Microgreens are a fast growing superfood that you can grow indoors on your windowsill or under a grow light year round.
Most microgreens can be harvested after just 2-3 weeks of growth!
Common varieties of microgreens include peas, sunflower, radish, broccoli, kale and clover.
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While microgreens have been grown for decades they have only recently become more available at farmers markets and in food and grocery stores (particularly in urban areas).
In 2012, a widely cited study on the vitamin and carotenoid concentrations of microgreens was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The study was produced by scientists at the USDA and the University of Maryland’s Department of Nutrition and Food Science. In summary, the study found that “…microgreens contain considerably higher concentrations of vitamins and carotenoids than their mature plant counterparts, although large variations were found…”. Assessment of vitamin and carotenoid concentrations of emerging food products: edible microgreens. - PubMed - NCBI
In 2016 a few of the same scientists released another study on the mineral composition and content of 30 brassica microgreens. They concluded that “…Brassicaceae microgreens are a good source of both macroelements (e.g., K and Ca) and microelements (e.g., Fe and Zn) in a balanced human diet and the consumption of microgreens could be a health-promoting strategy to meet the requirement of element dietary reference intakes, particularly for children. Microgreens of Brassicaceae: Mineral composition and content of 30 varieties - ScienceDirect
Study after study show that microgreens pack a lot of nutrition into their small size. Eating them freshly harvested, when their nutrients are at their peak, gives you the best access to this incredible source of nutrition.