Super Food - Microgreens

Starting in the back, left to right: pea shoots, chia, fenugreek, more chia, sunflower greens, amaranth and flax.

I have a passion for growing and eating the most nutritious foods possible.  Without going into a long spiel about compost and minerals and organic cultivation, I can easily share my new love of microgreens.  Buy appropriate seeds, plant in shallow trays of good, loose soil, keep moist and out of sunlight to start with, let them grow a bit and green up outside or in a sunny window, then cut and eat.  No weeding or cultivating required.  Microgreens are bigger than sprouts and contain nutrient levels up to 40 times higher than mature plants.  This is because all the enzymes, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants are concentrated in the tiny leaves.  Plus when you buy mature greens in the store, they've been sitting around losing more and more nutrients each day.

Microgreens are incredibly tasty.  Flavors run the whole gamut from hot and spicy to nutty to mild and buttery.  You can google microgreens and find oodles of articles about growing them, their nutritional profiles and how to use them.  Not all seeds are suitable but there are dozens and dozens that can be used this way including herbs like dill, basil and lemon balm.

Pea shoots taste just like crunchy, sweet peas!

Growing them is easiest if you have a greenhouse, but they can be easily grown outside on a table in warm weather and in a sunny window during winter.  Give them a try and treat yourself to some of the healthiest foods you can eat.

Amaranth is very mild tasting and practically melts in your mouth

Sunflower greens have a delicious, nutty taste and a wonderful crunch

Flax greens have an indescribable taste that my body craves

   

Nature's Apothecary

The essential oils produced by plants are basically the plants' immune system, developed through interactions with the environment over long eons of time.  After all, plants can't run out to the drug store to purchase medicine for what ails them, so they produce their own!  Plant oils contain anti-fungals, anti-bacterials, anti-virals, decongestants, hormone regulators, anti-inflammatives, anti-spasmotics, even mood enhancers, developed to entice bees and butterflies to feed on sweet nectar and aid pollenation.

Every plant is a tiny apothecary, filled with hundreds of chemicals that aid its health, growth and survival.  When these oils are properly extracted and used, they can enhance human health as well, with virtually none of the side effects that pharmaceuticals create.  Furthermore, the complex nature of plant oils prevents microbes from developing tolerance to them like they often do with antibiotics.  Lavender oil alone contains over 1200 components!

Inhaling essential oils is a wonderful way to begin exploring their health promoting benefits.  Oil diffusers can be used in offices, sick rooms or anywhere in the home to greatly reduce airborne microbes.  A pocket inhaler is indispensable for travel, especially on airplanes or in crowded places with stale air.  Combinations of oils can effectively reduce microbes in the nose and throat and stimulate our own immune system to ward off infectious diseases.  And when we do succumb to colds or flus, inhalers, along with topical rubs, can help eliminate viruses, decongest nose, throat and lungs and soothe spasmotic coughs, so we recover quicker.

I am now offering inhalers in my Etsy shop, made with high quality organic, authentic essential oils, formulated for synergistic effects.  Stop by my shop and begin your exploration into the many benefits of these marvelous natural medicines.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/onthewindhealingarts?section_id=18866426