5 Great Microgreens to Grow and Eat

I know I told you about what microgreens are and how you grow them. Now let me tell you about the kinds you can select to grow and eat. They all have unique flavors.  Some are mild or bland. Others are spicy or bitter. Some are even sour tasting. So let’s go through the type there are and the flavors you can enjoy with them.

The Types

• Amaranthaceae family: Includes amaranth, beets, chard, quinoa, and spinach.
• Amaryllidaceae family: Includes chives, garlic, leeks, and onions.
• Apiaceae family: Includes carrot, celery, dill, and fennel.
• Asteraceae family: Includes chicory, endive, lettuce, and radicchio.
• Brassicaceae family: Includes arugula, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, radish, and watercress.
• Cucurbitaceae family: Includes cucumbers, melons, and squashes.
• Lamiaceae family: Includes most common herbs like mint, basil, rosemary, sage, and oregano.
• Poaceae family: Includes grasses and cereals like barley, corn, rice, oats, and wheatgrass. As well as legumes including beans, chickpeas, and lentils. (1)

Carrots

I love carrots. I decided to try and grow these and see what the flavor was like. I found that the taste is very similar to the carrot itself. I really like adding them to my salad to give that hint of carrot to it. There is one downside that I did fine. These microgreens take a long time to grow.

The first time I tried them, I thought I had done something wrong. I did some research to be sure I was growing them correctly. I found that they can take up to seven days to start to grow and almost a month before you can harvest them for eating. When I read that, I breathed a sigh of relief. My thumb is not always the greenest!

Peas

Who would have thought that there were so many types of peas? Growing up in the south, I only knew of English Peas, black-eyed peas, purple hull peas – I think you get the idea. But there are several more varieties. Pea microgreens taste a lot like snow peas. They have a mild but slightly sweet taste.

Again, these are great on salads but I like to snack on them by themselves with a little red wine or balsamic vinaigrette on them. There are a lot of health benefits to these as well. Let’s look at a few here.

• Anti-Inflammatory – Pea microgreens have many antioxidants and phytonutrients inside. These help to boost your immune system and help reduce inflammation! They have vitamins C, D, K, and A that build your immune system. Now more than ever that is important!
• Improved Cardiovascular Health  – The same antioxidants that boost the immune system and help reduce inflammation in your body, can improve your cardiovascular health.
• Regulate Blood Sugars – Pea microgreens have many of the same phytonutrients that can help reduce blood sugar levels. If diabetes runs in your family, then this is a great food item to add to your diet!
• Weight Loss – Fiber is great for weight loss and there is a lot of fiber in pea microgreens. The good thing about fiber is that it makes you feel fuller longer. When you feel full, you tend to eat less. When you eat less, you lose weight.

Basil

Yum! Basil is delicious on so many things. I use it in salads, on my spaghetti and add it to some olive oil to dip my bread in. There are many different flavors of basil as well. I found that my favorite it Lemon Basil. It tends to have a slight lemon flavor to it that adds a certain zest to my foods. There are also health benefits in lemon basil.

“Lemon basil has moderate levels of beta-carotene and high levels of vitamin K, which are renowned for their anti-inflammatory properties. It is a good source of manganese, copper and vitamin C, and contains calcium, folate, iron and magnesium, all of which are vital for proper body function.” (2)

Mustard

I love some spicy flavor in my food and mustard microgreens gives me a bit of that flavor I am looking for. They also have that distinct mustard flavor. I love to add these to my salads and sandwiches for a unique flavor. Like the previous microgreens that I have talked about, these also have health benefits. Look at some of the things that are in them.

“The mustard microgreen is a good source of vitamin A, C, E, energy and carbohydrates, proteins, dietary fiber, folate, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, sodium, potassium, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc.”(3) How’s that for a powerhouse? Since I do like to workout a lot, the protein was an added plus for me!

One thing to note about these is that they do grow rather quickly. Sometimes I harvest them a little late but they are still tender and flavorful so it’s ok to let them grow a little longer.

Arugula

I am guessing most of you have eaten arugula in salads or other dishes. These microgreens have a slightly peppery taste. These grow really fast. In fact in a little over a week you can be enjoying these microgreens on your sandwich or in your salad or in any other dish that you want to add a little flare of pepper! These have some great health benefits for your bones!

“According to the United States Department for Agriculture (USDA) nutrient database, a cup of arugula weighing about 20 grams (g) contains approximately 5 calories.

A cup of arugula also contains:

• 0.516 g of protein
• 0.132 g of fat

According to an adult’s daily nutritional goals, set out in the FDA’s daily values (DV), a cup of arugula will provide:

• 27.7% of vitamin K
• 3.2% of calcium
• 2.5% of vitamin C

Arugula also contains some iron, folate, magnesium, potassium, and provitamin A.” (4)

Final Thoughts

These are my top 5 favorite microgreens. There are many more that I have not tried but plan to. If you have tried some of these, drop me a comment and let me know. I love to try new flavors and recipes. Healthy foods for healthy living! And I can get them fresh from my own garden!

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