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A few nice 2. how to images I found:

How to photograph cute things in boxes


Image by ballookey
How to photograph cute things in boxes (or "Point and shoot photography techniques that will make your photos much better")

Photos explained from left to right, top to bottom:

1.) I pointed the center of my viewfinder at the most interesting thing in the scene and snapped the picture. Unfortunately, the most interesting thing in the scene is in the darkest corner of the box. As a result, the camera is metering for a dark scene, and the photo comes out overexposed and blurry due to the long exposure speed. In fact, the hand icon was flashing as I took this, warning me that I’d have this problem. Muy malo.

2.) Same exact shot, with same settings only I used photographers techniques for steadying myself: Brace elbows to body. Take a breath, let it out halfway, then take the photo. From years of doing this, I now have the unconscious habit of holding my half-released breath while taking pictures. In fact, I had to deliberately TRY to move the camera for #1 above. This photo is still maddeningly overexposed, but it’s at least clear. The exposure could be adjusted a bit in Photoshop, but the quality will always be poor.

3.) Here, I used my favorite point-and-shoot, shitty camera technique. Almost all digital cameras sold have a variety of metering settings. If you familiarize yourself with your camera, you’ll find that they most often have a choice of metering the overall image, center-focus, or spot-focus in the center. I routinely set mine to spot meter in the center. This is because I can control the exposure by pointing the center of my viewfinder at various regions of the photo, and see the change this has on the scene on the screen.

By pointing the center of my viewfinder at the more brightly lit cardboard in the foreground, I got a reasonably decent exposure. I then pressed the shutter button halfway down to "lock" the camera on this exposure. Then, while holding the button down like this, I reframe the photo so that it looks nice and then press the button down the rest of the way to take the picture. I have yet to find a digital camera that doesn’t work like this. Note: You can move the camera around to re-frame the scene, but you shouldn’t move it too much closer or away from the scene as things could get out of focus.

4.) If you’re lucky… #3 worked pretty well, so we might say "done", but if there happens to be something white in the photo, I will frequently try to meter for the white object. So here, I centered my viewfinder on the iPod, pressed the shutter button halfway, re-framed the shot, then took the photo. This sometimes backfires though. Sometimes the photo will come out very dark, in which case a little Photoshop to the rescue…

5.) The big picture: Here I’ve taken #4 and just tweaked the Levels setting in Photoshop. (Image menu > Adjustments > Levels) This isn’t just a Photoshop trick, most other image editing software has a similar Levels adjustment, you’ll just have to find it. I took the center slider (circled in red above) and pulled it to the left just a bit until the overall picture looked nice.

You can use the same Levels feature to help an overexposed photo as well, by sliding the middle (and maybe the left-hand) slider to the right a bit, but overexposed photos have lost a lot of data in the light areas, so there’s only so much you can do. I find that photos that are underexposed by the same amount still hang on to much more image data, so when shooting, I lean toward having a too-dark image rather than a too-light one.

How to Grow Wheat-Grass-in-pots


Image by Barry Gourmet and Raw
Takes only 7days to make for beverages to cleanse the Blood, support your Immunity, & Lose Weight

How to Grow Wheat Grass in Pots?

Barry’s introduction for Wheat Grass methods and uses:
Written by Barry Gourmet & Raw © Copyright September 13th 2011

This article is one of the most important health and wellness tips that I am putting on the table for you to date. Many people do not know what wheat grass is , or how to make it, or tasted it , or what it does for your body. Many people I can say are really missing out on a Liquid Mineral and Vitamin supplement that goes directly into your blood stream to support your internal environment in such a positive and profound away. Many people including myself, having embraced this Superfood into our lives have obtained a long grocery list of positive health benefits from its use.

I can say that in the first half of my life ,I never even heard of this deep green liquid beverage called Wheat Grass ,until I tried it one day at my local health food store back in the middle 80s.
No one will ever forget that first gulp that really can stay with you for the rest of your life, and it can send you either way in the taste department . You either LOVE it or you HATE it, because the wheat grass is loaded with Alkaloids,and is a powerful Bitter Sweet tasting, Green Tonic that awakens all your senses in one shot.

Wheat grass is a gift from nature , and can be used in so many different ways to make it more palatable to ones sensitive taste buds as I will demonstrate in this writing.

My first fateful introduction to Wheat Grass happened very innocently as I stood their one early Sunday morning in Sherman Oaks California , waiting for the stop light to turn green .
It was one of those rare days that I actually walked , with my car abandoned at a nearby hospital parking lot,to just escape for a moment from my working life.

As I crossed the street a big sign in front of a store window caught my attention like a magnet drawing me to it with more curiosity.

The words of the sign read, ORGANIC FOOD SOLD HERE , and with no words about wheat grass but I was still compelled to check out this store anyway. Little did I know that my whole life was about to change , and it was like some subconscious force in my mind encouraged me to forge ahead, to find the TRUTH,to discover one of Natures many powerful natural foods, that would help eliminated all the symptoms that I carried around with me inside my body.

What really struck me about this store was first the vibrancy and freshness of the huge selection of produce, and then the smaller section of what I thought looked like the typical processed food illes that I was used to seeing in the other grocery stores that I shopped at.
And then with more careful inspection I soon realized that I was looking at bottled and packaged foods of Vitamin and Mineral Supplements, Super Foods, Herbs ,Tingsters, Herbal Teas,natural personal body care products and food based nutritional extracts to just name a few. After the stores knowledgable clerk kindly explained to me what each product item was, and what it could do for me , I have to admit that at the time ,I was very overwhelmed with information overload, and headed over to the checkout counter with these new strange novelty health items in my arms.

Waiting patiently with other customers inline in front of me, I noticed several racks of free health pamphlets on display and I was again distracted with my curiosity taking in all this material with new strange names that where not part of my vocabulary. Not waisting any time

I quickly gathered up every health pamphlet on display that I could fit into a nearby shopping cart with my purchased items as the rest of the customers where already long gone by then. As I filled my cart up, I noticed out of the corner of my eye,an impressive library of health books in the far corner of the store, but the boat load of freebies will have to do for now, was all I could think.

I can still remember to this day the way my Cashier Lady friend smiled and looked at me knowingly like I was her first Newbie Customer of the day but friendly just the same.
Little did I know at the time that I possessed a Wealth of Health information even though it was condensed down ,and to the point.I had so much of it, that I could have easily wallpapered my small apartment with much to spare.

It was noon now and before I got to my car,I stopped off at my first health food eatery and ordered my first Avocado Whole grain sandwich with herb tea. I really must have lived a sheltered life I thought to myself .Needless to say my first taste of health food was delicious and since then, Avocado the good fat , has been a key ingredient in many of my recipes.

Have you ever seen the movie Forest Gump staring the actor Tom Hanks? If you haven’t it is a must see movie as this main character in the film would innocently stumble upon new situations in his life with out giving up. Back then I had no idea what I was doing, I had no idea that I was later detoxing myself with all the information found in my self help pamphlets.I did not know or understand that I was doing the right thing for my body at the time.Like Forest Gump, I just knew that I was feeling better with time , and my excess weight just dropped off of me.
It took months for me to connected all the dots together ,and to realize later that I was on the right course and later adopted my new found life style, and embraced my discovered Health Freedom.

You have to realize that back then the internet was not so popular, I did not have a computer and everything was in print .As I turned over the bags of health material across my dinning room table, a few spilled out and over onto the floor, and I picked up one pamphlet closest to me.

“It read How to grow your own Wheat Grass authored by Dr. Anne Wigmore.”

For any body that does not know Dr. Anne Wigmore she is and will always be acknowledged by her followers as the “Wheat Grass Lady” and co founder of the Hippocrates Health Institute working with Viktoras Kulvinskas located in, Boston Massachusetts. Anne Wigmores movement opened up centers around the world and her name still lives on today for her research work regarding this powerful wheat grass body cleanser. Hippocrates a Greek Physician living thousands of years ago is the founding father of modern medicine today, and it is his oath that all interns today resit at graduation to become licensed Medical Doctors. Of all the famous quotes made from Hippocrates that speak the Truth for myself and I am sure for many others ,his words would be as follows………..
“ Let food be your medicine,and medicine be your food” …… When I first read this powerful message years ago I naturally carried the thought with me and later adopted the concept ,simply as “Connect with Nature and to do no Harm”.

I felt that Wheat Grass Juice was a powerful element coming from nature , and I started to use it in a complementary fashion with other cleansing whole foods in my life style.

Wheat Grass Juice at a Glance:

Fresh Wheat Grass is extremely Alkaline and Cleansing to your body ,which can help nutralize toxins in your internal digestive environment.

Fresh Wheat Grass juice is rich in natural Chlorophyll (the blood of all plant life) It is the green Chlorophyll that is rich in Oxygen and Enzymes that go directly to your cells minus the fiber that slows down digestion.

Fresh Wheat Grass will improve digestion and help to increase your metabolism and is a good appetite suppressor for people wanting to lose excessive weight.

At one time all grasses used to be fed to our live stock, which produced higher levels of the essential omega 3 fatty acids in there meat and the cuts where more lean. But now this Sustainable Agricultural practice is a rarity these days with more family owned farms being forced out of business. Now today much of our live stock is fed with factory farmed corn . Much of this corn grown today for our beef industry is GMO genetically modified organisms that of course is not labeled for consumer confidence.
Today I elect to eat the cows wheat grass for my self ,and to let the cow have her corn.
“On a nutritional score I will take the Wheat Grass over cows corn any time of the day, Thank You.”

Fresh Wheat Grass is loaded with bioavailable nutrition and very high in the minerals Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium ,Iron and high in the vitamins Beta Carotene (Pro Vitamin A) and C.

All living foods such as Wheat Grass will help feed ,and support our living Bacteria cultures about 5 to 6 pounds of this complex friendly flora bacteria residing in our stomach ,and intestines to support our immune system from invading organisms.

The molecules of Fresh Wheat Grass Juice is very similar to our own human blood chemistry. The only difference is the hemoglobin in Human blood, containing (FE) Iron gives our blood that deep red color.
And the Magnesium molecules (Mg) in the plants Chlorophyll rich blood provides the green color that we see so readily in nature. It is just amazing to me how humans, wild life,and the plant life on Earth share similarities respectfully , and structurally we are so connected with nature.

Wheat is a product that is used in so many of our foods including baked goods , proccesed foods,the supplement industry,beverages,medication,restaurants,fast food outlets you name it.
Wheat Berries are very high in the protein Gluten, that people with Celiac Disease ,or people that have allergies to Wheat consumption cannot not tolerate.

Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes a persons internal environment in the small intestinal tract to be damaged ,creating problems of malabsorption of nutrients that could lead to malnutrition, and whole list of unexplained symptoms in the body.

Other people could simply have an intolerance to Gluten or just have allergic reactions to the offending protein.

The problem with wheat and related Gluten grains are simple. The symptoms are so varied that they can mimic other ailments in the body and never get diagnosed, or even worse the chronic damage to the small intestines could go on with out exhibiting any symptoms at all in the person.
The good news is that Wheat Grass has no Gluten at all as the protein is dissolved into the wheat berries itself and is not found in the grass blades. So it is safe for all to drink Wheat Grass with out the risk of Gluten intolerance or to experience allergic reactions from consuming this liquid sunshine beverage.
To get around this potential problem , I eat a varied diet with some days having no grain at all.
It really is not difficult as there are so many alternative recipe ideas out there that do not include grains of any kind and I make many of them every day in my garden kitchen and they are very delicious. The Gluten grains to eat less of or to eliminate from your diet is Wheat Berries ,Spelt, Rye ,Triticale and Kamut.

The second thing that you can do is go for the non gluten grains ,such as Buckwheat which is really not related to wheat at all but classified as a fruit seed, Amaranth and Quinoa are ancient small grains that look more like seeds, plus Corn ( make sure its organic). Millet is a delicious small nutty tasting grain. Brown Rice including all other varieties of rice that are in the hundreds ,plus my favorite germinated GABA brown rice is also a good choice to make. So there you can see that there is a lot of non gluten delicious choises for you to make and I think it just makes good nutritional sense for your health to include a big variety of grains on rotation with even a few non grain days to give your self maximum nutritional support.

When on occasion I do eat Glutinous Wheat Berries , my method of preparation will take some of the gluten out of the Wheat Berries by sprouting for 2 to 3 days then steaming them there after.
It does seem to most people that it is a lot of trouble to do this,but for me it is not because it only takes me a couple of minutes a day to prepare them out of my schedule.
The big thing that I wish to convey here to you,is that many Processed Foods ,mostly from the Food Giants, have the protein gluten as a main ingredient, a secondary ingredient , or even a hidden unlabeled ingredient and I see this all the time. I do not eat processed food in my life style with few exceptions. It is not difficult to do and it can be done.

"I have yet to see cooked food germinate, sprout, and bring fourth life? Let me know when this happens? "

Barry Gourmet & Raw

Barry’s Weight Loss and Nutritional Tips:

Wheat Grass is a known and proven appetite suppressant that will fire up your metabolism .
Other nutrient dense foods that will provide the same benefit for you is pure 100% Dark Chocolate with out any refined sugar or sweetener added(Pure Cocoa)
The Super Green Algae Marine water Spirulina and fresh water Chlorella powders.
Green Tea extract and Green Tea beverages are all appetite sup-resents and metabolism boosters. Ginger herb powder extract and its fresh herb counter part will assist in your digestion, and is a good stomach remedy that will add internal heat to your body.
All of the above mentioned will help you with losing weight. I know this ,from taking these powerful herbs and super foods myself as my appetite would be indeed temporarily suppressed ,allowing my stomach and digestive organs to finish their job.

Also taking in nutrient dence nutrition this way will send a signal to your pituitary gland at the base of your brain that will send messages to your other glands that in-turn regulates your metabolism. By eating nutrient dense foods like this, will help replace the empty calorie foods found in most man made processed packaged foods including heavy starchy cooked meals lacking in enzyme nutrition.

Barry’s Wheat Grass Experience Overseas:

The method for growing Wheat Grass in pots is really easy to do, as any person can learn to do this wonderful act of producing living foods. The great part of this is you do not need a traditional garden ,just a dark area of your kitchen or bath room that takes up a small space.
The important thing to have of course is a reputable ORGANIC seed supplier that has a good track record for delivering seeds that can sprout consistently . If the Wheat Barrie grains don’t sprout for more than at least 80 % of the seed planted then I would reconsider looking for another company for better sprouting results. Also it is important to note that if you see a lot of grains floating on the water surface that this is not a good sign.Wheat Berries that float normally do not sprout. Not all grains of wheat sprout at the same consistency so it is a good idea to start with grains locally to see how it goes with a small batch , and try another. I have had success and less successful results this way.

A good time to start is just before bedtime so allow yourself a few minutes for this.
Once you have your wheat berries then decide how much you would like to sprout ?and store the rest of your grains in airtight glass mason jars in a cool dark storage place.For the first time you may want to start of with a smaller amount of grain to cover ,lets say the estimated surface area of two clay pots 12 inches across? Or for what ever is available for your first time out.

Day 1:Place your wheat berries in a large ceramic or glass mixing bowl, (Never use Plastic) . Then fill with pure filtered water 3 to 4 inches above the surface level of your grains and stir with large spoon mixing the whole mixture. You will probably notice a lot of sediment and coloring in the water. It is important to rinse off all the gray sprouted water by taking a pail and placing a metal colander over top to pour your grains into it as the water collects at the base of the pail. Keep repeating this process until the water is crystal clear to the eyes. It should take about only 3 rinses to achieve this result. This is important because for best results you want to release all the protective enzyme inhibiters that surround each wheat berry grain that has a membrane coating , keeping the grain dormant indefinitely until the right conditions are presented such as water , air, and darkness.

Note about the collected rinse water: The water collected in the pail is excellent nurishment for your house plants or garden outside .

Then fill your bowl of Wheat Berries once more again ,with enough water ,about 3 inches above the grains surface. Lay a kitchen towel loosly over the bowl to create darkness ,turn off all the lights and then go to bed.

Day 2: In the morning check up on your bowl of submerged wheat berries, you may notice a difference in the way they look? Like looking more plump,thats a good sign as they soaked up some of the water.

Repeat Day 1 of rinsing until the water is clear again. Then inside of your metal colander spread a thin layer of all your Wheat Berries using the bottom round side of your big spoon to form a punch bowl shape of grains spreading up and around the colanders insides. You may need 2 stainless steel colanders to finish the job.

NOTE:Why I believe my colander method is a better, than the jar method? First you only attend the sprouts once per day and not 2 times like the jar method. And secondly I find that one day is saved in the total sprouting process, because my method exposes more circulating air and less moister , helping the grains to sprout faster.
Third there is no chance for the grains to spoil or grow mould from having too much moister and not enough air circulation. So in my opinion this method is more efficient and you get faster,and better results.

Put a dinner plate under the colander to collect any residual water ,with your spoon ,again spread the grains across and up the sides walls of your colander. Then cover the colander with a loose towel to put your sprouts in darkness again ,but also they are allowed to breath. Move everything to the darkest part of your kitchen or bathroom with the lights out. Or you can even put them in your kitchen cupboard with the door slightly open for air circulation using any object as a stopper.

Day 3 : In the morning inspect your colander of sprouted wheat , what do you see?
This time your Wheat Berry grains will be even more swelled up, but also a small stem like growth may have appeared and this indicates that your grain is starting to germinate and sprout for planting later.
I still get goose bumps with excitement , even today when I see this miracle of nature happen and I have been doing this for more than 25 years now. I sprout almost everything from different grains,seeds,legumes and nuts and it still fascinates me.

Repeat the rinsing process from day 2 until the water in the bowl is clear again then place a ,spread the grains as you did before along the insides of your colander , Then place a towel over the colander of grains to put into darkness again.

The next step is to go to your local nursery garden shop,where they sell a bag of dark rich organic soil.
And you would need a couple of clay pots with the holes at the bottom and also around the sides if you can find them but don’t worry a normal caly pot will do as well. In the photo you can see that the Wheat Grass roots have actually done by spreading deep through the soil ,and even out through the pots many holes. More air circulation in the soil helps faster growth from using these kinds of clay pots.

Buy a bag of medium size stones or you can even use discarded broken pieces of pottery as a drainage layer placed at the bottom of each clay pot.

The reason that I do not use plastic pots is in the fact that environmentally they are hazardous. Plastic is made with petrol chemicals that leech by product toxins into our eco system. I know we have plastic all around us it is not avoidable, I just think it should not be part of our soil and in the foods that we eat.Did you know that the largest land fill on our planet is not even on land. No its out in the Pacific ocean between the continental United States and the islands of Hawaii. This plastic land fill is the size of the state of Texas. Our unsustainable love affair with plastic pollution cannot be contained , and the marine life such as large filter feeders and smaller marine life is being adversely affected in that area.
Besides I think natural clay pots ,or ceramic as well just look better in the garden.And they look better on your window sill or any place in your home much more then plastic pots.

Day 4: Repeat the procedure again of rinsing and storage of grains in your colanders, and this time have a good inspection of your wheat berries.If you see some good stem growth on most of all your wheat berries at least 80 % of them, then it is a good time for planting.
If not then cover your colender with a towel and store them in darkness for planting the next morning.

Asuming that your wheat berries are all looking good,then bring out your clay pots, and make sure there is about 2 inches of stones ,broken pottery,marbles, or any hard subtances to allow good drainage.
Next add your Organic soil into the pot to leave at least 2 to 3 inches of space between the rim and surface of soil. A good 5 to 6 inches depth of soil is good.

Your wheat berries at this stage should have soft but firm bodies that can be easily sqeezed between your fingers .
Whet the soil down a little with pure filtered water , but not too much to form any puddle.
Spread your sprouted wheat berries in all directions over the surface of the soil,so that the grains are touching next to each other but not piled on top of each other.

Then place a dry news paper on top to cover the surface.
Then using a spray bottle wet the news paper down and you can drape a loose towel over top for darkness. Any seed, grain, legume or nut that is exposed to water and kept in darkness all the time like this , will think that they are actually in the ground ,and will start to sprout.
Your potted grains need to be still inside for the warmth of room temperature to encourage sprouting. Later in the day or just before you go to bed if you see that the news paper has dried out just give it another spray of water to wet the paper down again. No peaking!

Day 5:On this early morning day,all your TLC should be bringing you sure signs of LIFE as you slowly peel away the news papers.

What do you see? If you see most of all your grain sprouts reaching for the sky with longer stems then you have succeeded . They will be a color of pale cream and light green.

Give them some pure filtered water ,just enough to saturate the soil ,with out puddles.
You can leave them uncovered for good air circulation but still in darkness.
Before you go to bed you can give them some more water. “Good Night”

Day 6: On this morning, again inspect your juvenile wheat grass . You should see a lot of pale colored greenish hair growing upwards peaking over the rim of your clay pots.This is a good time to take them out side if it is a sunny summer day . If it is a cold winter then put the pots beside a big window for lots of sunshine . It is still important that the temperature around the wheat grass is still warm or room temperature. Water them, and water them again before bed.

Day 7: In the morning you should see a dramatic difference in your wheat grass by now!
The grasses are now long and green all bunched together ,maybe 5 to 6 inches tall? You can still let your grass grow another day all the way up to 10 days as you harvest what you need for your juicing pleasure. Always water once in the morning and once in the evening. You may have noticed that I purposely had you tend to your growing wheat grass either early in the morning and later in the evening only because this would not interfere with your daily schedule and in this way the program can be fitted in even for the busy person.
To harvest your wheat grass ,just use some scissors,and cut near the roots for the best nutrition.
Cut as much wheat grass as you need to make 4 ounces of juice.

I use a manual hand crank juicer that does a good job and they are affordable.
A slower revolution of the blades preserves more of the nutrition and with less oxidation.
The fibrous pulp will come out one end and the dark green juice will be collected in a container. I compost the fiber or if you don’t have a com-poster then you can mix the fiber in with your potting soil deep as it will all break down eventually and add aeration to the soil.

The Tray Method:
Another popular method among Sproutarians is to us a larger surface area using a shallow square or rectangle shaped tray.

It is the same method as the pots, but this time you just spread only about inch thick of organic peat moss. Another option is using some organic rich dark loamy garden soil .Sometimes I make a soil amendment of adding some pre soaked seaweed ,such as Wakami ,Kelp,or Chinese to my blender with a little pure water and blend into a liquid. This can be added and worked into the soil with a simple kitchen fork for extra fertilization to the soil but don’t overdo it as the wheat sprout is a hardy grain. Water the soil with out forming puddles.Then spread the germinated wheat sprouts across to the edges of the tray,so that the grains are touching but not piled on top of each other.Water the sprouts with out forming any puddle. And with a spray bottle wet them down. Cover them with dry newspaper , and wet the news paper down with out puddling.
Keep the trays inside in a dark room lightly covered with a towel for smaller productions and a bed spread for larger productions. Your trays of sprouts can also be stored in your cabinetry with the door slightly opened for air with darkness for the next 3 days . One time in the morning and one time in the evening give water to your sprouts and on the third day of awakening you should see a forest of pale green colored wheat grass. First move your trays to indirect natural sunlight . Then over the days ,the trays can be further moved to fuller sun light for maximum effect for photosynthesis of your grass blades, to collect energy from the sun.

It was just a matter of time , when after days, then weeks, then months of experimentation I started to see positive results in my health. And during my transition time ,my new way of thinking about food changed dramatically. I was no longer eating food off the canteen truck like I used to ,and instead I was bringing in my clearly marked bagged lunches and green smoothies into work. Looking inside the large studio refrigerator every day, I could not help notice how different the diets where of most of my colleagues in comparison to what I was eating.

I had realized then that I had become a Fruitarian,Vegetarian,Rawtarian,Sproutarian,Medtarian,(Mediterranean)
Macterian,(Macrobiotics)and Vegan days all rolled up into one and my lunches reflected this change in my life.

You have to understand that I was working in a Cartoon Studio in Hollywood California for Hanna -Barbera Studios at that time ,animating the cartoon feature film production ,entitled “Once Upon a Forest” a film about the environment of animals in the forest.
I was drinking so much carrot juice at the time , that my skin was actually taking on an orange color mostly in my hands ,but it was only temporary and it disappeared when I cut back.

I remember it was in 1990 when I got that telephone call at work , from Walt Disney Company to work overseas in Korea for the next 2 years.I know that this may raise a few eye brows among some of you, but I was actually practicing Agriculture in my business hotel room in down town Soul Korea. I had everything covered up in darkness so the maid was non the wiser.I was using the Matt Method,colander staining method ,hidden away in dresser drawers, closets, and under the bed. I had many of my sprouts in jars hidden under several card board boxes as well.

It was usually on the third day,that the gig was up and my secret was out because of course my sprouts needed fresh air and sunlight to grow and prosper.

During those 2 years It was not just the wheat grass growing in the various hotel rooms (the later ones had balconies)with stacks of trays everywhere ,it was everything else too like , Mung, Alfalfa, Pumpkin, Sunflower,Basil,Barley and others.

Eventually I moved into the privacy of my own flat to grow my food, and to live my Sproutarian Life in more privacy. Some times I would go to a nice restaurant , where the management new me, and accepted my patronage for some of my favorite Korean dishes like Brown Rice Bi-Bi m-Bap ,a Salad,with Miso Soup and some Herbal Tea. Occasionally I would slip some of my home made sprouts into my dish served.

But this was a good way for me to supplement my Korean diet and I enjoyed the Korean Red and White Ginseng that was on offer by the store box fulls, and the traditional Kimchi. (Fermented vegetables) Since then I moved around a lot living in different places all over Asia and Europe .I discovered different ethnic ,and cultural cuisines that up to this day has profoundly influenced my way of thinking about food, and the recipes that followed.
For the serious Wheat Grass Grower that happens to live in a tropical climate all year round like myself, an interesting option became available to me. Growing wheat grass outdoors in raised garden beds by the boat load was possible even living here in Phuket Thailand !
I hope that you have enjoyed reading my experience with food ? Especially about growing wheat grass ,as much as I have enjoyed writing about my experience for you.

Nutrition and in this case, more interesting Earth Recipe choices can be easily created by you with color and incredible good taste directly from Nature. Delicious recipes can come from Nature , it does not have to be processed.
For seed companies ,when you are happy with a company then stay with them but always keep your eyes out for competitive offers as well. I use my own supplier in Thailand for now so I do not have any experience with the suppliers on my short list. But I did review their websites and many have good information to give you,for sprouting of living foods. I enjoyed visiting them all. “I wish you all the success for your new healthy lifestyle as a fellow Sproutarian.”

" The blood of plants is green in color , the blood of humans and animals are red in color, this is where the difference ends."

Barry Gourmet & Raw

Barry’s Gourmet Sprouting Tip:
When you prepare your recipes using Organic or Heirloom produce,you have a wonderful option to save yourself a lot of money and to put more food on your table for your self and your family and it is all for FREE.

Save your seeds for later use. You can sprout with them, grow fruits and vegetables in your existing garden and a lot more. I don’t know why I did not think of this years ago? I have been practicing this seed saving good for the environment habit for about 4 years now from this writing.
When you think of it our forefathers and family owned farms for generations have been saving their own seeds for the next generation of harvest. So why cant we do the same thing even though it is on a much smaller scale? In my teens I used to work for a grocery store, and it just amazed me how much expired food was being dumped out along with the seeds to our land fills. What a waste of resources.

“Seeds are a gift from nature to be used over and over again, and not to be discarded for ever.”

Seed saving is easy and practical when you schedule in the time to practice this important way of living green.

First you want to save seeds that you grow, and that your garden naturally grows as your existing soil will already be suited for this purpose. For example when I compost my kitchen scraps then later distribute the green manure around my garden , I see in time hundreds of little Papaya trees growing everywhere so in this case I do not have to save seeds for this tropical fruit,as nature does it for me.

It is important to use organic heirloom seeds ( Original seed that has been saved by generations before the industrial revolution)from your produce , as hybrid conventional produce has been denatured and treated by the biotech industry to make the food insect resistant, and like I have been saying all along that plants are systemic meaning that their root systems absorb everything including the pesticide and herbicide chemical applied.

It is important for me to note here ,that you should consider what local foods are grown best in your area as these seeds will do well, and should be your first choice. For example I would not save seeds of apple because they are not grown in my area, but Papaya is. This could be the opposite case where you happen to live?
When you have formulated a list of fruits and vegetables plus herbs that grow well in your area then it is time for you to save seeds of that nature.

I am going to be really general here as the plant kingdom offers many different ways of saving seed that is appropriate for each plant and area. It is best to pick your best looking , plant that is ready to eat for example a tomato. Any fleshy plant with lots of small seeds will be difficult to save so a method of separating most of the pulp and skin by hand must be done first. Then place the flesh and seeds into a glass of water and wait for the seeds to settle to the bottom. Depending on the plant it could take hours to days. Then place the seeds in a colander straining basket and wash off the remaining pulp thourouly. You can now place your wet seeds on a natural fiber towel or floor matt.(a towel that has not been bleached white with the chemical dioxin)

Spread your seeds across half of the towel or matt ,then fold the other half over your seeds, and then again fold again to the size of a quarter of your original matt or towel size. You can also role the your matt loosely into a burrito for air circulation.
The moister from the seeds will be absorbed into the matt or towel and left this way for half a day or more. Uncover the matt or towel, then place your seeds on glass or ceramic dish ware, or on a large window screen that has been converted into a table for drying out your seeds in indirect sun light. When your seeds are perfectly dry and clean with out any moister to the touch, then the seeds can be packaged in non white natural paper envelopes, Next of course it is important to write the date and the name of the seed on the envelope.

I like to put my envelopes in air tight mason jars and store them in my refrigerator or even my wine cooler. Seeds age well under these conditions and they are good for up to 2 years or more.
For a longer time put your stored seeds in the freezer that can keep for up to 10 years or more before use.
In some cases you can go right into food production. For instance the the King of all fruits the Durian fruit which is one of my favorites has a different approach.
A good durian is when you shake the fruit violently close to your ear, and you can hear the bods rattle back and fourth,then you know its a good one. Just make sure you where your heavy protective mitts as the hard spikes of this fruit is fearsome and dangerous if not handled carefully.
Cut the pungent Durian length wise and remove the fleshy meat from the seeds by hand.
Its the Fruity meat that is so offensive to so many people , in the smell department but I feel different about it now as my taste buds and nose has changed over the years.The seeds are large like the size of a golf ball,but of course my garden coconut is the king in the size department.
Soak the Durian seeds in a large bowl of water for 3 days or until you see a growth tip at the end ,then plant them in a pot side ways and cover with soil so that you see just a bit of the seed .In one or two months you have a durian tree about 7 to 12 inches high.
Seeds for sprouting,gardening and saving is a great way to connect with nature.

“Saving seeds is a gift from nature that should not be ignored.”

Barry Gourmet & Raw

- she knows how to pick ‘em -


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