We’ve been to dinners where wines are paired with the meal. In fact, at times there will be multiple courses and each plate will have its own wine paired with it for flavor enhancement. 🍷
Usually that plays out with me really enjoying the first wine, getting a refill on that even though I finished the plate, and by the second plate of a five course meal I am smooth sailing. It makes all of the food taste delicious. ⛵
We actually need to do this type of pairing with other foods we eat. There are huge benefits to eating microgreens alongside certain foods so that we maximize what we get out of them.
Two of the major microgreen pairings are related to healthy fats, and vitamin-C rich foods. Both of these are great because not only do they help us nutritionally, but they make our meals delicious.
Let’s start with Healthy Fats
Healthy fats help us absorb Vitamin A significantly better. A study by the Journal of Nutrition concluded that eating foods high in Vitamin A (most salad foods) with an avocado improved absorption of alpha-carotene by 4.6x, beta-carotene by 12.6 times, and lutein by 4.3 times.
These are huge improvements in our bodies getting the good stuff that shouldn’t be ignored. There are TONS of options of healthy fats that can help with this idea as well.
Here are some of our favorite favorite fats to consume with microgreens. Not all of these make sense until you get creative with the meal:
- Avocados 🥑– Also provide good fiber, potassium, etc.
- Olive Oil 🫒- Contains antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties.
- Nuts 🥜– (Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts, Pistachios) – These are loaded with SO much goodness, including protein, fiber, and magnesium.
- Seeds 🎃– (Chia, Flax, Sunflower, Pumpkin seeds) another category of amazingness. We add Chia seeds to our smoothies daily, and I love eating pumpkin seeds. These things are loaded nutritionally, and offer a source of Omega-3s.
- These are my favorite way nutritional way
- Fatty Fish 🐟 – (Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines, Trout, Herring) Another super rich source of Omega-3s.
- Full-Fat Dairy 🧀 (Yogurt, Cheese, Milk) – Dairy provides not only healthy fats, nutrition, but man can it flavor a salad. We love adding Greek yogurt to our smoothies, and locally produced cheese on top of our salads.
You can make this list way longer, but these are the foods we personally love to add to our daily diet as they are super nutritionally rich in addition to having monosaturated fats that help us with absorption.
Wait we need Vitamin C rich foods?
A lot of microgreens are rich in iron. A few well known sources of iron are beet, radishes, and kale. 🥬
If you are needing iron, you need to make sure your body is able to absorb it. Best way to improve that is by eating foods rich in vitamin C, and were in luck because they are delicious.
Plants have a type of iron called non-heme iron (Yes there are different types of iron).
For our body to absorb this type of iron properly, we need foods rich in vitamin C!
The places we find are easiest to add these in are in salads and smoothies, our list of foods we love to consume for this are:
- Citrus 🍋– we particularly use lemon zest, and juice for added flavor in our salads.
- Bell Peppers 🫑- a natural addition to our salads!
- Strawberries 🍓– every day in our smoothies.
- Tomatoes 🍅- straight up toss in cherry tomatoes into that salad, or the sauces we are making. There are so many ways to add these in.
Vitamin C is everywhere! If you are looking to improve your iron, make sure you intake in the right kinds of foods rich in vitamin C.
The Anti-Iron foods
While some foods are beneficial in absorbing iron, others do the opposite.
When trying to increase iron in yourself, when eating iron rich foods, try to avoid the following:
- Calcium rich foods – high amount inhibit iron absorption
- Tannins – found in tea and coffee ☕🍵
- Phytates – found in whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. You can soak, ferment, or cook these to reduce their phytate.🧑🍳🍳
- Oxalates – Certain foods contain these such as mature spinach, and almonds. Oxalates bind to iron and reduce absorption. These things suck, if you eat excessive amount of oxalates you might be looking at kidney stones. 🥜
We have to be mindful of what we eat. Sometimes, it’s not just about eating the right foods like microgreens to keep you super jacked 💪. We also need the helps of our partner foods to make sure our body can absorb all of those goodies too.
I dream of a future where we will have ways of seeing what’s regularly in our blood very easily, so we will know exactly what were low in, and we can simply just eat certain foods to correct course. Until then, be proactive with your health and get your blood checked for vitamins and minerals.
Take those results, and find the right foods that help keep you balanced ✌️