Microgreens a Small Nutrient Packed Delight
Microgreens are an amazing way to brighten your dish as well as get a nutrient packed punch to your diet. I recently was doing a video shoot for my company. Among the discussion I said I need to find a place to get microgreens, WY Fresh, in Cheyenne came through for me, but a member of the team wasn’t sure why I was so adamant I wanted them.
When you first see these vibrant little greens often dabbed with specks of purple and red, I think very few people question the aesthetic value of the dish but many people are unaware of the nutritional value these little guys contain or the amount of flavor they can contribute.
Micro greens are plants that are just beyond the sprout phase of a plant’s life, between 7 and 21 days. The whole plant is often edible at this stage of life and because it is in the early phase of growing the plant is sending significant amounts of nutrients up from the root to the leafy part of the plant to grow quickly. That nutrition, while dependent on the plant, contains things like potassium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and copper. Many people with a variety of health issues will recognize these as things they need to get in their diet. According to the USDA, these immature plants often carry more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants then their mature counterparts, sometimes as much as 40%, and they are in a concentrated package.
I really recommend going and trying a bunch of varieties which include the Brassicaceae family: Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, mustard, watercress, radish and arugula, the Asteraceae family: Lettuce, endive, chicory, sunflowers, and radicchio, the Apiaceae family: Dill, carrot, fennel and celery, the Amaryllidaceae family: Garlic, onion, leek, the Amaranthaceae family: Amaranth, quinoa swiss chard, beet and spinach, Cucurbitaceae family: Melon, cucumber and squash, and the Fabaceae family like sweet peas, Fenugreek, Mung, Alfalfa, Clover and the Polygonaceae Family such as sorrel and buckwheat. There are of course dozens more, but I mentioned a few of my favorites and bolded the ones I am in love with.
Once you try these, you’ll understand the flavor profile, and I like to use them as garnishes but not just because they look good but because the contribute to the flavor profile of the dish. You can also as Tommie,of WY fresh, mentioned to me, add them to your kids food, say some sweet pea shoots to their favorite mac and cheese, to sneak in the nutrition into their diet and get them started on liking green things.
Lastly, you can defiantly grow your own, but this is a fun way to support local growers in your area and trust me the people that grow these plants are in love with their little crops and are happy to tell you more about them.
If you are in the Cheyenne, Wyoming area I recommend, my friends at WY fresh you can reach them at: www.WYfresh.com, on facebook, @WY fresh on Instagram, or call at 307-6FARMER.
