✨The Magic of Microgreens🍀
The nutrients and life force energy of a full plant, in one tiny leaf.
The word “micro” here says it all. Microgreens are young seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs. Unlike larger herbs and vegetables that take weeks or months to grow, microgreens can be harvested and eaten a week to 10 days after the cotyledon — a part of the embryo within the seed — leaves have developed.
These tiny versions only grow to a few inches and can come in 50 to 60 different varieties. Microgreens were originally limited to fancy dinner plates and boutique grocery stores due to their higher cost.
After each harvest, growers need fresh soil, seed and a sterilized container or growing mat to repeat the growing process. These costs add up compared to mature herbs and vegetables that grow back after they’re initially cut or trimmed.
The use of microgreens has expanded now that they can be grown at home. You can add them to a salad, put them on a sandwich or top a steak or fish with them to provide a floral contrast.
Don’t confuse microgreens with sprouts. Sprouts are germinated in water, not soil, for one or two days to produce underdeveloped leaves. Microgreens grow in soil and sunlight and take at least a week to produce leaves.
Restore your body back to youth, with young seeds.
Despite their small stature, microgreens actually boast a more intense flavor than larger vegetables and herbs. One study even found they have more health benefits and can be up to 40 times more potent in phytochemicals.
The study, from 2012 by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, analyzed 25 microgreens and, on average, determined microgreens have four to six times more nutrients than their mature counterparts. For example, red cabbage microgreens had 40 times more vitamin E and six times more vitamin C, while cilantro microgreens had three times more beta-carotene.
Among the microgreens assessed, red cabbage had the highest concentration of vitamin C, cilantro had the highest concentration of carotenoids (a type of antioxidant found in brightly colored foods), garnet amaranth had the highest concentration of phylloquinone (a type of vitamin K) and green daikon radish had the highest concentrations of tocopherols (a type of vitamin E).
While microgreens are nutrient-dense, they aren’t typically viewed as a substitute for regular vegetables due to the cost and volume you’d have to eat.