As well as being a delicious, gluten-free grain, buckwheat is nature’s vitamin-B tablet. It contains B3, B4, B5, B6, B9 & B12! And for even more nutrient-density, if you sprout the buckwheat the levels of those vital B vitamins increase.

We need B vitamins for so many things, including a healthy nervous system, to stave off anxiety and for good sleep.

Rather than take a vitamin B supplement, I regularly sprout buckwheat. It is an easy process – although it takes 2 to 3 days, the hands on time needed is just a couple of minutes, twice a day. Here’s how:

What you will need:

The ideal set up for sprouting grains is a large mason jar, some gauze and an elastic band – my method below uses these. If you do not have these, you can sprout your grains in a bowl but when it comes to draining and rinsing you will need to use an additional sieve/colander.

• Put your buckwheat in a large mason jar and cover with ample water (at least twice as much as the buckwheat). Cover the mason jar with a square of gauze and secure the gauze to the rim using an elastic band.

• Leave to soak for 24 hours.

• Drain the buckwheat by tipping the jar up over the sink and allowing the water to run out.

• Rinse the buckwheat three or four times by refilling the jar with water, agitating a little and then allowing the water to drain out.

• Invert the jar of drained buckwheat and leave it at a 45° angle so that any residual water can escape (you can do this by resting it on a draining rack or by leaning the jar, upside-down, inside a bowl). Leave the grains 12 hours.

• After these 12 hours, again rinse and drain the buckwheat three or four times, replacing the jar in its upside-down 45° angle afterwards.

• From 24 hours onwards you should start to see little sprouts appearing on your buckwheat grains. I usually wait until these are between 2 and 4 mm in length.

• When you are ready to use your buckwheat, rinse and drain it well.

A wonderful way to use this sprouted buckwheat is in my sprouted fermented buckwheat pancakes.

If you’re not ready to use this buckwheat, you can store it in the fridge for a few days (just make sure you rinse it thoroughly once a day).