My success in gardening and helping things grow has been marginal, at best. Which is pretty pathetic considering my grandparents were farmers and we always had a garden growing up. 

So imagine my excitement to find an easy, quick, mess-free, edible growing experiment that even my 3-year-olds could handle. So happy. 

You need 

• A clear glass jar (I like to use a pint sized wide mouth mason jar)
• Brown lentils (I use the cheap Goya ones from the grocery store)
• Breathable glass covering (I use a metal rim and cheesecloth, but a rubber band and coffee filter would work too
• 6 days

Here’s how you start. 

Day 1: Sort & rinse enough lentils to be about 10% of the container height, and then let them soak (immersed) in water overnight. (We find that filtered (chlorine free) water works best.)

When you wake up the next morning, drain the lentils (through the cheesecloth), and follow the steps for days 2-6.

Day 2-6: Rinse with clean water, drain, and lay the jar on its side in a bowl or plate. Do this at least 3x/day (morning, afternoon, before bed)

By day 3, you should start seeing little “tails”. By day 5, it should look like

And by day 6 or 7, once the sprouts have clear leaves, rinse one more time, discard any lentils that didn’t sprout, and store in your fridge in a closed container. They keep great for a week or longer. Discard if they become slimy or smelly.

That’s it. So easy, and they taste great on top of a salad or added to a sandwich or pasta dish.