Fenugreek

A friend has managed to convince me of the benefits of glyconutrients. Essentially, they're sugars that are missing from today's average diet - sugars that are only found in fresh fruits and vegetables within days or even hours of them being picked. If we buy our food at a grocery store, these sugars are pretty much completely gone. In so many ways, eating store-bought produce robs us of essential nutrients, and this is just one more way.

So I bought the supplements. And I looked at the ingredients list. I'd just assume get the nutrients from real food instead of a capsule if at all possible.

Some of the things aren't really feasible - I won't be eating an excess of maitake mushrooms, for instance. But one ingredient listed was an old and familiar friend: fenugreek.

Fenugreek is a nursing mother's best friend. If ever one's milk is in short supply, simply swallow a dozen fenugreek capsules each day and soon you'll be overflowing. I've taken it myself while nursing both babes at one time or another.

But fenugreek is good for more than just nursing moms - it's a primary source of mannose and galactose (which are glyconutrients.)

And voila! - fenugreek seeds are found in the local health food store, ready for sprouting and quite tasty on salads and in soups. Just for fun, I decided to try them.



I posted once about growing sprouts - it really is an easy thing to do. Some people invest in fancy seed sprouting equipment, but I manage just fine with mason jars and pantyhose. Seeds are cheap - $3-4 for enough seeds to a few months at least, and that's with eating sprouts nearly every day. They're green and fresh - you can't get much fresher than pulling them out of the jar and putting them in your favorite soup.

If you're not up for fenugreek, there are lots of other sprouting options - our Vitamin Cottage has a whole rack of different seed varieties. Just in case you're as desperate as I am to grow something green, it being winter and all. ;o)