Are you familiar with microgreens?
Microgreens are young vegetable plants harvested anywhere between 7 – 21 days after germination. They pack a punch of dense nutrients—antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, you name it!
Lilly Castro, better known as the “Sprout Chick,” has been in the alternative medicine field for over 20 years. As a holistic health consultant certified in advanced food healing, she is an expert on all things microgreens, teaching classes and workshops on growing microgreens, sprouting, juicing, and more.
Before moving to Nashville in 2015, Lilly worked at the world-renowned Hippocrates Health Institute, a raw vegan institute where people come from all over the world to heal themselves through holistic practices. While there, Lilly learned about the powerful health benefits of wheatgrass, sprouts, and microgreens. It is her mission to share this healing power with others!
We’re so excited to have her join us at this Saturday’s Annual Sustainable Farm Conference to teach attendees all about microgreens and how to grow them!
We asked Lilly to share with us some of her knowledge about these nutritious greens.
What made you first realize the power of microgreens?
“I myself experimented with eating a 100% living food diet several times and saw the difference it made in my performance and mental sharpness.
Then I was lucky to work at the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, FL—a raw vegan institute where people with devastating diagnoses come from all corners of the world to heal themselves through food and education.
Granted, there are many people who are well that come to HHI to learn how to prevent disease through diet. HHI grows most, if not all, of their food on the property, so you eat what has been harvested that morning!
You eat live foods at every meal and your juices are served within minutes of being pressed. We ate edible flowers, sprouts, shoots, microgreens and many other mature leafy greens. I personally saw the impact live, fresh, organic food had on an ill body.
You don’t have to be a raw vegan to get the benefits of all the live phytonutrients and enzymes in microgreens. You get benefits by adding them to your daily menu by putting them in soups, juices, salads, as garnish and even as a snack. For example, I LOVE to snack on sunflower sprouts!”
What are the health benefits of microgreens?
“WOW where do I start?!
Many studies have found that microgreens have larger quantities of magnesium, magnesium, copper, zinc, phosphorus, potassium, calcium (and the list goes on) and phytochemicals. Phytochenicals are chemical compounds produced by plants.
On this site it states that “some of these phytochemicals are believed to protect the cells from damage that could lead to breast cancer; they help stop carcinogens from attacking the cell.”
We can talk about Sulforaphane. It has potent cancer preventative effects, as well as effects that likely influence the prevention of cardiovascular disease. There have been studies finding positive effects on autism. Sulforaphane is found in broccoli microgreens and sprouts. You can find most if not all the studies on PubMed—a free full-test archive of biomedical literature.”
What are you looking forward to sharing with conference attendees?
“I’m excited to let people know that ANYONE can grow microgreens!
Anyone can grow this powerfully healing and delicious food in their own home with minimal space and minimal investment. It’s great fun to do it for yourself and fun for children as well! And if your thinking of growing microgreens as a business, it has a great ROI!”
Limited tickets remaining for the 4th Annual Sustainable Farm Conference!
It’s just about here—our 4th Annual Sustainable Farm Conference this Saturday, March 30!
With sessions covering growing microgreens (with today’s guest, Lilly Castro), beekeeping, composting, attracting beneficial insects to your garden, operating your farm debt-free, and so much more, you’ll leave with a head jam-packed full of information for sustainable living.
You can still grab your ticket here, but don’t wait as we only have a few remaining! Your ticket includes a full day of learning, a farm-to-table lunch, a copy of our book Dirt Rich, and access to our online course.
Olin and I can’t wait to see y’all on Saturday!
