My name is Robert and I love sprouts. I fell in love with sprouting for the convenience, but, like so many healthy relationships time exposed so unexpected benefits. But first, for those of you who are wondering what exactly are sprouts here is a quick rundown. A sprout is produced when a seed starts growing into a vegetable, grain, or bean. My time tested way to sprout is to rinse the seeds and then soak them overnight or for about 6-9 hours which allows the seed to absorb water. This begins the first stage of germination which is called “imbibition.” That completes the only time the seed will soak in standing water. In order to jump start the second stage, which is called “respiration” we pour out the water and allow them the be exposed to oxygen. This happens the morning after the soak when we pour out all the water and let them breath in the glass jar. Then every morning and evening we give the seeds a good rinse with clean cold water and drain them well so they continue to grow in then respiration phase. This lasts for 3-5 days rinsing and draining twice per day. Soon after root and/or shoot formation starts for the bean sprouts and the leafy sprouts will actually make a tiny seedling ready for photosynthesis. This is the stage of growth where the nutritional value far exceeds any other vegetable and the fiber content optimized. At this point they are ready to eat and it would be hard to find a fresher more nutrient dense food.