The CDC has recommended that anyone who is over 60, and has certain health factors such as diabetes avoid going out as much as possible in the midst of this current coronavirus outbreak. My parents fall in this category, and they are not happy about being told to stay indoors. Being very vital individuals, the thought of sitting at home, now that they are retired together, is offensive, and quite frankly cramping their style. My sister and I have been urging them to stock up on medication and food and lay low for a bit until we see how this mess plays out. They are very grudgingly, half-obliging. I’ve been encouraging them to delve into growing some of their own food, for back up, and to learn something new while being stuck at home. Starting with microgreens. Microgreens are easy to grow, and provide up to five times the nutrition of mature greens. That’s an easy way to make sure your nutritional needs are being met, especially if you can’t get to the grocery store. Being diabetic, many of the foods that we use for food storage, are very high in carbohydrates, which is not great when trying to control blood sugar levels. Having access to whole, healthy, low carb foods is crucial to them both. With no idea how long this virus is going to plague us here in the U.S., I feel it’s necessary for them to have a back up plan, where groceries are concerned. Learning to grow some of their own food just makes sense. If you would also like to learn to grow your own microgreens, your going to need to gather up some seeds and containers. Any shallow container will do. You can certainly order all of the trays on amazon, but I just use what I have lying around, for now. When I have turned growing microgreems into a weekly habit, I will probably shell out for the lights, trays and a really cool indoor setup.
But for now…it’s just old milk cartons and a south facing window.
Let’s get started. We will start by putting around an inch of dirt in a shallow container, sprinkling your chosen seed liberally, then add a light layer of dirt over top. You should have no more than 1.5-2 inches of dirt when you are done. Then just add water. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can dip your tray in another tray filled with water to water from the bottom up, or your can spray thoroughly with a spray bottle, just make sure to not over water. It’s recommended to mist a couple of times per day. Follow these instructions and you should have beautiful delicious microgreens to add to your smoothies, salads, and sandwiches in a couple of weeks.
Have you experimented with growing microgreens? What are your favorites? Share your ideas in the comments, or on instagram @canigetaramen. I can also be found on FB and Pinterest @ canigetaramen.food.blog.
