Backpacker Magazine – Online Exclusive - Mother's Day Gift Guide

Mother's Day Gift Guide: Outdoor Herbivore Sprout Kit

Grow your own food on the trail, no gardening or greenhouse required

by: Joel Nyquist

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Getting fresh food on the trail can be a tough proposition. Sure, you could scavenge some chives or make pine needle soup, but foraging from the woods is daunting. A better way is to carry a small sprout garden with you. This Sprout Kit from Outdoor Herbivore produces edible results in 2-3 days, and goes great with humus on a tortilla for a midday snack.

Simply soak the beans overnight, and then rinse them twice a day while hanging them off your pack in a small hemp bag. If you’re going on a shorter trip start the process at home, then harvest your garden at camp. Our testers preferred the Trail Greens seed mix the best, which produces alfalfa, clover, radish, and broccoli sprouts.

Rinsing the seeds in the morning and evening takes about 1/4 cup of water and fewer than 30 seconds to do, but on chilly nights put the sack into a pot and bring it into your tent with you. Also available in a bean and pea mix which one tester recommended for topping bean burritos to add a nice crunch. $16; 4 oz. (seed weight which produces 25 cups of sprouts); outdoorherbivore.com

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