Microgreens are becoming more and more popular from restaurant cuisine to home gardeners. Use them on salads or on top of your dish as a garnish. They taste great and they are very nutrient dense. So, for this week, we are covering this Food Highlight: Microgreens!
What are Microgreens?
Microgreens are tiny plants that are picked before they grow into their larger vegetable counterparts. Because of this, you can easily grow them in your kitchen, no matter if you have an outside garden or not. You wouldn’t believe it, but for as small as they are, they pack an insane amount of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. When it comes to food and nutrition, this is exactly what you’re looking for.
The largest benefit of Microgreens is that they are more nutrient dense than their full grown vegetable counterparts. You can find microgreens in any of these vegetable versions:
Broccoli
Chives
Radish
Beets
Kale
Chia
Watercress
Mustard Greens
Benefits of Microgreens
There are so many health benefits of vegetables in general. These microgreens have similar compounds as well.
In this article on broccoli microgreens, regardless of where they are grown, microgreens contained higher amounts of magnesium, copper, zinc and manganese than their full grown vegetable counterpart. These minerals are all healthy for skin health, nail health, cellular health and much more.
However, for microgreens that were compost-grown, microgreens were higher in Potassium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Manganese, Zinc, Iron, Calcium, Sodium and Copper than their full grown vegetable counterpart.
They are high in Polyphenols: these are excellent antioxidant compounds that the body needs in order to remove toxins from the body. When the body is exposed to a toxin, it gets filtered to the liver where the liver brings it through Phase 1 of the detoxification process. In this process it creates a free radical. If there is not have enough antioxidants from the diet to bind the free radical and help it to be eliminated from the body, free radicals will start to build up. This ultimately can cause damage to the cells of the surrounding organs and is one of the causes of inflammation, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Minerals: as mentioned above, there are many mineral components of microgreens. Many of these minerals, including magnesium, are utilized and often depleted by the body in times of stress, and also in athletes that have strenuous training schedules.
Precautions:
Microgreens come from many different types of vegetables and herbs. They can be safely consumed with no risks or side effects in most people. However, because they come from many different sources, allergies and allergic reactions could happen after consuming them. If you experience this, stop taking them immediately and talk to your doctor.
In addition, those taking warfarin or are concerned about blood-thinning may want to consult with their physician prior to consuming microgreens. They may be high in vitamin K, which is essential for blood clotting. It is highly recommended that before making any changes to your nutrition, diet or lifestyle, you speak with your physician.
Wrap Up:
- It’s easy to grow microgreens in the kitchen.
- Add microgreens to your next salad and try this salad dressing recipe for a great side dish!
- Microgreens add another punch of nutrients to any post workout meal to help boost recovery.
Give Them A Try!
Have you tried microgreens? Are you growing them? Would you like to grow them? Let us know in the comments below or share with us on our social media!
