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We like to think we are a reasonably healthy bunch at Seasalt news; Matt cycles to work, I run around a bit and Neil likes hitting golf balls on his days off. We are not couch potatoes and rarely do we eat cream horns, but give me one chocolate digestive and I'll devote myself to the pack. With a wet January spent indoors, toxin overload was imminent and the mince pie spread out of hand, it was time to put away the biscuits and head for 'The Father of all Foods', a sprout that would heal, cleanse and restore our pre Christmas selves but was it up to the job?

Topping the list of a number of ultra-nutritious 'superfoods', Alfalfa sprouts are claimed to have "just about everything the body needs for survival". Advocates of the fine green shoot allege it rejuvenates the system, detoxifies, enriches the liver and assists in weight loss. Packed full of all known vitamins, calcium, magnesium, iron, selenium and zinc, it is said that if one were stuck in a nuclear bunker for three months with only alfalfa and water, one would emerge with all organs functioning well. The idea of nibbling sprouts alone for the next twelve weeks does not fill us with enthusiasm but we do like the idea of ultra-nutritional superfoods that claim rejuvenation, it may be just what's needed.

Debby Fowler was of the same mind. Former owner of Halzephron Herb Farm near Helston, Debby is conscious of maintaining a healthy eating plan for her family. Exploring alternative ways to introduce healthy ingredients into the family diet, she began to look into the superfood phenomenon. Sprouting seeds offered an answer, not only were they an easy and healthy addition to the family diet but they also prompted a whole new business.

An essential factor is that the sprouts should be eaten in their raw state. Cooking them, as with all foods, reduces their nutritional value.

Championing their values, Debby now runs Living Food in St Ives, a shop and mail order service that sells seeds and detox packs, enabling people to grow their own sprouting superfood. She says: "for just a few pence a day and a couple of minutes of your time, you can quite literally change your life...however tight your budget, however demanding your job - sprouted seeds and beans can give you every nutrient you need for healthy living and quite literally put you back in charge of your life."

The day I visited the shop, Claire the manager was on hand to talk me through all the different pots of fresh green shoots that are displayed and can be tried. A particular favourite of mine was the peppery fenugreek. Slightly more robust than alfalfa, fenugreek is claimed to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. A recommended garnish for curries, an essential factor is that the sprouts should be eaten in their raw state. Cooking them, as with all foods, reduces their nutritional value.

Not just dedicated to the frothy green sprouts, a little dish of sweet crunchy toasted hemp seeds and the crimson colour of dried wolf berries drew my attention. Something like a cross between a cranberry and cherry, the wolf or goji berry has 500 times more vitamin C than is found in oranges and 5 times more iron than in steak. Beating other foods well known for their 'super' qualities such as blueberries, oily fish and carrots these berries are arguably the most potent of the wonderfood group.

A Wolf or Goji Berry

Positively bursting with goodness, Living Food is a veritable soup of healthy inspiration. The idea that you can have a tray of affordable health on your window sill makes this eating habit one that does not require bucket loads of self discipline; it is also something that can be kept up without too much effort. Simply put the seeds in a jar, soak and rinse and in a matter of two to four days you have your very own crop to add to salads, sandwiches or to take to the bunker if the need arises.

Whether future GP's will be dishing out mung beans instead of prescriptions is another matter but for a way to introduce a positive healthy direction in my diet, the seeds will definitely be sprouting on my windowsill this February.

Chloe Wild

Contact:

Living Food of St Ives
Pier House
5 Quay Street
St. Ives
www.sproutingseeds.co.uk
Tel: 01736 791981

The Sprouting Box £9.95 each
Contains:
Sprouting Jar, 2 standard packs of seeds or beans

The Detox Box £9.95 each
Contains:
Sprouting Jar, 1 x 200g Mung Beans, 1 x 125g White Raddish Seeds. Mung Beans are a blood and liver cleanser. White raddish is a diuretic, restorative for the kidneys.

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