Micro Greens and Sprouts

Green Power- micro greens & sprouts
Uninspired by a bowl of salad greens, looking for an easy way add some exciting flavors and more nutrition to your meals? Have you tried Sprouts and Micro-greens?

Sprouts are grown by a process of soaking, rinsing and germinating seeds, beans and grains in water. The seeds and delicate spouts are eaten. Sprouts and Micro-greens contain the highest concentration of nutrition per calories of any food. These little sprouts are best eaten raw to take advantage of the rich source of enzymes, minerals, trace minerals, chlorophyll, vitamins and protein. Each sprout has a different nutrition and flavor profile.

Sprouts can easily & inexpensively be made at home or found at many markets. Look for organic and non GMO sprouts and seeds for sprouting. Some of my favorite varieties are mung beans, broccoli, alfalfa, radish, sunflower sprouts, lentil and pea. Sunflower sprouts are a complete protein and particularly rich in B Vitamins and folate with a good source of healthy fat.
Sprouts are a good food to add into many healing diets. Soaking and sprouting breaks down the anti-nutrients, like phytic acid making them easier on the gut and more digestible.
Micro-greens are grown in soil or a soil medium and cut when the first set of 2-4 leaves, known as cotyledons appear. The tiny stem and leaves are eaten.
According to researcher Qin Wang, PhD, assistant professor at University of Maryland, “micro-greens are four –to 40-fold more concentrated with nutrients than their mature counterparts. For example, red cabbage micro-greens had 40 times more vitamin E and six times more vitamin C than mature red cabbage.”

Micro greens can be found at many farm markets or grown in healthy soil mix on your kitchen counter. Look for kale, arugula, radish greens, watercress, basil, cilantro, chervil and parsley micro-greens or specialty blends.
With so much nutrition packed into such a little & pretty package it’s worth finding ways to add them into your meals. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Try Them
• Sprouts, shredded radish, shredded carrots, tossed with a light fruity vinaigrette and topped with local berries
• Add a big SPROUT or MICRO-GREEN layer to your favorite jar salad
• Add a handful of sprouts to your wraps, or top off your vegetable or meat burger with micro-greens
• Throw a large handful of micro-greens into a bag for a super energizing snack on the go, no silverware required.
• Make a simple slaw with pea sprouts, radish sprouts, sunflower sprouts, chopped cilantro, thinly sliced scallions, lime juice, minced peppers, olive oil and season with chili powder and salt- toss right before serving
• Swap out cooked lentils for sprouted lentils add in chopped tomato, parsley, red onion, and mustard, olive oil and cider vinegar serve on top of a bed of micro-greens
• You can’t go wrong by generously topping your favorite rice bowl, noodle bowl or Buddha bowl with a gorgeous handful of sprouts or micro-greens.
Remember most of the sprouts and micro-greens are delicate so treat them with a light and delicate hand, the simpler the better.