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Friday, May 27, 2011

Microgreens: Healthy Fast Food

My thoughtful brother and sister in law bought me Country Wisdom and Know-How for my birthday. It was a thoughtful gift and I really appreciated it. However, it was one of my favorite books already and we have used it as a sort of backyard farming guide for years (see link above for review). I returned it to the book store and bought another book that I have had my eye on for a while. Microgreens: A Guide to Growing Nutrient-Packed Greens by Erik Franks and Jasmine Richardson.

I haven't grown microgreens yet but I plan to use this book to help me start. my love for them started when I first had a pea shoot salad at a restaurant. Microgreens are vegetables in their very early stages. They are the stage a plant goes through after sprouting and before becoming baby greens. Microgreens are planted and then harvested usually within 4 to 10 days after sprouting. You cut the tips off of them and you have mini vegetable leafs that go great in salads, on sandwiches, and in meats. They are extremely flavorful and all the rage in fancy schmancy restaurants. They are packed with nutrients and even taste healthy and fresh. My main goal in learning how to grow them is to supplement my winter foods with fresh microgreens throughout the cold months. They can be grown indoors under lights, or outdoors using extremely small and limited areas. The image below is from the book.

I haven't had a chance to read all of the book yet as I have spent all my free time recently preparing a garden bed and trying to survive beekeeping for the first time. I plan on doing a review of the book once I have finished it but in the meantime I wanted to share a quote from the book that I really liked.

As human beings, our roots lie in the soil. Although many of us have forgotten this important link over the past few generations, our connection with nature is so ancient and fundamental that it cannot be completely disregarded. If while we are eating we pause for a moment, we can easily follow our food back to the plants, the animals, the soil, and even the wind, rain , and sun. All of these things have their confluence on the farm. here is no avoiding that the health of the earth and the health of human beings are intimately tied. 

Have you had microgreens and if so what did you think about them? Have you grown microgreens? What did you find worked for you? Any feedback, experiences, or opinions on microgreens would be very appreciated.

Michael

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Both books sound like great additions to our mini-farm collection. I think I'll try these out for fall/winter as something I can grow inside.

Cindy said...

Michael looking forward to your review on this. I know what little we have eaten at salad bars have been very tasty.I think this would be an asset to surviving if you weren't able to go outside and grow anything.
Hurry and review...lol

Cindy from Rick-Rack and Gingham

Curbstone Homestead said...

Love the idea of supplementing your diet during the winter months with them. Keep us posted on your success so I can learn the concept also!

Cindy said...

I've never heard the term "microgreens" before but like the concept. I know that some sprouts, like brocolli sprouts, contain concentrated amounts of the brocolli nutrients, so I'm guessing that microgreens are probably loaded with nutrients.

I noticed a seller at last weekend's farmer's market selling sunflower sprouts and wondered how they tasted, how you serve them (salad, stir fry?).

Looking forward to learning more about this.

MAYBELLINE said...

You gotta figure if the bugs love 'em it might be worth considering.

Hippie Girl said...

I started doing mircogreens just after Christmas, and we love them! We I did research about ways to grow microgreens, I came across two different techniques. 1) simple-soil & water. 2)place seeds in a jar and soak them every so often until they sprout fully. The second way didn't work at all. They smelled like they were rotting and took way longer to sprout.

Abbie said...

I have a friend who always brings salads to potlucks. They are the best salads I have ever had and I always think, "If people had salad like this, no one would turn their nose up at salad again." I finally asked what she puts in it that makes it taste so good... MICROGREENS! Usually sunflower sprouts. SO YUMMY.

how to grow microgreens said...

Here's some great tips to growing your own micro greens. I really love your blog!