground with the goal of creating
anything more than a hole. It’s been 15
years, get over it, right? What snapped
in my brain to bring this on so late in the
game? The answer: sprouting.

Having moved out on my own with a
friend of mine last September, I’ve spent
hours brainstorming ideas to evolve our
modest second story two bedroom out
of the “budget party apartment “ gutter
and into something of a “real home.”
That’s when a close friend of mine,
Jarrad Lajeunesse, mentioned sprouting;
initially pitched to me as a solid addition
to my already semi-health-conscious
diet, Lajeunesse delivered the final blow
with the following statement: “if you’re
someone who doesn’t like to spend a
lot of money (like me) then you'll love
sprouting.” Healthy AND cheap? Count
me in: So, let’s get down to the basics.

Simply put, sprouting is the preferred
term for the act of germinating seeds
for the purpose of cooking or for raw
consumption. As you might expect, these
sprouts are highly nutritious and contain
a number of unique enzymes, minerals,
and vitamins (ie: proteins, calcium, iron,
zinc, vitamins a, b,c, e, etc.) Take for
example the sprouts of the mung bean,
one of the most common and widely used
of the bunch. While your local grocery
store variety are generally long, thin,

white, and generally watery nothings, their

home-grown counterparts can range from
light to dark brown in colour and are a
good source of protein, iron, potassium,
and vitamins a, c, and e. Simply put, by
sprouting at home, you’ll be growing

the best on the market. So, with that in
mind, how does one join the ranks of the
sprouting elite?

First, pick your seed of choice. While
the obvious few are solid selections in
their own right, like our aforementioned
friend the mung bean, many vegetables,
nuts, cereals, and beans make for great
sprouting candidates (Note: be sure to
do your research! Some sprouts contain
toxins that make them crummy for
sprouting).Next, rinse your seeds and soak
them to moisten them to life (soaking
time can vary greatly, so again, do your
research!) After being placed into an
appropriate receptacle—a glass or plastic
jar or container with holes made to allow
for drainage and ventilation to occur—
sprouting seeds need to be kept in a room
temperature environment and rinsed
roughly two times daily. If done correctly
(yes, mistakes can be made but, really, a
monkey with sink-access could do this)
in a matter of days you’ll be eating fresh,
crispy, and healthy sprouts of your own!

Most grains, seeds, and beans need to

be soaked for 8 - 12 hours in water.

After that they simply require a

rinsing every 8 -12 hours

¢ — Try to buy an organic product since
there will not be any heat to kill any
of the pesticides

*. Before soaking, rinse whatever you
want to sprout thoroughly to make
sure they are clean

¢ Inspect and remove any sticks or
broken seeds

¢ — After your food has sprouted, eat

sooner than later. A fresh sprout will

have the most nutrients

 

 

 

Saturday, May 14"
pa OleT Ma remo) eli
ore Them Mel

2

rd Ave #8 noDdv

Calling all scrapbookers!
This is a great opportunity to socialize with friends, get
projects done, and support a fantastic cause.

Fully stocked on-site store available, provided by
For Keeps Sake Scrapbooking. Products for sale and demonstrations by
consultants throughout the day. Bring along 2-3 favourite photos on a
memory stick, and the Creative Memories representative will help you
create a personalized page on the new Creative Memories Storybook
Creator 3.0 Software for digital scrapbooking.

Fantastic silent auction

Price of entry includes a pizza dinner, door prizes, goody bags, reserved
seating and spot contests. Please bring a dish for the potluck lunch and
snacks.

For more information call Cindy at 604-444-1118 or email Lucille at lgwright@telus.net

THE RIDE TO
CON
All proceeds from this

event go to the BC
Cancer Foundation

BENEPITING

BC Cancer Foundation

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