You can eat sunflower microgreens fresh or cooked. If you’re cooking them, add them to the pan once it’s been removed from the heat to keep the crunch, and crispy texture. They’re fantastic with soups, salads, sandwiches, and omelets.
Sunflower microgreens make a great salad or sandwich accent. You can use their sweet and nutty flavor to add nutrition to any cuisine. While you can buy sunflower microgreens, also known as sunflower shoots, at some specialist grocery stores or farmers’ markets, growing your own is considerably more cost-effective.
Can You Eat Sunflower Microgreens Raw?
Yes! You can enjoy raw sunflower microgreens as a healthy, crunchy snack to eat on their own. Or, you can use the natural leaves as a garnish for added flavor in soups, stews, and other prepared meals.
However, if you prefer your microgreens cooked, softly sauté sunflower shoots with a drizzle of olive oil on your stovetop for a minute or two. Adding to egg dishes is a good idea; microgreens pair well with omelets, frittatas, scrambled eggs, and other cooked egg dishes.
What Can I Do With Sunflower Microgreens?
Use as a salad dressing base. While these greens are labeled “mini,” they are larger than most other microgreen kinds. This adds weight and substance to them, which can be beneficial in salads. Pea shoots go nicely with their mild, nutty flavor. Make a salad using sunflower and pea shoots as a basis and your preferred dressing on top.
Sandwiches, wraps, and tacos all benefit from their addition. You can pretty much use sunflower microgreens to any dish to add texture and flavor.
What Do Sunflower Microgreens Taste Like?
Sunflower microgreens have a taste that is nutty and sweet. It’s a flavor that is somewhere between nutty and citrous but with a more robust green undertone.
When Should You Eat Sunflower Microgreens?
You can enjoy sunflower microgreens at any time of the day, and their versatility lends to an array of dishes from breakfast to dinner, brunches, and snacks.
Enjoy a boost of nutritious microgreens to start your day with a smoothie for breakfast. With this, you’ll get a ton of nutrients right at the start of the day.
Are Sunflower Microgreens Healthy?
Sunflower microgreens supply a significant portion of your body’s daily dietary needs and critical elements. Vitamins A, C, E, K, and B6 and folate are abundant in these small greens. Sunflower microgreens are high in iron and protein.
Additionally, they include beneficial lipids for the brain, such as omega-3s and omega-6s and are a good source of amino acids.
Sunflower microgreens are an excellent source of calories and healthful unsaturated fats. As a result, they’re perfect for adding to salads to make them more filling.
What Is The Nutritional Value Of Sunflower Microgreens?
Sunflower microgreens have a high calcium and iron content. They’re also high in fiber and include a variety of vitamins and minerals, including Vitamins A, B, C, and E. In addition, there are trace levels of zinc, copper, chromium, magnesium, and potassium.
Nutritional Content Of Sunflower Microgreens.
The values listed below are per 100 grams.
| Content | Percent Daily Value | Percent Daily Value | |||
| Calories | 27 | Vitamin A | 18% | Calcium | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 4 grams | Vitamin B-6 | 10% | Iron | 88% |
| Protein | 2 grams | Vitamin C | 11% | Magnesium | 16% |
| Fat | 0 grams | Vitamin E | 22% | Potassium | 6% |
| Fiber | 2 grams | Vitamin K | 37% | Zinc | 6% |
Is It Healthier To Eat Sunflower Microgreens Or Seeds?
When compared to dried sunflower seeds, microgreens are easier to digest. Overall, they’re a healthy food that can help you increase your immunity and fight sickness.
According to research, sunflower microgreens are a more useful food source than raw sunflower seeds, especially for magnesium and zinc absorption.
Are All Sunflower Microgreens Edible?
Sunflower sprouts quickly generate extra tiny roots on the main root. When these roots are small, they have a mold-like appearance. The roots will become stronger and longer as the sprouts mature. The entire sprout, including the white roots, can be eaten.
But, the thick black shells should be discarded as green bio-waste rather than eaten.
You should not use bird seeds, as companies frequently spray them with pesticides, which the sprouts absorb during growing. Choose organic sunflower seeds with the shells on them instead. You’ll get good, healthy sprouts from these.
What Seeds Are Best For Sunflower Microgreens?
It’s not recommended to use birdseed or seeds purchased in the supermarket because their purpose is not to sprout. They frequently contain salt, sugar, or other preservatives that you don’t want in your microgreens.
Buying a bag of organic microgreens seeds from a trusted seller is the best approach to cultivating sunflower microgreens. These are chemical-free, high-germination seeds that will help you grow the best and tastiest greens. The black oil sunflower seeds are the most common type.
Growing Steps For Sunflower Microgreens.
- To begin, fill a tray with about an inch of quality potting soil and scatter sunflower seeds on top.
- Cover the seeds with just enough soil to keep them moist and keep your tray somewhere warm and out of direct sunshine.
Ensure the soil remains moist but not saturated. - While the sunflower seeds are bursting open, you’ll want to keep some humidity within, but remove the lid a few times a day to replenish the air inside.
- Remove the lid entirely once the seedlings have begun to grow and let them enjoy the fresh air.
- Water just enough to keep the soil moist.
How Do You Harvest Sunflower Microgreens?
Some of the seed shells may become lodged on the budding leaves as your sunflower microgreens grow. You can gently flick these off. In 10 to 14 days, your sunflower microgreens will be fully developed and ready to harvest.
Sunflower microgreens are ready to harvest when their shells begin to break off their leaves and reach a height of around 4 inches.
Harvesting them is as simple as cutting their stems off just above soil level with a sharp pair of scissors or a kitchen knife.
Once harvested, you may keep them in the fridge for up to two weeks.
What Is A Serving Of Sunflower Microgreens?
The serving size of microgreens is roughly 25 grams. For sunflower microgreens specifically, serving size can extend to 90 grams.
