Explore the Microgreens

Microgreens are the latest trend to grow veggies in the interior of your homes and it is a new revolution spreading among plant and gardening enthusiasts. It shows the love of people towards green vegetables, their nutritional value and their desire to grow and nurture their microgreen plants themselves.

Microgreens mean micro + green which means the tiny versions of popular vegetables and herbs that generally are better in taste and freshness in comparison to their fully grown version. Actually, they are the intermediate stage between sprouts and baby greens.

They cannot be termed as sprouts, as the sprouts are germinated in water or wet cloth whereas microgreens are grown in soil and are harvested at an early stage. They can be used as nutrition supplements, a flavor and visual and textual enhancement.

Facts about microgreens

1.    Microgreens are great sources of vitamins A, C, E and K and it is good to consume them raw rather than cooked.

2.    The seeds used to grow mature vegetables with full leaves are also used to grow microgreens. The only difference is that microgreens are small sprouts of seed, instead of waiting till it is fully mature, microgreens are harvested when the greens are 2-3 inch tall.

3.    Microgreens come in various varieties like cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage family, lettuce and chicory, dill, carrot and fennel, amaranth, quinoa, beet and spinach.

4.     To grow microgreens at home you need a watering can or spray bottle, seeds,  tray or pot, a tray with holes, a stand or shelf on which to place the greens, an adequate supply of water, a source of light and fertile soil along with a sifter.

 Popular microgreens

1.    Broccoli microgreens

They are more nutritionally dense than mature broccoli florets, easy to grow at home and mild in flavor. The broccoli microgreens taste tangy. The broccoli microgreens smell has a mild peppery aroma. The broccoli microgreens flavor is crunchy and is a great meal for kids with nutrients like vitamins and antioxidants. Broccoli microgreens nutrition can play an essential role in boosting a child’s immune system by protecting against viruses and free radicals. 

The seeds can be soaked and placed in a container to sprout. After sprouting they are rinsed and exposed to indirect sunlight for 4-5 days. This makes them grow with greenish coloration. For harvesting, just rinse it one more time and put it in the refrigerator for use in smoothies, sprouts and salads.

2.    Onion microgreens

Onion microgreens are quite delicious and nutritious microgreens and they require very little care. It takes between 12 to 21 days for onion microgreens to be ready to harvest.

Onion microgreens are loaded with nutrients like vitamins A, C, E, and B vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. Onion microgreens also provide you with essential amino acids that your body needs for optimal health.

Onion microgreens are savory microgreens. The flavor is that of strong onion with undertones of garlic and can be used just like you would use green onions. It can be added to microgreen salad, a sandwich or soup or other cooked meals.

3.    Cabbage microgreens

Cabbage belongs to the same family as cauliflower and broccoli. Their microgreens look completely different from their full-grown counterpart but have the same taste with higher nutrition levels. 

Cabbage microgreens are essentially tiny leafy plants grown from cabbage seeds. They are rich in vitamins and antioxidants, but they are also a good source of manganese, sulforaphane, folate, and biotin.

Cabbage microgreens are super easy to grow, and within two weeks you can enjoy this healthy and tasty green. Although they don’t appear like full-grown cabbage, crunchiness and flavor are the same.

 4.    Radish microgreens

Radish microgreens are a great way to add nutrients and flavor to your diet without adding too many calories. They can be easily grown indoors so you can enjoy them year-round.

Radish microgreens are packed full of vitamins and nutrients more than mature radish bulbs. Radish microgreens are tiny plants grown from radish seeds and harvested when only a couple inches tall, they are at their peak nutritional level at the young green stage.

Radish microgreens are a unique tiny vegetable that tastes similar to the bulb of a regular-sized radish, but slightly milder and more nutritious. It is suitable for healthy skin and eyes, regulate blood sugar level and aid in weight loss. It has natural detoxifying and cleansing properties and its dietary fiber content improves digestion.

5.    Spinach microgreens

Spinach microgreens are filled with nutrients like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K1, Folic Acid, Iron and Calcium. Microgreens are 4 to 40 times higher in nutrients than mature plants, having more concentrated sources of vitamins and minerals.

Spinach microgreens are known as superfoods around the world today, they taste very much like regular spinach with its lush, earthy flavors. They are used in salads or in main courses to add an extra layer of flavor in the form of light garnishing.

Spinach microgreens contain certain antioxidants that can help lower glucose levels in patients that suffer from diabetes. It also makes their bodies more sensitive to insulin and helps prevent changes brought on by stress.

Spinach microgreens are also packed with potassium, magnesium and iron. Potassium is beneficial for those with high blood pressure as it neutralizes the effects of sodium intake. Magnesium helps improve the various muscles and nerves in your body and helps maintain a steady heartbeat whereas iron is essential to maintain overall strength.

 6.    Wheatgrass microgreens

Wheatgrass is often consumed as a supplement for its nutritional and health benefits. The young sprouts of the wheat family can be eaten whole and raw or juiced raw and consumed as a liquid. It is popular among health food lovers, wheatgrass has a very strong and pronounced taste.

Wheatgrass is packed with a powerful combination of nutrients. It has antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. It contains iron, calcium, enzymes, magnesium, phytonutrients, 17 amino acids, vitamins A, C, E, K, and B complex, chlorophyll and protein.

The nutrients in wheatgrass aid your body in getting rid of impurities and stored toxins. Wheatgrass has high levels of enzymes that aid digestion by helping your body break down food and absorb nutrients. The detox effects of wheatgrass clean your intestines. This helps you experience less gas, bloating, and abdominal discomfort.

Wheatgrass may also help relieve constipation and irritable bowel syndrome. Drinking wheatgrass can boost your metabolism and aid in weight loss. Losing weight can also help you lower cholesterol levels, which can make you less at risk for developing heart disease. Wheatgrass enhances the function of your immune system and helps ward off infection and disease.

Benefits of microgreens

1.    Nutritional power

Though microgreens are small their nutritional power is quite big as they can be a better source of vitamins and minerals.

Nutrient contents differ from one variety of microgreens to another, but they are generally high in antioxidants as well as minerals like potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper.

2.    Protection from diseases

The nutrients in microgreens help protect you from certain cancers, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

3.    Easy to grow

Microgreens are sustainable and affordable, they are easy to grow at home in small spaces and are usually all year round.

4. Premium veggies for free

If you grow and start having them in your regular meal, you will be getting nutrient-dense food daily for free all year round. This will be easy on your pocket with health and saving both to your liking.

Best way to eat microgreens

Microgreens can be used in meals in the following ways:

1.    Microgreens can play a role in both sweet and savory dishes. Besides their nutritional value, they can add flavor, texture, and color to salads and sandwiches.

2.   You can also add them to smoothies and juice for enhancing their nutritional value.

3.    Microgreens are excellent when eaten raw tasting fresh and crisp, they also preserve the delicate flavor of these mini powerhouses retaining their vitamin and mineral content.

4.    They are used as a garnish for salads, soups, flatbreads or pizzas.

5.    They can be used as a side to any main dish or add flavor to dishes.

6.    They can provide an alternative to lettuce in tacos or a burger or sandwich.

    Try to adopt microgreens in your food and grow them to get your daily quota of fresh greens all year round. Their nutritional content is something we all need to maintain our daily requirement of nutrients.

Vitamin D for Vibrant Health

 

Vitamin D is the much-needed and most talked about vitamin as it is related to bone strength and overall health and vitality in multiple ways. In fact, adequate vitamin D is essential for health and is needed by infants, kids, adults, and elderly people equally. But at the same time, it is highly undervalued as most people assume that they are getting enough of it through the sun but very few get proper exposure to get its adequate level. Though overexposure is said to lead to skin cancer.

 It can be taken via natural sources and food sources are also there, but in the daily rush of life, the natural resource and readily available food sources are generally left behind. Consequently, you will find every second person in your close contact as vitamin D deficient, having all the symptoms from tiredness to bone issues, in constant consultation with medics and consuming supplements to overcome the deficiency.

Many, who are not much health conscious and are not very active to visit physician struggle with their daily issues of fatigue and low level of energy. They attribute it to age-related problems but if kids are having the same fatigue issues accompanied by stunted growth it is better to improve their lifestyle. Vitamin D is available at the medical stores as a supplement, but it is not a miracle drug, you must acknowledge that vitamin D is something that is gifted to us by nature for free and it will be better to get it naturally. It is best to get yourself aware of vitamin D and find out why it is so much important to human beings.

Important facts about vitamin D

·       It is called the sunshine vitamin absolutely vital for vibrant health and sun rays are its natural source.

·       The main function of vitamin D is to strengthen bones, absorb calcium and increase immunity.

·       Excess doses of vitamin D can cause vitamin D toxicity, a condition when there is a high amount of calcium in your body causing many health issues.

·       Vitamin D can be easily taken through exposure to the sun. Still, some factors like season, time of day, cloud cover, skin pigment and sunscreen effect can determine how much vitamin D your body can produce by exposing itself to the sun.

·       It is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorus.

·      Research has proved that vitamin D can reduce cancer cell growth, help control infections and reduce inflammation.

Why so many people are vitamin D deficient

Many factors affect and lead to lessening your chances of getting vitamin D from the sun. Some of them may be-

·       Always using sunscreen while going out in sun may lead to less absorption of vitamin D by your exposed skin, as the layer of sunscreen protects the skin from the sun. Sunscreen protects from the extreme heat of the sun while going out during the day or mid-noon and it is effective to prevent many skin diseases caused due to exposure to the sun. But overuse of sunscreen and applying it over your skin all day can make you vitamin D deficient. A balance should be maintained by judging the intensity of the sun and the duration of exposure while going out.

·       If you are living in an area with high pollution your vitamin D levels are bound to go down as smoke, dust particles and water vapor create a layer in the atmosphere in the process, blocking the sun rays from reaching you. In such cases getting vitamin D from the sun is minimum.

·       If your outdoor activity is minimal or very limited and you spend most of your time indoors then you might get vitamin D deficient as you will be getting very little sunlight on you.

·       Big city people living in apartments where one building blocks the sunlight falling on another and in the process people living in it getting the minimal amount of sunlight are more prone to vitamin D deficiency.

·       A pigment called melanin is present in the skin if its level is less it makes the skin fair and a higher level makes the skin darker. Skin having less melanin level or light skin absorbs more vitamin D in comparison to the skin having a higher level or dark skin.

Considering these factors, it is necessary to get vitamin D from other non-sunlight sources to stay free from vitamin D deficiency.

Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency

·       Tiredness without any significant workload or regular aches and pains in the body is one of the foremost symptoms of vitamin D deficiency.

·       Severe bone pain, muscle pain in adults, chronic pain in feet and legs in children and general weakness is a pointers to vitamin D deficiency.

·       The worst symptom is the stress fracture in the legs, pelvis, and hips caused by the slightest possible physical activity and is alarming enough to get yourself tested and take emergency measures for quick restoration of adequate levels of vitamin D.

·       Hair loss, feeling of sadness, muscle weakness and loss of appetite are other symptoms of vitamin D deficiency.

But it is not advisable to rush for a blood test every time you have aches and pains or you are feeling tired, instead balanced diet, proper sun exposure and daily physical activity will make you come out of this.

If symptoms are persistent then these symptoms need proper diagnosis and a simple blood test, prescribed by your doctor, is easily the best way to get yourself tested for vitamin D deficiency. If found deficient then sunlight, food and supplements prescribed by a doctor will make your life a lot easier.         

How to replenish vitamin D

     The simplest way to get vitamin D naturally is exposing yourself to the sun but it depends on duration, time of day, body parts exposed as well as age it should be regularly done at the earlier part of the day to get maximum benefit.

·       If you want to get vitamin D through food then include fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and mackerel in your diet.

·       Other non-vegetarian sources to get vitamin D are eggs.

·       Milk, mushroom, fortified cereals, yogurt and cheese are also better options.

·       In areas with limited sunlight supplements are better options for getting vitamin D but, you definitely need physician advice before starting with it.

Vitamin D toxicity

Too high a dosage of vitamin D can cause vitamin D toxicity, a build-up of calcium in your body, and serious health consequence. Vitamin D toxicity can cause nausea, vomiting, frequent urination, weakness, dehydration, confusion, increased thirst, bone pain and kidney pain.

If your blood serum level is between 50-100 nanomoles per litre(nmol/L) then your vitamin D level is adequate.

Benefits of vitamin D

·       Vitamin D boosts energy levels and is vital for making our muscles work efficiently.

·       Healthy vitamin D levels can slow down bone loss and strengthen them. It lessens the chance of osteoporosis and lowers the risk of fractures.

·       It improves heart function, improves mood, fights depression and reduces inflammation.

·       It promotes dental health as a proper level of vitamin D can lead to adequate absorption of calcium and phosphorus for the growth and strength of strong teeth.

·       Vitamin D is vital for brain function and supports a healthy nervous system.

 

 

Pseudo-grains & their Benefits

 What are Pseudo-grains

Human awareness knows no boundary when it comes to food, he/she continues to explore, experiment and introduce new food on the platter with a keen eye on taste and nutritional quality. 

After the traditional rice and wheat, millets and oats were prevalent among healthy food lovers then came pseudo-grains, a new grain variety that instantly became very popular as they provide healthier eating options. 

As the name suggests pseudo-grains are not genuine grains but they look like grains and cook like grains. They are accepted as whole grains because of their nutrient value and their great source of protein, fiber and minerals, making them great for managing weight, digestive health, and diabetes. 

Popular pseudo-grains like quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat are actually the seeds just like our regular grains and do not belong to the conventional grain family Poaceae, botanically speaking. But they are considered as wholegrains by the Whole Grain Council for the sake of consistency and inclusion. This group of ‘grains’ also has the benefit of being gluten-free for those who need to avoid gluten.

Are pseudo-grains healthy?

Nutritionally speaking, pseudo-grains are quite healthy, in fact, healthier and superior to our traditional grains

·   They are rich in low glycemic carbohydrates and have essential nutrients like vitamin B and minerals like calcium, manganese and iron in them.

·    Pseudo-grains like buckwheat are high in protein and boost immunity and help in digestion.

·    They are gluten-free and easy to digest, absorb and assimilate.

·    Lower cholesterol, blood sugar and diabetes.

·    Reduces the dangers of cancer.

·    Help reduces body weight

Popular pseudo-grains

Pseudo grains are full of a wide variety of nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals. The most popular pseudo-grains are amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat and chia seed.

1.    Quinoa

Quinoa is an edible seed that is extremely popular among diet-conscious people. Pronounced as KEEN-WAH, it is the ultimate superfood with a good source of protein as well as fiber for vegetarians as it is rich in essential amino acids. It has a fluffy, creamy and crunchy texture. 

This pseudo-grain is gluten-free and helps in controlling blood sugar levels. Quinoa consumption significantly reduces cholesterol and body weight. It is a good source of folate, magnesium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and iron.

 It is positively beneficial for gut health and body weight management. It needs to be stored in an airtight container or in a refrigerator if needed to store for a long.

2.   Amaranth

Amaranth is also called  RAMDANA or RAJGIRA. It is called a superfood as it is packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein and omega-3 fatty acids. 

It is good for brain health and vitality as one serving of it can fulfill your daily requirement of manganese which support the proper functioning of the brain. Antioxidants present in it prevent cancer and heart disease.

Due to its high fiber content, it helps in digestion and weight loss. It is a good source of potassium, phosphorus, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E. it is high in protein than many other grains.

It is filled with essential oils that lower blood pressure and cholesterol. The consumption of amaranth also reduces the inflammation or swelling in the body caused by diabetes, cancer or other auto-immune diseases.

3.    Buck wheat

Buckwheat is also called KUTTU. In India, it is consumed during the traditional period of fasting like Navratri and Janmashtami. It is helpful in lowering cholesterol levels, helps prevent heart disease, boosts immunity and helping in digestion.

It is a good source of protein, manganese, vitamin A and vitamin B. it is suitable for people who are sensitive to wheat or other grains.

 It has a high amount of antioxidants and rutin which help the body use vitamin C better, enhance collagen production for fresh-looking skin and strengthen blood vessels for better blood circulation.

 It is zero gluten as it is safe for persons suffering from celiac disease, at the same time beneficial for diseases related to the gastrointestinal tract like diarrhea, constipation and bloating. Buckwheat flour is used generally and is refrigerated to prevent spoiling.

4.    Chia seed

Chia seeds contain fiber, protein and antioxidants and they are good sources of vitamins and minerals. Chia seeds are naturally tiny and tasteless but are added to meals to increase their nutritional value. They can absorb water in large quantities. Chia seeds can be used as whole seed, flour or seed oil.

It is considered a superfood that has superior quality of omega-3 fatty acids. The significant amount of protein present in chia seed helps in minimizing the problem of protein-energy malnutrition. It is provided as a protein diet to persons suffering from health issues like diabetes and obesity. 

The antioxidants present in it have beneficial effects like anti-aging, anti-carcinogenic and preventing neurological disorders.

How to consume-Quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat and chia seeds

1.  You can make a plant-based protein-rich meal of quinoa by combining properly washed and boiled quinoa with beans, tofu, mixed vegetables, salt and spices.

2.  If you want to eat quinoa differently add coconut milk, fresh fruits, walnut, cinnamon powder and honey.

3.  Amaranth can be soaked overnight and cooked as a sweet breakfast porridge or can be put in the dough. 

It can also be cooked like rice or puffed like popcorn and can be made into ladoo too

4.  Buckwheat can be pre-soaked and eaten raw or cooked to be eaten as sweet or salty porridge or soup. 

During the fasting period, buckwheat flour can be used to make muffins, parathas and pancakes.

5.  Chia seeds can be soaked in water or milk and added whole or ground to juices and smoothies, and can be mixed with oatmeal or salad.

 

Eating them dry may result in choking as they absorb water almost 10 to 12 times their weight.

let us adopt the pseudo grains in our daily diet and enjoy the numerous health benefits provided by them