Microgreens Save the World

Okay, maybe a little dramatic of a title for this post, but the truth is, microgreens are pretty amazing.  I was turned onto them by an article that landed on my desktop from WebMD, a source that I typically trust for accurate medical information.  I was fascinated by the intense nutrient concentration in these tiny little vegetables and set out to learn more, ultimately deciding to try my hand at growing them.

Freshly harvested cabbage and salad mix microgreens

Microgreens are plants that are harvested in their very early stages of growth, when they are about 1-3 inches tall.   They exist in the world somewhere between sprouts and baby greens.  Unlike sprouts, they are allowed to root, either in dirt or a hydroponic growing medium (my preference), then are cut just above the root for harvest.  They are more intensely flavored than mature greens and often very bright and colorful.  And best of all?  They pack anywhere between four and forty (yes, forty) times the nutrients of their mature counterparts.  For those of you skeptics out there who, like me, always demand proof of outrageous claims before believing them, these numbers came from a bonafide scientific study recently published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.  Check out the WebMD article for a people friendly overview of their results.

Ready for harvest

So in addition to all of this nutritional mumbo, microgreens just TASTE GOOD. Rick loves them, and would be happy to put a handful on top of pretty much everything he eats, cereal and ice cream aside.  We eat them in place of other greens in our salads and as a garnish on just about anything else.

"Planting" the microgreens

Microgreens are incredibly easy to grow, and supplies are inexpensive. I get mine from growingmicrogreens.com. I started with their hydroponic starter kit, which gave me all of the materials I needed and enough seeds to last for months. I also purchased a four tiered miniature greenhouse and have placed everything on my enclosed porch. It's a great setup, but frankly the greenhouse isn't necessary if you just have somewhere you can set the tray(s) so they get some sunlight. I usually start a new tray or two about twice a week, so I always have some in process and some to harvest from.

A sea of basil microgreens.  Makes fabulous pesto.

Avocado Smoothie?

When one of my friends at work told me about the avocado smoothie she makes, I was pretty skeptical.    I mean, sure, I love avocados.  I love brussels sprouts too, but I wouldn't put them in a smoothie.

I'm game for something new, though, and after trying this, I have to admit that it may be one of the best smoothies ever.  It truly defines the word "smooth," and has a very unique taste that is independent from any of the ingredients in it.  Rick likes to make smoothies for me and have me guess what's in them, but I would totally fail with this one, because the flavors blend together to create something completely new.  

So basically I've plagiarized my friend's recipe to pass it along to you.  I thought maybe I should contribute something new so I wasn't quite so blatantly stealing it, so I decided to rename it the BAM  Smoothie.  Now she'll never know. 

BAM Smoothie

(Banana Avocado Mango Smoothie)

1/2 avocado

1 banana

1 honey mango or 1/2 regular mango, pitted*

1/2 container vanilla greek yogurt

1/2 to 1 cup almond milk or skim milk 

Place the fruit in a blender and add enough liquid to get the blender started.  Blend until smooth, adding additional liquid until it reaches the desired consistency.

*Mango pits shred in blenders, into little fibrous shards that look like little chunks of coconut, but taste like toothpicks.  Learn from the mistakes of others, and throw that slimy thing away.