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AT WINTERS' END, it's hard to find fresh foods that are grown locally. Grocery store produce seems humdrum--pale tomatoes and some tired tropical fruits shipped from far, far away. So I was tickled to find broccoli sprouts grown at a local greenhouse--fresh, local and fabulously peppery tasting.

Sprouts are the stereotypical health food, so it's no surprise that they really are good for you. The surprise for me has been just how good they taste.

There are a lot of different kinds of sprouts out there, not just the tiny hairlike alfalfa sprouts and big crunchy mung bean sprouts most people remember. Now, you can buy broccoli sprouts--famed for their huge amounts of cancer-fighting sulforphanes--as well as dozens of other sprouts.

All sprouts are extraordinarily low in calories and add juicy crunchiness to sub sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches and wraps. And they look festive, like confetti, when tufts are strewn atop salads.

The other thing I love about sprouts is that I can grow my own if I want. And at this time of the year here in Wisconsin, with leaden skies, muddy earth, and no flowers, it's hard to believe in spring. But starting seeds on my windowsill helps me keep the faith that spring is coming.

PACKED WITH NUTRIENTS

Think of sprouts as baby vegetables, a baby bean, alfalfa, or whatever seed they came from. Like their parent seeds, sprouts provide lean vegetable protein and magnesium, both of which protect the heart.

And the sprouts are better than the parent seeds when it comes to vitamins. For example, broccoli sprouts have 10 times more of certain cancer-fighting chemicals and more vitamin C and B vitamins than the seeds of full-grown broccoli.

Alfalfa sprouts contain isoflavones, similar to soy. Sprouts of broccoli, radish and mustard seeds are rich in antioxidants and cancer-fighting chemicals, and also have stronger, spicier flavors. A British study of volunteers who ate sprouts showed higher levels of cancer-fighting chemicals in their blood.

Bean sprouts tend to be thicker than broccoli sprouts. Mung bean sprouts are common in markets and also figure in some Chinese dishes. Other beans can be sprouted too, such as chickpeas and lentils.

Some sprouts have been linked to food poisoning, so wash your sprouts before eating them, just as you would wash any vegetable, and don't feed sprouts to babies.

SPROUTING YOUR OWN