Microgreens - Earth's Tiniest Superfood
Chances are you have probably seen them before - these tiny plants - often used as a garnish or piled on top of your entre at a fancy restaurant - but maybe you ignored them. Truth is - microgreens are more than just a pretty presentation tool for your food.
Microgreens are essentially baby plants, about 1-3" tall, and are harvested before their "adult" leaves come in. Microgreens have a concentrated nutrient content, which means that they contain higher vitamin, mineral and antioxidant levels than the same quantity of mature greens, making them a superfood.
With their growing popularity nowadays, there are over 87 varieties of microgreens on the market.
Commonly grown varieties of microgreens include amaranth, arugula, beets, basil, cabbage, celery, chard, chervil, cilantro, cress, fennel, kale, mustard, parsley, radish, sunflower, sorrel and wheat grass.
The Top 5 Most Beneficial Microgreens
1.) Broccoli Microgreens
Turns out that broccoli is high in sulforaphane, one of the MOST critical micronutrients in fighting cancer. Broccoli microgreens sulforaphane is even higher and more potent than sprouts or mature broccoli.
The nutrition in broccoli microgreens is immpressive and includes vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, macro-elements calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous, and micro-elements iron, copper, and zinc.
2.) Kale Microgreens
Kale is one of the trendiest microgreens on the market today and for good reason. Kale includes large amounts of Vitamin K, as well as vitamin A, B, & C.
Kale is not as nutrient dense as Broccoli, and has a lower antioxidant capacity than broccoli by a wide margin. which is why Kale gets the #2 spot.
3.) Pea Shoots
Pea Shoots have their place at #3, following just below Kale in nutrient content, however, it complements the nutrition of kale and broccoli because it has significant amounts vitamin B’s: niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, B-6 and folate.
Pea Shoots have double the concentration of iron, phosphorus and magnesium compared to broccoli. Pea shoots have been shown to have heart protective effects as well as the second highest antioxidant capacity.
4.) Radish Mirogreens
Although it’s in the same vegetable family as kale and broccoli, radish contains a different set of vitamins and minerals. Radish greens have plenty of vitamin B, but barely any vitamin A and C compared to kale and broccoli. Radish greens bring flavor and color to salads and dishes more than anything.
5.) Wheat Grass Microgreens
Also one of the very trendy microgreens on the market today - Wheat Grass - commonly used in juicing. Wheatgrass is an excellent source of many different vitamins and minerals. It is especially high in vitamins A, C and E, as well as iron, magnesium, calcium and amino acids.
HOW TO INCORPORATE MICROGREENS INTO YOUR DIET
There are many ways to incorporate microgreens into your daily diet. They can be added to a variety of dishes, like sandwiches, wraps and salads. Many people like to blend microgreens into smoothies or juice them.
Another option, you can use microgreens to garnish a dish. Try topping pizza, soup, omelets, and other dishes with a little green to start.
Who knew that this tiny little food could have an enormous impact on our health? The best part is that this tiny superfood is provided to us by Mother Nature.
We will be updating this post (below) with microgreen recipes you may like to try or feel free to link recipes to your favorite microgreens dish in the comments below.
Tell us what are some of your favorite microgreens to use and how you use them. We'd love to hear your opinions!