Before I grew microgreens I did not know much about them. I had seen them garnishing fancy restaurant plates, and in sandwiches . I had rarely eaten them. They were a food I knew little if nothing about. Most assuredly, I knew nothing about their benefits and incredible nutritional value.
Researching microgreens when first learning to grow them, I learned of their incredible value to give nutrition to us, fresh, raw and in a healthful way. Did you know that, on average, 1 ounce of microgreens contains the equivalent nutrition of 1 and a half pounds or 24 ounces of mature broccoli florets? A 24 to 1 ratio of nutrition - a true superfood. This isn't counting the calories or the fiber, but rather the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, and when eaten raw, the enzymes in the microgreen. Nutrition our bodies vitally need. Really, though microgreens are small, they are giants in urban farming, and more people need to know and eat them. We need to promote this wonderful plant sourced food and use it more often.
One of the most common questions I have about microgreens is how to use them, and if I could provide recipes. In this blog I plan to do a little bit of both.
Above is a close up photo of some radish microgreens I had grown recently. As a number of you have noted, I love taking photos of my microgreens. They are almost like nature's small works of art, beautiful in their own way.
Beautiful and delicious. Just how does one use microgreens in recipes? Perhaps the easiest and most direct way to use microgreens is in salads. Mix them into a salad you already love, and their often intense flavors add to the fresh salad tastes. Great ideas to add flavourful microgreens to salads are such as adding mustard or radish microgreens. Add these microgreens to sandwiches as toppers also allows you to add flavour. Onion, dill or garlic microgreens can be wonderful sandwich additions this way.
Italian dishes, such a lasagna or spaghetti benefit from sprinkling with microgreens, especially basil microgreens. Just think in terms of spices and flavourings, and you can find a microgreen suitable - tacos with coriander microgreens sprinkled on top, or a tomatoe salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, onions and parsley or basil microgreens. Just envision a poached salmon with mushrooms and peppers with dill microgreens.
Most people are already familiar with chefs and their often enthusiastic use of microgreens to decorate their dishes. Colorful microgreens such as red cabbage, or beet can add a rainbow of color and flavour to any dish. Go one step further and create a microgreens pesto from basil microgreens , pine nuts , garlic and olive oil.
Perhaps less well known is using microgreens in cooking, for example in meals such as stir fries. Or in healthy alternatives such as this recipe Roasted Beet and Micro Kale Egg White Frittata Recipe (Easy Breakfast) | HeyFood — Meal Planning App (heyfoodapp.com)
One comment people often ask "but if you cook microgreens won't they loose some of their nutrition? " The answer is a bit complicated and can be read about Beyond The Decorations: Cooking With Microgreens | Microgreens World however in most cases cooked microgreens are still much higher in nutrition cooked than their adult vegetable counterparts.
One nutritious option is to enjoy microgreens in smoothies. It is also a way to slip them in when children may be less enthusiastic about the textures found with raw microgreens. Here's one recipe that is a great morning smoothie - a broccoli microgreen mango banana breakfast smoothie.
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup chopped mango, frozen
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp hemp hearts hulled hemp seeds
The myriad of options on how to use microgreens is infinite. For those wanting a reference that gives a large amount of diverse recipes try the following link 10 Best Microgreens Recipes | Yummly
Message me with your own recipes and eating ideas for adding micros into your diet. To purchase my fresh microgreens locally in the Montreal area with free delivery, message me Helen Dicso on facebook, or @busybumblebee on instagram or via email at info@microcosm.online . This week our urban farm has sunflower and yellow pea microgreens growing. I am anxiously awaiting a shipment of a variety of seeds that will become microgreens available to you all in coming weeks. Microgreens for your life!
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