The Standard

Since The Lido Restaurant & Bayside Grill is known for offering guests some very healthy options, sprouting grains was a necessity. The Standard Spa, Miami Beach’s signature Sprouted Grain and Organic Green Salad contains sprouted quinoa and lentils. Sprouting grains allows them to be consumed raw and greatly enhances their health benefits. The flavor and texture of the grains when sprouted is clean, fresh and gives the salad a great crunch. As well as using them in the salad, they are also used in different recipes and as side dishes for specials. One of our favorite ones is a raw Quinoa Tabbouleh.

The act of hydrating and sprouting the grains changes them from dormancy to a living growing seed. This main benefit of this process is the activation of the enzymes, which up until know are non-existent in the dried form. Nutritionists agree – just ask our own! – that enzymatically alive foods are probably the one type of food missing from most Americans’ diets.

A few weeks ago Executive Chef Mark Zeitouni shared the secrets to his ever popular Green Kale Smoothie and now he let us in on how to make our very own sprouts at home.

Just by dried Quinoa (in our opinion these are the easiest sprouts to make) from your local organic market. Soak them in filtered water for 4 hours. Strain. Place in a baking dish on moist paper towels and lightly cover with a cloth towel or plastic wrap with holes cut in it. Place in a dark or shaded area. Mist every 12 hours and after 1 day you should start seeing germination. After another 12 hours the sprouts should be formed and they are ready to eat. Once ready the sprouts should be refrigerated and can be kept up to 1 week. Yummmmm - enjoy!