Sweat Pea Microgreens Come with Macrobenefits

If you’ve gotten your hands on this week’s CSA box, you can’t miss that healthy spindle of sweet pea microgreens (pea shoots, young shoots—whatever you prefer to call them). 

Aside from being one of the more decorative veggies you’ll find in our farm share—seriously, you just brought home the prettiest garnish of them all—sweet pea microgreens are also absolutely teeming with the stuff that keeps the human body happy, healthy and performing at its best.

The breakdown

Sweet pea microgreens sound a little more highfalutin than they are in reality: Nabbed before reaching full maturation, these little nutrition bombs come from the same seed that traditional garden peas do, but harvested a good deal earlier. 

This keeps them rich in many of the same areas (Vitamins A, B, C and K), and at even higher concentrations. Ergo, more goodness per bite. That goes for protein, too! For plant-based meal plans, sweet pea microgreens are an excellent supplement.

The taste

Fresh and spriggy, sweet pea microgreens can add some brightness to almost any salad, stir fry, pesto or even smoothie. A crisp, mild sweetness is what makes them such a popular garnish over eggs, proteins and starches.

The application

Pestos, dressings and stuffings are among the most popular uses for these microgreens, due to their delicate, complementary nature. This list has all three! But there’s nothing wrong with enjoying them raw. You’ll retain even more of the nutritional content by avoiding heat, and it’s rare to find a salad that can’t be improved with a handful. You can give them a good rinse before consuming, too, but we’d advise storing them as is to prolong their shelf life. 

The ease

If you enjoyed this batch of your sweet pea microgreens, try growing a tray right at home! You won’t need much more than some seeds, a tray, a spray bottle and a good spot in the sunlight. Done right, germination shouldn’t take more than a few days, with the harvest just a week or two after that. 

Not too shabby for a tiny little thing.