Spaghetti is a fast comfort food that is perfect for a busy day.
Cooking with microgreens doesn't have to be time-consuming or take a lot of extra planning. When spaghetti is on the menu, just add the 'greens! It took less than 2 minutes to turn this spaghetti bowl from ‘blah’ to ‘Yum!’, and added a full 2 servings of vegetable micronutrients with just a handful of microgreens.
Microgreens are much tastier, have more nutrients, and have a better texture if they are fresh and raw. While the spaghetti sauce is heating, chop up the microgreens and add them to the sauce after removing the sauce from the heat.
If you prefer to make the sauce from scratch, replace the bottled sauce with your own fresh sauce.
Spaghetti with Microgreens
Microgreen Margo
Turn plain pasta into a healthy meal with microgreens
Cook the spaghetti according to package directions, 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain.
While spaghetti is cooking, heat spaghetti sauce.
Remove sauce from heat and add microgreens.
Pour sauce over cooked spaghetti and serve immediately.
Keyword Pasta
Idaho Potato Soup
We live in potato country. There are potato fields all over here in southeastern Idaho, and in the fall most farmers are open to having people 'glean' their fields after the mechanical harvest is over. It is a way for teenagers and groups to make a little money and keeps potatoes from rotting in the fields.
I always buy a couple of 50lb sacks of fresh potatoes, and the first meal every year is this wonderful, tasty, potato soup. Full of creamy goodness and rich in many nutrients, especially when you add a handful of microgreens, this is the perfect fall and winter meal. Or spring, or summer...whenever you feel the urge for an easy, tasty soup.
Pair it with a crusty loaf of bread and a cool glass of freshly squeezed apple cider.
Idaho Potato Soup
The perfect potato soup, full of creamy goodness, microgreens, and veggie nutrition
1/2cupmicrogreensBroccoli, super booster, or amaranth for a bright burst of color
Instructions
Boil water; add ¼ cup butter or margarine.
Add potatoes, celery and onion;
Boil until tender, about 20 minutes, and then add corn.
Over medium heat, melt the 6 tblsp margarine in a pan and add the flour, salt and pepper.
Add the milk slowly, whisking smooth after each addition, then add this to the soup.
Cook for just a few minutes to thicken the soup, and add bacon or ham if desired.
Ladle into soup bowls, stir in grated cheese, and top with a small handful of microgreens.
Serve immediately.
Keyword Dinner, Healthy recipe, nutritious, Soup
Easy Fried Rice with Microgreens
Variety is the spice of life and adding new microgreens to the lineup is an adventure for the senses. I've been experimenting with curly cress to see if it was as great as it's promoters make it out to be- the next best thing to watercress.
Curly cress is also known as garden cress or 'pepper grass'. It has a sharp, pungent, flavor that is reminiscent of watercress. A tasty addition to many dishes, it gives a unique flavor and a 'zing' to a dish without the burn of nasturtium leaves. It has a pleasant aftertaste and no lingering bite for those of us spice-wimps. Curly cress is a good match with eggs, in rice dishes, on sandwiches, hors d'oeuvres, tossed in salads or sprinkled on pizza. It is a microgreen that is definitely worth growing and experimenting with.
I have been working on developing recipes to highlight the unique taste of curly cress. This one, 'Easy Fried Rice with Microgreens' has become one of our favorites. We took a big batch to a family potluck, expecting to have plenty of leftovers. I came home with an empty pan- even the kids had seconds! However, this dish is equally as good with radish microgreens, so if you are fresh out of curly cress, experiment with radish or other microgreens as well.
I am a fan of brown rice with its fiber, good taste, and b vitamins. I use brown rice in this recipe but it works just as well with white rice. I also like pea microgreens chopped up and added at the end along with a healthy handful of cress- the taste of the pea microgreens along with the frozen peas (or fresh peas in the summertime) is lovely, and the added nutrition turns this into a powerhouse of a meal.
Easy Fried Rice with Microgreens
Microgreen Margo
Start with cooked and chilled left-over rice and have a full meal in a bowl ready in less than 30 minutes! Cress microgreens give this a unique flavor that will be a favorite with the whole family.
Add 2 tbsp butter to the pan. When it has melted, add the onion and stir until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the carrot ( and bell pepper if using) and cook until slightly tender.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, but not brown (1-2 minutes).
Turn the heat up and add the rice and frozen peas. Cook and stir the mixture until the rice and peas are hot, 3-4 minutes
Push all the ingredients to one side of the pan and add 1 tbsp butter to the empty side. Once the butter has melted add the lightly beaten eggs. Let the eggs cook for a minute or two, then scramble them. Once the eggs are fully cooked, mix in with the rice.
Add the green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, and oyster sauce. Cook a few minutes until the mixture is hot, Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove from heat and add microgreens. Serve immediately with a few more cress microgreens as a garnish.
Keyword Dinner, Microgreens, Vegetarian
Quick and Nutrient-Filled Breakfast
Health goals are often derailed by lack of time and the habit of falling back into old ways.
My goals this year include building strength and ditching several pounds that have built up over the past few years. To make my goals stick, I have to find quick and easy ways to both eat well and exercise consistently- and make it easy enough to stick to it.
Exercise alone doesn’t eliminate weight.
To lose weight in a sustainable manner takes a consistent, healthy diet, starting with daily protein-filled breakfasts. Adding microgreens to our daily diet adds hefty doses of nutrients with almost no carbs, fats, or calories.
Microgreens are an integral part of my breakfast routine, starting with a daily tasty, green smoothie that combines sunflower, pea, and buckwheat microgreens with home-made kefir (cultured skim milk), ripe banana, half an apple, and a teaspoon of turmeric.
Often I add a toasted high-fiber tortilla (only 90 calories, and a whopping 13g of fiber and 8g of protein!), a shoyu egg, salsa, and a zesty blend of microgreens. Breakfast is ready to go in 10 minutes. This nutrient-dense meal will keep you full all morning. High fiber, lots of protein, and plenty of micronutrients give our bodies what they need to work hard!
This incredibly tasty breakfast weighs in at just:
372 calories
but has an impressive 25 gr Protein,
17gr of gut-healthy fiber,
42 mg calcium,
36mg iron, and
16 gr of high-quality, brain-boosting carbohydrates.
Add in a boatload of micronutrients from the microgreens, and we begin our day with everything our bodies need to maintain a fast pace throughout the morning.
Meal prep is vital for quick breakfasts. For this breakfast, I prepare the shoyu eggs ahead of time and let them rest in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Shoyu eggs
Shoyu eggs are peeled, hard-boiled eggs that have been sautéed in soy sauce for a few minutes. To make shoyu eggs, boil 6 eggs for 18 minutes for easy peeling, cool slightly, peel, and then place eggs in a small saucepan. Add about ½ cup soy sauce and set the temperature on medium-high. Roll the eggs around in the soy sauce continually for 5-10 minutes until they become a nice, mahogany-brown color. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. As you let them rest in the fridge for a day or two, the color and flavor migrate inwards until the entire egg is a warm, tasty brown throughout.
Low-carb, high-fiber tortillas are found in the specialty bread and cheese aisle in our locally-owned grocery store. I have also seen them in the refrigerated section.
My favorite microgreens with shoyu eggs have to be the Super Booster and Radish- such a bright way to start the day! Experiment with different microgreens to find the flavors that complement your own taste preferences.
A quick breakfast with all the nutrients your body needs to fuel it for hours
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Active Time10 minutesmins
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Microgreen
Keyword: breakfast, Eggs, Microgreens
Author: Microgreen Margo
Materials
1HIgh-fiber, lo-carb tortilla
1Hard-boiled shoyu egg
1handful microgreens
1tbspsalsa
Instructions
Fry the tortilla lightly on both sides using a non-stick pan.
Place warm tortilla on a microwave safe plate, and slice a shoyu egg or a hard-boiled egg onto the tortilla. Warm briefly in the microwave if desired.
Add a tablespoon or more of salsa, and top with a generous handful of microgreens.
Microgreen Crepes
I thought crepes were a fancy meal for restaurants and special dinners. I remember seeing special pans for making crepes. They were dipped in a batter, then carefully cooked over the stove flame. It seemed complicated and difficult. Definitely not on my want-to-do list.
Then, about 10 years ago I went on a trip to Russia to visit the families of our exchange students. The mom of one of my exchange students made 'Blini' for lunch- crepes in another language. I was amazed at how easy she made it look- just a mixture of egg, milk, and flour and cooked like a very thin pancake in a regular pan. My eyes were opened to a new must-have food! Served with fresh strawberries and cream, or with a savory food, they were amazingly 'вкусный' (Vkusnyye- yummy).
Crepes have been one of our favorite foods ever since and I have enjoyed discovering new versions of yumminess. This one is my newest- chock full of fiber and protein, and with an extra micro-nutrient boost from sunflower microgreens. These are equally good with sweet or savory fillings.
Use a quality whole wheat flour for crepes. Whole wheat flour goes rancid, and it begins losing nutrients shortly after being ground. Avoid the generic type flours that may have been sitting in a hot warehouse or on a shelf for months, which not only causes it to lose nutrients, it changes the taste from something mild and pleasant to a less-palatable product.
Enjoy this wholesome microgreen recipe!
Microgreen Crepes
Microgreen Margo
A fiber-rich, easy to make crepe that is as good with savory fillings as it is with sweetened berries and cream!
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until thoroughly combined. The batter will start thin and thicken up as the liquid is absorbed by the dry ingredients. Allow to sit refrigerated for at least15 minutes, or up to a day before using.
Heat a non-stick pan on medium-high heat.
Spray with a light coating of oil spray.
Pour a scant 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and quickly swirl it around so it reaches the edges of the pan. This should be done fast as it will start to set up as soon as it touches the pan
Cook for about 1 minute, or until the crepe begins to bubble and the edges begin to brown.
Shake the pan to loosen the crepe and then using a thin spatula, carefully turn the crepe in the pan.
Cook for just 10 seconds on the second side- just enough to set and very lightly brown.
Stack the crepes on a plate, one on top of the other. This will keep them soft and pliable as you finish the batch.
This will make 6 crepes. You may easily double the recipe.
Some of my favorite fillings:
Scrambled eggs with sauteed mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, broccoli microgreens, and fresh tomatoes
Peanut butter, fresh mango, and sunflower microgreens
The zucchini and tomatoes are coming on fast and it’s time to put them to use in this tasty summer soup. This is an easy-to-modify soup for vegetarians and vegans- just leave out the sausage.
I love soup in the summer. I make a big pot of soup at the beginning of the week and grab a bowlful whenever I get ‘snacky’, pairing it with a slice of bread or a handful of tortilla chips. This soup makes a great lunch or light dinner.
I call for radish and broccoli microgreens in this recipe but feel free to substitute the Super Booster (brassica mix), or other small-seed microgreens. Sorrel gives this a very refreshing taste, while shiso gives it a savory, unique flavor. Each bowl you eat can have new microgreen highlights- take chances, discover new tastes!
Dilly Zuc Summer Soup
Microgreen Margo
Low calorie, refreshing summer soup with loads of fresh vegetables and microgreens
