Gardens are beautiful, but they are also often, surprisingly, edible. From true leaves microgreens to edible flowers for salads, gardens can contain a variety of healthy edible options to add to your diet. Eating from your garden, be it true leaves microgreens or other edible plants, can be a good way to reduce the cost of your living expenses and add nutrition to the diet of yourself and your family.
In fact, there are up to one hundred flowers that are edible, from edible lavender flowers to true leaves microgreens. Edible flowers can be used for a variety of culinary purposes, from a flavorful and beautiful addition to a salad to part of a brew for a tea. Edible flowers can also add an element of aesthetic pleasure to a dish, particularly for children. Studies have shown that children like their food to be colorful, preferring up to six colors on one plate with up to seven different food components – all for just one meal. Adults prefer fewer, preferring just three food components with three colors per each meal. Edible flowers can be used to help encourage children to eat in a healthful way, promoting the usage of home grown fruits and vegetables as well. Varieties of edible flowers, like any other food, will have different flavors. It’s important to be educated about what flowers are edible, but many different types of flowers can be used in different cuisines. While edible lavender might not complement all meals, it’s the perfect addition to drinks like lemonades and many different desserts, such as ice cream.
Microgreens, such as true leaves microgreens, can also be easily incorporated into home cooking. Microgreens come in a number of varieties and have been around and used regularly for up to thirty years. They should be stored a temperature of no higher than forty degrees Fahrenheit and can be consumed in salads and other savory dishes. Microgreens have been used more and more frequently for fine dining in recent years, but can be easily made part of regular home cooking as well. Microgreens can be difficult to grow in a home garden, but can be purchased in many grocery stores and specialty stores as well.
If you’re looking to spice up your diet, microgreens and edible flowers can be a great way to add flavor and color to your meals. They can help to encourage children to eat full dinners by adding aesthetic appeal and they can add delicious flavor to foods like tea and salads as well. Microgreens, though they can be difficult to grow, can easily be bought at stores and incorporated into home cooking.