Arugula Microgreens: A Delicious Way to Get Your Vitamins and Minerals

How could I be talking about connoisseur coffee and arugula microgreens in the same sentence?

Let’s do some math.

One pound of the very best coffee in the world will cost you USD 70 ex shipping.

One pound (16 one-ounce boxes) of arugula microgreens will set you back USD 107!

“What?!” you say.

Hold on.

“Nothing matters more than your health. Healthy living is priceless. What millionaire wouldn’t pay dearly for an extra 10 or 20 years of healthy aging?” – Peter Diamandis, founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation, and one of the world’s 50 most outstanding leaders.

In one of our earlier blogs, “Why Eat Microgreens?”, you learned about the superpowers of microgreens.

Now, what if I told you microgreens nutrition contains up to 40 times more nutrients, and besides reducing your risks associated with chronic diseases, can deliver an enhanced sex drive and performance?

Read on, and I’ll promise you three things:

• you’ll want to eat more arugula microgreens,
• there’s a great breakfast recipe waiting for you, and
• I’ll tell you where to get the very best Blue Mountain coffee to drink with it.

Table of Contents

• A Savory History
• 129,856,00 boxes of Arugula Microgreens
• Sounds Like Music: LEDs and Hydroponics
• Dump the Gummy Vitamins
• Tomato and Arugula Microgreens Omelet
• Last Note: Come Visit Us

Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes, 56 sec.

Too busy to read, watch this short video about arugula: https://www.britannica.com/plant/arugula

A Savory History

You know arugula as Jir Jir in Arabia, Rocket in Europe, and it has a long recorded history, over 4000 years.

People have used it as an ingredient in aphrodisiac concoctions dating back to the first century, AD. (Cambridge World History of Food).

Based on my research, I’d say it was the Viagra of its day.

In his epic work, Historia Naturalis (circa 77 AD), Pliny the Elder had an entire chapter on the effects and benefits of arugula.

From his work, we know that Romans used arugula as an anesthetizing agent, and they prized it as an aphrodisiac.

Both Galen, court physician to Marcus Aurelius, and  Dioscorides, author of De Materia Medica and father of pharmacology, recommended eating arugula seeds to increase semen production among the ranks and file of the Roman army.

Al-Qazwini (Abu Yahya Zakariya’ ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini), a 13th-century physician, and descendant of Anas bin Malik, companion of the Prophet Muhammad, also recommended eating arugula seeds with honey to increase sexual desire.

Arugula microgreens are even more potent than the seeds.

Okay, slow down.

Toss those Viagra bottles first.

Where can you buy fresh microgreens?

So, I did a bit of research for you to find the best sources globally:

129,856,00 boxes of Arugula Microgreens

The great Russian botanist N. Vavilov suggested the region of northwest India, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan, western Tien Shan Province, and southwest Asia as the origin of arugula.

Also known as Rocket (Eruca sativa) in Europe, arugula is the predominant species of the Brassicaceae family (which also includes broccoli microgreens).

It is produced in Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Greece, and Turkey.

It has enjoyed a long history as a culinary item and aphrodisiac in the ancient Near East and Rome – and ancient recipes from across the Mediterranean world make use of the plant.

The seeds were used to flavor olive oil.

Arugula search trends across the world. Source: Google Trends

It has grown in popularity across the world in the last 15 years.

Want to know why the brief spike in 2008? Read this.

Arugula’s spicy aroma and flavor make it resistant to pests.

Another reason for its popularity.

According to data from the Turkish Statistics Foundation (TUIK), Turkey’s arugula production in 2012 was 4058 tons, either raw in salads or cooked in various dishes.

That’s a whopping one hundred and twenty-nine million, eight hundred and FIFTY-SIX thousand (129,856,000) one-ounce boxes of Microgreens!

Arugula is also used in the health and cosmetics industries because of the effectiveness of its phytochemical content.

More on that later.

Sounds Like Music: LEDs and Hydroponics

How do urban farmers ensure that your arugula microgreens are of the highest nutritional value?

First, they simulate natural light using full-spectrum Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lights.

Like humans, plants also rely on light energy and react to different light spectra.

The spectrum of a light source can cause a plant to photosynthesize better, or to promote flowering or fruit production over vegetative growth.

No artificial light source can replicate 100% daylight.

But the closer an LED full spectrum light source can simulate sunlight, the more effective it is in indoor food and microgreens production.

Most top producers of microgreens have implemented the most up-to-date research showing LED exposure stimulates photosynthesis, optimizes plant growth, and improves the nutritional quality of arugula microgreens in controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) settings.

Ponics, not Phonics

The second most important thing top producers do is control the nutrients.

Many grow microgreens hydroponically and are able to balance the nutrients for each individual microgreen crop.

For you, this means greater precision of nutrient-delivery via the water, which can be measured.

Hydroponics means “water works” in Greek.

It also means you have complete control over how much of each kind of nutrient your arugula microgreens are getting.

Plants get carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from the air and water.  But there are over 20 elements that it needs to grow. We take extra care to combine these nutrients.

Dump the Gummy Vitamins

What if I told you that there is no overall benefit to taking vitamin supplements to try arugula microgreens instead?

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) results of large-scale randomized trials show that, for most of the population, there is no overall benefit to taking multivitamins or mineral supplements – an $11B industry.

In a 2013 article titled, Enough Is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements, researchers at the prestigious Johns Hopkins School of Medicine presented a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

In the study, they concluded that “multivitamins don’t reduce the risk for heart disease, cancer, cognitive decline (such as memory loss and slowed-down thinking) or an early death.”

What reduces the risks is a well-balanced diet of fruit and vegetables, including microgreens.

Arugula microgreens contain almost eight times the calcium, five times the vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin K, and four times the iron as the iceberg lettuce.

Source: US Department of Agriculture Food Database

Microgreens are also a rich source of nutrients, vitamins E, L, lutein, and beta-carotene.

These vitamins and minerals play hundreds of roles in essential bodily processes, bolstering your immune system and general wellbeing.

Arugula is high in fiber, and phytochemicals, low in sugar, calories, carbohydrates, and fat.

So, if you want to get an immediate energy boost, to slow the aging process, and boost your lifestyle, consider eating microgreens.

Tomato and Arugula Microgreens Omelet with Avocado and Cream Cheese

Arugula is one of the most popular microgreens because of its distinctive spicy, nutty, almost astringent flavor that develops into a more bitter, tangy taste as the plant matures.

Arugula microgreens are delicious when raw.

But it is not just for soups, salads, pizzas, sandwiches, or smoothies.

We’ve added a twist to the Balaleet breakfast, the traditional sweet dish popular in the Persian Gulf states.

When you cook arugula, it becomes less peppery and smoother in taste.

This recipe combines arugula with cream cheese, tomato, and avocado with succulent results.

Tomato and Arugula Microgreens Omelet

Print Recipe

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This recipe combines arugula with cream cheese, tomato, and avocado with succulent results.

 

• Author: Andrew Neves
• Prep Time: 5 min
• Cook Time: 5 min
• Total Time: 10 min
• Yield: 1 Bowl 1x
• Category: Breakfast
• Method: Salad
• Cuisine: International
• Diet: Low Salt

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/8 tsp salt
• dash black pepper
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 Haas avocado
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1 oz arugula microgreens
• 2 Turkish cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup salad mix

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Instructions

1. Add 1/2 of the Arugula microgreens
2. Pour salad mix into the salad bowl.
3. Slice the two tomatoes.
4.  Add one to the salad bowl. Put the side.
5. Hand toss or use salad tongs. Put aside.
6. Fan cut your avocado into thin slices (watch how)
7. Mince the garlic clove (watch how)
8. Place the water, eggs, salt in a small dish. Add pepper to taste.
9. Beat until blended and aerated.
10. Pour olive oil in an omelet pan.
11. Over medium-high fire, heat oil until hot.
12. Roll the pan to coat bottom.
13. Pour the eggs into the pan.
14. Use the spatula to push the eggs from the edges to the middle of the pan.
15. Keep cooking and rolling the pan, continuing to move cooked pieces.
16. Once the egg sets, smooth and turn the fire to low.
17. When eggs are almost cooked, sprinkle the cream cheese and arugula microgreens on one half of the omelet.
18. When the top is thick, and there are no watery eggs, arrange the avocado and tomato slices on the other side.
19. Flip omelet in half with a quick flick of the wrist.
20. Turn off the fire.
21. Turn pan and slide omelet onto the plate. (watch how)
22. Add some salad mix.
23. Serve hot with a cup of Blue Mountain coffee

 

Notes

Cooking Notes

This recipe is for one person. If you’re cooking for more than one, just rinse and repeat.

• You can create your own fillings. Replace cream cheese with shredded cheddar, for example. Or add sautéed mushrooms or garlic.
• Add a teaspoon of your favorite white wine instead of water when beating your eggs.
• Omelets are best cooked one at a time and served hot.
• If you don’t have an omelet pan, a good nonstick skillet or frying pan will do.
• Omelet Newbies: A two-egg omelet can be tricky to handle. Halve the amount of filling. Instead of 1/2 avocado, use 1/4. Instead of 1 tomato, use 1/2, for example.
• Whatever salad you don’t use, store in the crisp drawer of the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days

 

Keywords: arugula microgreen, arugula microgreens nutrition, microgreens nutrition, microgreens recipes

I promised I’d tell you how to get the very best in Blue Mountain Coffee. You won’t find it in Starbucks, and you won’t find it on Amazon or Alibaba. But there is a coffee merchant with deep historical roots into the island of Jamaica.

His name, John Martinez. And Martinez Fines Coffees, in Atlanta, GA USA, will ship to you wherever you are on the globe. That’s if you can afford the USD 70 per pound + shipping.

Last Note

So, we know a few things about mighty microgreens.

• Research in the past five years has tripled.
• Demand is increasing, and supermarkets and food establishments are making them locally available.
• They are the “latest thing” in the culinary world.

Microgreens have become popular in the Middle East, North America, North Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

05.26.2020

Andrew Neves is a cofounder of JPureFarms.

He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, with his wife and two sons and enjoys urban farming and growing microgreens.

When he’s not watching or coaching soccer, he writes about microgreens around the world and their incredible health potential.

He’s learned a lot about microgreens, how good they are for you, and what you can do with them.

Check out his guide, “The Beginner’s Nutritional Guide to Incredible Microgreens.”