How To Grow Microgreens

Use a wide, shallow tray – a pie pan or half of a take-out box is perfect. Instead of traditional soil, use a seed starting mix. It typically comes in a compressed brick form and becomes malleable with water. Get the soil damp, but not soaked. Put a small amount of your soil into your trays – you’ll likely only need about an inch of soil, slightly packed.

Choose which microgreens you plan to grow. Some of the easiest are broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, mustard, chia, sunflower or buckwheat. Sprinkle your seeds across the soil and cover them with a handful of soil from the tray, then pack the soil firm with your hands.

Water the seeds with a spray bottle and cover the tray with a plastic dome or wrap. When the seedlings have germinated, remove the cover. Remember to rotate the trays if you have them placed in a window sill.

Water the seeds daily. The crop is ready to harvest when the seedlings have grown about two inches tall. Use scissors to clip the greens, positioning the blades closest to the soil. Rinse the microgreens and you’re ready to eat!

How To Use Microgreens

• On a sandwich: These tiny bursts of flavor are perfect for a sandwich. They can offer a fresh, zesty taste and give the ordinary sandwich a boost with a crunchy texture.
• On a salad: Naturally these plants work well mixed with any leafy green salad. Each microgreen has its own unique flavor, so feel free to add several varieties to your salad.
• In a shake: If you don’t have time to sit down for a bite to eat, throw a handful of microgreens in your fruit or protein shake. You get the added flavor, plus, these little guys can offer up to 40 times more nutrition than fully mature plants.
• In a soup: Whether you use the microgreens as the finishing edible garnish, or you cook the seedlings into the body of the soup, the flavor will be robust.
• On a pizza: Why opt for delivery when you can whip out a homemade pizza with twice the flavor using microgreens? No need for added red pepper flakes or canned parmesan when you top the pie with these tiny greens.

Other ways to use microgreens are in sushi, spring rolls, stir fry, wraps, and fruit salads or salsas.

The post How To Grow Microgreens (And Why You Should) appeared first on Kindbelly Health Food Restaurant Myrtle Beach, SC.

So often we find ourselves engrossed in work. From the smartphone to the laptop, it’s a vicious cycle of getting each task completed. The idea of a “break” from job duties is now delving into a social media app or game on our phones. Seldom do we take a real retreat from the electronics, the information overload, and the deadlines. That minimal time away from a digital device is in fact what’s leaving us feeling stressed, overworked, and fatigued. The idea of gardening may not present itself as a great solution…at first…but once you discover the benefits that come with actually digging into the dirt and seeing something bloom, you’ll immediately recognize the power gardening has on your mental and physical health.

Stress Relief

We’re all for a great glass of wine at the end of a long day, but hear us out on this one. Sitting outside in the sun, fresh air, and not being connected to anything undone on your iPhone is an experience unlike any other. In fact, research out of the Netherlands concluded that gardening can fight stress even better than other relaxing leisure activities.

Participants in the study were divided into two groups and charged with completing a stressful task. Afterwards, one group was asked to read indoors, while the other group was instructed to garden for 30 minutes. The group that gardened reported being in a better mood than the reading group, and they also had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Mental Clarity

Another study involving gardening comes from Norway. It focused on those who had been diagnosed with depression, persistent low mood, or “bipolar II disorder.” The participants spent six hours a week growing flowers and vegetables. After three months, more than half of the participants showed a measurable improvement in their depression symptoms, and those improvements continued even three months after the gardening project ended.

It seems that it’s not the smartphone or television that we’re necessarily addicted to, it’s any object that requires our attention. When you are focused on the digging, planting, and upkeep of a garden, your mind has the ability to shut out the need for anything else, as all your concentration is targeted on your gardening.

Simple Exercise

Gardening is certainly no cross-fit class, but it does get your blood moving. The stretching, pulling and carrying of your tools and plants is beneficial to your body. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you can burn up to 330 calories during just one hour of light gardening and yard work. In addition, you get Vitamin D from being exposed to the sun, which allows your body to absorb the calcium and phosphorus it needs for healthy bones and teeth.

Fruits of your Labor

One of the most rewarding parts of gardening is the end product. Whether you’re growing vegetables to prepare for your family, fruits for refreshing snacks during the summer, or flowers for the aroma and beauty, seeing something through completion is rewarding.

Lowers Risk of Dementia

Gardening is not just good for your mental clarity now, but research shows it can also help lower your risk of developing dementia. Two different studies followed people in their 60s and 70s for up to 16 years, and among those who gardened regularly, 36% and 47%, respectively, had a lower risk of dementia than their non-gardening counterparts.

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