Microgreens equals macrotaste
Not only are microgreens tasty but it’s nice to have some alfalfa greenery in the house during the winter months too!
What are microgreens? Like many, I had never heard of microgreens until a few years ago. Now our family is hooked! Microgreens are nutrient and flavor packed mini versions of full grown vegetables. It’s so great having fresh, tasty greens in the heart of the winter - not to mention a little extra green to look at!
Radish sprouts pack a potent palate punch! I recommend “diluting” them with other greens or use sparingly.
Palate explosion
There is a wide variety of microgreen types to choose from including radishes, broccoli, peas, chard, arugula, and kale but even some plants we may not traditionally eat such as alfalfa and sunflowers! It’s a mini adventure for our palate each time!
You may wonder what they taste like - and let me tell you, they taste just like their full-grown counterpart. So you’ve guessed it - a radish tastes like a radish and a pea tastes like a pea! And sunflowers- you’ll just have to taste it for yourself to find out!
But warning, some of the flavors are very potent. For instance, we use radish microgreens sparingly because it seems like the taste of an entire radish is packed into each tiny microgreen! But that’s a great way to add a little punch to a salad, sandwich, or soup! However, if you’re like me and prefer a more mild flavor, there’s still plenty of options like alfalfa or kale.
Experimentation for all ages
I couldn’t snip them fast enough before the microgreens would get gobbled up!
Our family enjoys experimenting each time we plant microgreens. It starts when our kids sit with dad after dinner and page through the Johnny’s Selected Seed catalog picking their next flavor. They get to join in on the planting process and the best part is we only have to wait a few days to enjoy the fruits of our labor! Although the time to harvest depends on the seed type, we are able to start enjoying microgreens in as little as a week! Then we just snip and munch on what we want and let the rest keep growing to the next day. And we can plant as many (and often) types as we want. It doesn’t get fresher than that.
Can grow anywhere
Even with a small home, we manage to make some space for setting seed trays under a growing light. We put the light on a timer to ensure enough light during the short winter days and then can set up in any nook or cranny. And then it’s all set up to sprout seeds for our garden a few weeks later!
…or buy at the farmer’s market
We can snip as few (or as many) fresh greens. Note that one of my kids is holding a cookie and didn’t take a single bite while (or after) we were eating microgreens!
If you prefer to not test out that “green thumb,” many local farmer’s markets now sell microgreens, including the Wausau Winter Market.
Endless possibilities
Despite having just finished supper, the kids were ravenous for microgreens - hands stretched out!
I’ll be honest, we typically just munch on the fresh greens. (In fact, last time I made homemade pizza I suggested we throw some microgreens on top to my husband and I was nearly shunned for suggesting ruining the freshness!) However, if you’re not a family of rabbits like us, there’s lots of ways to use them such as to
toss in salads,
top pizzas,
stuff in a sandwich or burger,
garnish a soup,
fill in an omelette or fajita.
And nutritious
Microgreens aren’t just packed with flavor, but nutrition too. A study by the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources found that microgreens had four to forty times the nutrients as their full grown counterparts. In fact, researchers were so shocked, they double-checked their results.
Learn more
One happy girl (and mom!)
Like me, many people confuse microgreens with sprouts. Unlike sprouts, microgreens grow in soil. However, you shouldn’t just throw the seeds in some dirt - there are several key differences over growing the full grown counterparts.
Therefore, I recommend attending a class or doing your research first. My husband attended a class through UW Continuing Education on growing microgreens. Plus, he came home with a baggie of sunflower microgreens for taste testing and a tray that he planted during the class.
Our next “experiment”
So what’s next for us? After consulting my husband he smiled as he rattled off the list - peas, arugula, broccoli, and chard.