Are you eating microgreens in your lunches or dinners?
If not, now is the time to learn about the great nutritional benefits of these little greens! Microgreens are the baby version of foods you may already know and love. These are usually shoots (or small shoot-like leaves) usually less than 14 days old. You can find supermarket staples like spinach, kale, chives, arugula, and broccoli as microgreens. However, you can mix things up with watercress, mustard greens, onion sprouts, radish, and alfalfa. Each of the microgreens will not taste exactly like the adult plant. They are usually milder as they are not fully developed. However, items like mustard, onion, and radish will have a stronger, more pungent flavor.
How do these little leaves bring you great value?
They typically have FOUR to SIX times the concentration of nutrients that you would normally get from the largest/full sized plant. That means you get more nutrients in a smaller package, like beta carotene, B vitamins, vitamin C, and even amino acids. That’s great news if you don’t want a traditional salad every day. Since you don’t need as much plant material to reap the benefits, it’s easier to include them in your diet with ideas like blending them into a smoothie, using lettuce sprouts to top a burger instead of lettuce (or top any sandwich, really), or substituting spinach leaves in an omelet for spinach microsprouts.
Microgreens are tiny leaves with many health benefits.
Health benefits differ slightly between the different plant varieties you can choose from. For example, most bean sprouts are high in C, while alfalfa has more calcium, potassium, and magnesium. While no one would think of eating the sunflower plant, you can (and should) eat the sprouts as they have amino acids, folic acid, and vitamin E, as well as trace amounts of copper. The benefits go on and on, so the best thing to do is choose your favorite flavored sprout (the sweetest, mildest sunflower, or the bouncy radish, or perhaps the strongest crunch of bean sprout in a stir fry) and search for all your specific nutrients on the internet.
Can you grow microgreens in your own home?
Yes! But some are easier than others. For example, with contact lenses you have to have several periods of soaking, rinsing and resting before you can make them break out. Of course, it’s worth it if you really enjoy sprouting beans, but if you’re looking to get to the greens quicker, you need the chia seed. If you’re looking for the simplest, fastest sprout (it’s pretty foolproof), look to chia seed first. Chia seeds are so easy to sprout that they even made a ceramic “Pet” animal for kids to grow. They grow quickly, thanks to the nutrient-packed seed, which makes the sprouts add to your salad even faster. Chia sprouts have a somewhat ‘spicy’ flavor. It’s not as potent as onion or radish sprouts, but it’s not as mild as alfalfa.
What is sprout safety?
With a few seeds, some potting soil (or potting soil mix), and a shallow saucer, most people can grow microgreens in their own home. Chia seeds will certainly sprout if placed in moist soil in a shallow dish. It’s important to properly care for any plant’s microgreens, to avoid problems like mold and to maximize serving appeal as well as nutrition. However, with a few quick tips, small plants like these are generally easy to manage.
Things to keep in mind include:
Trim tiny leaves or stems about a centimeter above the substrate they grew in
Trim only with clean food grade scissors
Plastic scissors or ceramic scissors will prevent browning (important for serving presentation)
Expose vegetables or sprouts to strong sunlight for several hours before harvesting; this will maximize the chlorophyll content for better health.
Do not use/consume sprouts if you find mold on the base
In damp or humid weather, it’s best to let the seeds sprout on a sunny windowsill and keep them there until ready to avoid mold problems.
Mow most greens when they are 1 to 2 inches tall.
Don’t grow them outdoors unless they are well protected by a mini greenhouse or screens; You may love microgreens, but so do bugs, spores, and other pests you don’t want in your food.
Fogging for Moisture – Fogging ensures safe humidity levels where heavy watering can lead to crushed sprouts, washed out seeds, or mold in the soil.
Most greens are ready in about 10 to 14 days, but they don’t grow back once cut.
Rinse vegetables gently under cold water only and serve immediately.
There is no need to fertilize them, they get their initial nutrition from the seed itself.
Growing your own vegetables also means saving money, sometimes this healthy ingredient is expensive at the grocery store or seems less than fresh. Keep in mind that each one has a different flavor, if you don’t like one microgreen, you can enjoy another one, so experiment as much as you want, now that you know the nutritional benefits are quite worth it. If you try a few varieties and still want something a little milder that adds nutrition to your meals, you can always eat chia seeds. While the chia sprout has flavor, the seeds themselves do not. They can be mixed into everyday foods without altering the taste, such as yogurt, ice cream, salad dressing, soup, stew, scrambled eggs, and peanut butter and peanut butter. If you can sprinkle, you can use chia seeds. Remember the last advice on germination: “Germination does not need fertilizer because it gets its initial nutrition from the seed”; this illustrates the nutritional power of chia as you watch it grow. Its bud is large and vigorous despite the tiny size of the seeds. And it’s no wonder because the seed contains more calcium by weight than milk, is 23% complete protein (just like in meat), has healthy omega-3 oils and two types of fiber, plus B vitamins and the trace element boron.
With eating fresh and eating raw getting so much hype for their health benefits, you can stay ahead of the curve with the freshest food in town…food you’ve harvested minutes before serving. Save money at the store and save space in your home, because microgreens can be grown in small batches and never require huge pots or large areas. Something as simple as a foil cake pan and a small bag of potting mix is all you need to get started (and the seeds, of course!), so there’s hardly any upfront cost in time or supplies.