Even for someone like me who intentionally avoids the news and social media, I’ve heard about microgreens as one of the latest super foods.I as at the local farmers’ market last fall when I saw a stand selling just small, essentially Ziploc sandwich-sized, bags of microgreens for upwards of $7 each. Yowza!

Up to that moment, I’d had exactly two experiences with this genre of green fluff lettuce confetti:

1. As a kid, my mom always included alfalfa sprouts on taco night.  Call her ahead of the curve and ahead of her time, this was the 80s in Missouri. My dad was in the military and assigned to Ft. Leonard Wood and people lovingly called it “Ft. Lost in the Woods.” Knowing that, I have no idea how my mom decided sprouts were the thing to take taco night to the next level. I loved filling my hard, yellow tach shell to the brim with the white, hair-like sprouts with little green bulbs on the tips.
2. A few years back, I was into making ‘bowls’ for my work lunches. You know the trend of Buddha bowls or green bowls where it’s some grain like quinoa or brown rice, topped with sauteed veggies like kale, sweet potato, and mushrooms, and drizzled with some sort of goddess sauce. A co-worker of mine suggested adding sprouts to it so I started sprouting my own mung beans.

So when I saw this outrageously priced (IMHO) bag of microgreens, I thought “I can grow these for way less.” And I did (#MIM). Very easily. In case you’re wondering, yes, I bought them.  Then immediately thought “why did I buy these?!?”

How to Grow Microgreens

1. Fill a tray with potting soil.  Doesn’t need to be deep, like 1-2 inches. The size of the tray depends on how much you want to grow.
2. Sprinkle the entire surface with seeds. I grew arugula for this first stint.
3. Wait three days, then let the tray sit under grow lights. To save you some struggle, since my first attempt was an utter failure, the grow lights are essential. I put my tray in the sunniest, warmest room in my house and they just got too leggy and pathetic looking.
4. Within 10-14 days, you will have microgreens to fulfill all your heart’s desires.

It was seriously that simple. Minimal effort and zero fuss. I’ve put the greens on grilled cheese sandwiches (any panini or regular sandwich would be delicious, I’m sure – just not PBJ), mixed in with regular lettuce salads, and used as a topper for an orzo or other pasta salad, and on pizza.  My good friend had delivered this orzo salad with grilled veggies and the arugula greens were a super yummy addition.