“Let food be thy medicine,” Hippocrates (460-370 BCE), father of Western medicine.

In fact, the benefits or sprouts and seeds have been known since antiquity, particularly in Asia (China) and Africa (Egypt). Nowadays, growing and eating seeds and sprouts has become somewhat of a trend.

In addition to being living, natural foods, sprouts and seeds have numerous health benefits. Multiple studies have shown that they contain a high concentration of the antioxydants, enzymes, vitamins and minerals our body needs to function properly.

Lee et al., for example, have shown that sprouts help boost the immune system.

Likewise, sprouts and plants have a good amount of plant melatonin. Melatonin is a natural, endogenous antioxydant hormone that diminishes with age. Low melatonin levels are associated with certain chronic illnesses.

Seeds and sprouts (at least most) are easy to grow and can be picked after about 5 to 7 days. Eating sprouts and seeds gives you fresh, crunchy and, most importantly, living produce that contains more minerals than typical vegetables.

Microgreens are also great sources of bioactive compounds and glucosinolates, organic compounds with antioxydant and anti-carcinogenic properties [Marton et al., 2010; Moreno et al., 2006].

Biology and nutrition researchers in numerous countries have proven that a diet of specific, raw organic foods (sprouts, seeds, raw fruits and veggies), which are rich in revitalizing vibrations, slows cancer-causing substances and even slows the development of certain induced illnesses. Also, Dr. Virginia Livingston, immunotherapist and oncology expert in the US, tells her cancer patients to drink up to 1 liter of fresh, raw juice (sprouts, cabbage, cucumber, spinach, tomato, red beet, apple, orange, carrot).

Even if we consume the exact right amount of vitamins, amino acids and lab-made minerals, i.e. synthesis, we would still get sick because these substances do not have the radiovitality (life vibrations) that specific, natural, fresh, raw, organic vegetables have.

This is why DoSo microgardens offers you a variety of high-quality, fresh, specific, natural and organic microgreens. These greens, never transplanted, are a true source of energy. They are easily digested, rich in chlorophyll and provide extrinsic bioenergy that increases the energy of those who eat them regularly. DoSo microgreens are grown in soil with reverse-osmosis water, i.e. purified water with no chlorine, lead, residual medications, mercury or pesticides.

Did you know? 

The new Canadian food guide, released January 22, 2019 recommends an abundance of fruit and vegetable varieties — at least 5 portions per day. Based on 95 international studies published last year by the International Journal of Epidemiology, eating 10 portions of fruits and vegetables per day could prevent, annually, up to 8 million early deaths worldwide. Most of the world generally does not consume fruit in these amounts.

Microgreens fall into this category of vegetables. Even if it is still too early to determine the exact mineral quantities we should eat each day, we do know that they are richer in nutrients and enzymes than their fully grown counterparts. For example, cabbage sprouts have been show to contain over 100 times the amount of enzymes and nutrients than curly cabbage. Likewise, red cabbage sprouts contain 69 times the amount of vitamin K, 40 times the amount of vitamin E and 6 times the amount of vitamin C as red cabbage. So eating microgreens could help curb nutritional deficiencies.

However, Health Canada recommends cooking microgreens for people with weakened immune systems and children under 5 years old.

Sources

1.Lee et al.. 2019. Treatment with Peanut Sprout Root Extract Alleviates Inflammation in a Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated Mouse Macrophage Cell Line by Inhibiting the MAPK Signaling Pathway.

Aguilera et al., 2016. Intake of bean sprouts influences melatonin and antioxidant capacity biomarker levels in rats.

2. Màrton, M.; Màndoki, Z.; Csapó-Kiss, Z.; Csapó, J. The role of sprouts in human nutrition. A review. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae Alimentaria 2010, 3, 81–117.
3. Moreno, D.A.; Carvajal, M.; López-Berenguer, C.; García-Viguera, C. Chemical and biological characterisation of nutraceutical compounds of broccoli. J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal. 2006, 41, 1508–1522.
4. LIVINGSTON Virginia and WHEELER Owen, Food Alive. The Livingston Wheeler Medical clinic. San Diego, 1977

By: Solange Adéchian, Nutritional Doctor and Naturopathic coach

Solange has experience in nutritional health, naturopathy and in food research and regulations. She works with us on certain projects and is our go-to person for legal questions. We love talking about issues and challenging each other.

She is also a partner on the Sister’s Healing blog, designed for people on the search for happiness and personal wellbeing. Their YouTube channel is Sister’s Healing

Seasonal Recipe: May

By: Marine Le Berre

As I shared with you before, I was open about my new collaboration with DoSo microgreens. I rarely collaborate, and this one was so dear to my heart that I had to tell you all as soon as I could. Hence this pea, fiddlehead and microgreen recipe.

I have been working with their products for a while now. They have a large variety, and they really help put some pep on your plate — both visually and taste-wise.

What is a microgreen?

First you start with the seed, then you have the sprout. Next comes the microgreen.

Microgreens have tons of flavor and are rich in nutrients. Sure, this is awesome when it comes to a meal at the restaurant, a catering service or a cocktail with friends. But there’s more to it than that. There are tons of reasons to get into microgreens.

I like using greens in my meals, both salty and sweet. My long-term goal has been to work with as many plants and edible flowers as possible. This is why this collaboration is so dear to me.

A Childhood Memory

I grew up right in the middle of the countryside, in Brittany, France. My father made 100% natural products from plants himself, so our house always smelled great from all the essential oils. Nowadays, when I go out for a walk, I can name all types of plants and know tons about them. So when I get stung by nettle (which happens quite often!), I’ll quickly grab a plantain leaf to dab on the sting. This helps soothe the itching and irritation.

But I digress. It takes a little more than a snappy intro to explain how much greens, microgreens, flowers and other edible plants speak to me and how much they mean to me.

The Doso Story

I truly love DOSO products and the story behind them.

Vicky, the founder, started “microgreening” and germinating in her apartment. After trying a few things out, people she knew started asking her to make some for them. And this is where DoSo microgreens got started. All their products are certified organic. Today, Vicky has moved out of that tiny apartment and has started expanding DoSo, through a location a half hour from Montreal, in a much nicer and larger space.

By having some of her microgreens, you have a micro part of her garden at your house, and on your plate. And that will truly do you well.

Now for the recipe!

Mustard Pickles

Boil 1 one part rice vinegar, 1 part brown sugar and 2 parts water. Meanwhile, rinse your mustard seeds.

Once the liquid is boiling, pour it over the mustard seeds. Let it cool a little, then place in the fridge for 2 hours. Then pour out the excess liquid.

If you have time, I suggest preparing the pickles the night before.

Radish Pickles

Keep some of your vinegar/sugar/water and pour it over finely sliced radishes. Marinade for at least 2 hours.

Peas

Fill a medium-sized pot with water and bring to boil.

While the water heats up, shell the peas.

Once the water is boiling, add the peas and let cook 1 minute, then transfer them to very cold water to stop cooking and retain their nice green color.

Fiddlehead

I hear you all asking: what on Earth is a fiddlehead? Simply put, it’s a rolled-up baby fern leaf! It’s also very common in Quebec.

In addition to being healthy and unique, fiddleheads are rich in antioxydants, omega-3 fatty acids and in vitamin C! What a great reason to cook with them! If you can’t find any, you can use asparagus as a substitute. Cook them exactly the same way.

Add the fiddleheads to the same boiling water as the peas for 7 minutes then cook them in a pan with a spoonful of semi-salted butter. Brown for 5-10 minutes.
You can also brown them in hazelnut butter. This would be just as delicious!

Bread

Sourdough bread, pain aux noix, whatever bread you prefer works perfectly! Toast the bread on the pan, also in the semi-salted butter. Both sides.

At the same time, brown a few hazelnuts in the same pan. You can, if you like, roast them in the oven for at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes.

Vinaigrette

Make a vinaigrette with apricot vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, fir honey, black radish microgreens and an Italian microgreen mix and olive oil.

Feel free to make enough of this vinaigrette to last the next day. The sprouts will be infused and will impart a nice flavor on your vinaigrette.

And now to top it off!

Place the fiddleheads on top of the labneh.

Followed by the fresh green peas, then a few radish sprouts, DoSo’s Italian mix (rapini, broccoli, mustard, arugula microgreens) and the radish pickles.
Sprinkle it all with the roasted and lightly browned hazelnuts. Then the marinated mustard seeds.

Now put it on the table and enjoy!

Bonne appétit!

By: Marine, @Mllecoton on social media, photographer, videographer and food stylist

In addition to taking tons of photos, she cooks and bakes every day for small business or individual events.
After growing up in the tip of Brittany, France, surrounded by her father’s essential oils and the endless fields, she developed a particular fondness for the nature and plant life we add to our plates, both salty and sweet.
She knows the benefits of adding greens to the plate very well, whether it’s microgreens or edible flowers, both their visual benefits and their taste benefits.

Growing DoSo Microgreens

Our Company

Located in Sainte-Clotilde (Montérégie-Ouest, just outside Montreal), our farm has been growing microgreens since 2013. Growing vertically in a 1500 square feet space, right now we are only using a third of our production capacity. We can produce up to 56 cycles during the year, which comes out to 285,0oo microgardens per year, or about about 0.7 hectares of farmland! Our goal is to grow our company as much as possible in as little space as possible. This constraint has forced us to optimize our operations to be more creative and rigorous so our production can run as smoothly as possible.

Quality Raw Materials

All our products follow the MAPAQ hygiene and cleanliness standards and have been certified organic by Ecocert since 2007.

We were also ranked 1st by the EnvironeX laboratories in 2018, which shows the level of our hygiene and cleanliness standards.

Local, Organic Soil – Growth Medium

DoSo grows its microgreens in soil as opposed to compacted food waste, such as coconut or hemp. We use a high-quality organic, local soil designed by Mother Nature herself (and Fafard, too) to germinate our seeds.

Although repurposing food waste is an admirable initiative, we simply don’t need it to make the best growth medium. Soil, on the other hand, is a complex and living medium. It has the ability to adapt to the plant, and if we used food waste to make a plant grow, we would very quickly need to add fertilizer. Also, these mediums decompose quickly fr being in contact with the moisture necessary to grow a young plant — moisture that, in turn, can introduce a host of problems. But soil can change the amount of moisture it wants to hold, allowing respiration and root development, all while releasing nutrients for the plants. Simply put — the earth is life.

Reverse-Osmosis Water

Over half of a microgreen’s weight is water. This is why we choose to use reverse-osmosis filtered water, a purification system that allows nothing but water molecules to pass through. This decision has left us with a higher quality product and helps us avoid problems during early growth stages.

Organic Seeds

DoSo only uses organic seeds (no GMOs or chemical processes). In addition, all our batches are tested after production. Since a seed is a living thing, no two of our batches are the same! So we must constantly change our growing methods in accordance with how each batch turns out.

Environment-Friendly Containers

To help take care of the environment, we only use reusable containers. We reduce packaging to the minimum necessary to make sure our products stay fresh.

DoSo :

• Reuses and washes each of its growing containers by hand.
• Encourages you to reuses its containers to start growing your own plants!
• Has implemented a deposit system for zero-waste stores.
• Is happy to take back cardboard packaging strips
• Uses compostable or recyclable bags for spent products.

Production Method

Every DoSo product is a craft product!

Most of our production processes are done by hand with a unique method and skill set developed over years. That being said, we are currently working on automating some of our production processes with the Alte Engineering Cooperative

Growth Medium

Each microgarden has its own pre-watered, individually pressed soil.

Rinsing and Soaking

After visually inspection (manual removal of problem plants) and testing of the germination specifics, each batch is rinsed three times:

1. Rinsed to waken the seeds from being dormant
2. Soaked and cleaned with a hydrogen peroxide/water solution (as recommended by the ACIA) in order to kill any bacteria
3. Soaked in clear water

Seeding

Seeding is actually done by hand. It require a lot of time, experience and dexterity. The technique must be adapted to the shape and size of the seeds, while ensuring a uniform density for each variety! Density is a crucial aspect of getting the desired taste, texture and color.

As you can see, the seeding process takes quite some time to master. We are working on automating this step as well!

Germination

After the seeding and watering stages are complete, the plates are stored on a shelf with a germination cover for three days. Relative humidity (RH) stays around 80 to 90%, and the temperature is a little colder there than in the workshop.

At this stage, no light is needed since the seedling feeds itself completely off the energy in the seed.

Culture Growth and Environment

Once the germination period is complete, the plates are placed under an LED grow light until the microgreens are ready to be sold. The plants are regularly watered and inspected during this stage of growth. – Another process we are automating!

Temperature, humidity, ventilation and air filtration are constantly monitored in the workshop.

Harvest

Once the cotyledons (embryonic leaves in the seed) start to bloom, it’s time to transfer the microgardens to the sales packaging! We use this time for one final inspection of each product.
Another process … we do by hand.

Then we store the microgardens just above freezing (4C) to slow the microgreens’ growth and to ensure they stay fresh longer.

Microgardens are stored for up to 3 weeks (sometimes a month even) in conditions that maintain the cold chain. DoSo then uses a refrigerated truck to deliver the products.

DoSo’s Products

Online or in stores, delivery available at pick-up points or by mail for non-perishable products.

• Microgardens (ready to harvest) 5×5″
• Whole trays (ready to harvest) 5×5″
• Microgreen arrangements (edible gift in reusable pot)
• DoSoFais (pre-cut bunches) and cut individual varieties
• Bulk (in-store zero-waste)
• Edible flowers (seasonal)
• Seeds, starer kits and microgreen grow accessories