Category: LGD Experts

  • Learn // How to Sprout Microgreens at Home

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    Imagine having a supply of nutritionally dense, fresh sprouts that you can toss into salads, sandwiches, smoothies (or clearly, any other foods that begin with the letter “s“). And it’s all growing right in your own home!

    If you’ve been wanting to cultivate your green thumb – you’re going to love this tutorial from Cynthea of Super Farmers. She’ll show you just how easy growing your own food is.

    Cynthea is completely self-taught,which you know means she’s had plenty of trials and errors! The story of my life. Ha!

    But her happy obsession (you have to see her house – there are sprouts everywhere 🙂 means she’s learned how to make sprouting easy – especially for beginners.

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    Cynthea has her own stylish aesthetic about it too  – sprouting in bowls, mugs and unexpected containers. Nature has become part of her home decor – which gives a fresh feeling to her space!

    Whether you live in a big ol house or tiny apartment – you can absolutely have your own little farm. Just imagine how satisfied you’ll feel – from seed to salad. It must be why Cynthea always has a smile on her face! Let’s join her 🙂

     How to Sprout Microgreens at Home

    tools needed:

    • container – more on that below
    • seeds – buy good quality seeds from a health food store. Also Cynthea supplies seeds through Super Farmers
    • soil – good quality, peat moss soil from a nearby nursery
    • time – depending on the seed it can take up to 14 days. Look on the seed packet and it will tell you.

    Step 1. Prepare your container

    Cynthea explained that we need to make sure the soil has good drainage. So when choosing a container, look for something that you can poke holes into. You can use potting containers – but we like to find ways to repurpose what’s around us!

    What container works best? You can repurpose any plastic food container – like egg carton or berry carton from the supermarket. Cardboard does work, but it will start to break down with waterings. In a future tutorial with Cynthea, we can go more into how to sprout in solid containers like ceramic bowls. But, for now, keep it simple and start with a plastic produce or egg container.

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    Step 2. Add Your Soil

    All the pros I speak to agree – that the quality of your plants, depends on your soil! Go for good quality soil that will feed your sprouts and help them thrive. It makes gardening easier on you! Cynthea recommends that you use peat moss. It’s pure, has a good PH and ideal minerals. 

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    once you’ve filled  your container – give the soil a good watering until it’s moist to the touch. You’ll then be ready to plant your seeds! I told you it was easy! 🙂

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    Step 3. Plant Your Seeds

    What kind of seeds should you plant? Anything you like to eat! Cynthea says that some of the easier sprouts to grow are: snow pea shoot, sunflower shoots, radish microgreens, greens like bak choy, chinese kale (Kai lan) and basil microgreens. You have plenty of options! 

    Sprinkle the seeds over the soil. If they are big like these snow peas, spacing them out evenly with a bit more room.

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    Step 4. Cover them Up

    Give your seeds a nice cozy blanket, with a light covering of soil. You want to make sure they’re not exposed, but don’t bury them – about 1 cm of soil will do. Then give them another good watering and you’re done!

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    If you’re using something with a lid, you can even cover them until they begin to sprout and break through the soil. At that point, you can use the lid as a tray, underneath the container.

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    In about 14 days, this egg carton will be bursting with snow pea shoots, which Cynthea will happily enjoy! Soon, that will be you!

    Common Questions on Sprouting:

    How often do you water your sprouts?

    Give them a sprinkling of water everyday. You don’t want to saturate them, but make sure the soil is always maintained moist. Don’t pour too hard, you don’t want the water to disrupt the soil and expose the seed.

    PRO TIP: Cynthea repurposes a plastic water bottle and pokes holes through the cap to squeeze out a light, even watering.

    When can you harvest them?

    It depends on what you’ve planted – the seed packet should tell you. It’s usually up to 14 days, or when the sprouts reach 2-3 inches tall.

    Will they grow again? 

    No. Once you harvest them, it’s time to start the process again.

    Personally, I think it’s a little easier this way. Your goal is not to keep this plant alive… forever! Sprouting is a low-fuss situation – with a clear beginning and end.

    PRO TIP: You can reuse the same soil 2-3 times to sprout new seeds. Pick out the roots and refresh with a bit of new soil. You’re ready to replant again!


    What do you think – will you give it a try? It’s too easy not to and it’s such a beautiful project to have in your home. I think that you’ll feel so proud of yourself when you harvest your first crop and enjoy the best tasting sprout you’ve ever had!!

    I’m so happy to have a friend like Cynthea to teach me cool things – and now you do too! Check out her workshops or website, Super Farmers – and begin your journey into sprouting!

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  • What’s Really In Our Household Products? Little Green Dot + Experts

    We have another Little Green Dot Expert on board! If you’ve ever been stumped by reading the labels on household products, skincare and foods, you’ll be happy to get to know Delphinia. She has an incredibly unique perspective, coming from both a law and marketing background, and now being the manufacturer of a line of (amazing!) organic skincare, Four Cow Farm. Del knows the underbelly of the industrial manufacturing industry, the part that most of us don’t see:  the weird legal loopholes that big companies go around, the clever advertising that has us buying things we think we need and the truth about what really goes into the products that we use.

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    Del and I have been teaching Detoxify Your Skin and Detoxify Your Home workshops together for over a year, and I love seeing people’s reactions when Del reveals what’s really in their favorite products! Our workshops are all about becoming informed and empowered – and now Del is here to help you too!

    Here’s an introduction from Del herself, so that you can get to know her better. She’s going to give us a little primer now on household cleaners and, in the future, she’ll be answering your questions about products for the home and skin: what’s in them, what they are doing to our health and our planet, and how to make better choices!

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    What’s Really in your Household Products by Del, Four Cow Farm

    I’m a mum, and I know the first question in my head, whenever one of the kids decides to pick something up, is probably the same as most mums: Is that thing clean? 

    It’s every mother’s desire that their kids live in a clean home, free of nasty germs. In fact, keeping our kids healthy is at the top of mum’s stress list. But these days, it isn’t enough that we clean – we are also expected to disinfect, i.e. ensure every last germ is exterminated!

    As a result, we have homes stocked with cleaning sprays of all varieties, scrubs, bleaches, gels and pastes. If you think about it, the average bathroom probably uses up to five different cleaning products every time it gets cleaned!

    But the strange thing is this – most of us know very little about what goes into many of the cleaning products we buy. And scarily enough, most authorities don’t either. The U.S. President’s Cancer Panel has indicated that, of the 80,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States, federal regulators have assessed only about 200 for safety. Read the serious health warnings at the back of the average commercial cleaning product, not to mention the notices on the extremely careful storage and handling required, and it’s enough to make any mum suspicious!

    Because of these chemicals, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now estimates indoor air quality can be up to five times worse than outdoor air quality! It might be about time we all start asking more about what we’re really bringing into our homes. Being clean is a good thing. But making sure what we’re using to clean our homes isn’t causing any side-effects on us, our kids, or our environment isn’t just the smart thing to do –  it’s the right thing to do.

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    Thanks Del! Check out Del’s beautiful range of organic skincare for baby’s skin (although I use it on myself too!): Four Cow Farm

    We’ll continue diving in deeper with more info on ingredients and I’ll keep finding us easy ways to simplify our lives from all of these products!

    don’t forget, we’re all in this together!
    Militza x

  • Essential Oils 101 by Alina, of Abundant Earth

    Hi friends! Probably the single best part about starting this blog has been the connections that I’ve made. When I began sharing my journey, my whole world opened up to a community of readers who just like me, are learning to live a greener life.  At the same time, I’ve also connected with the experts, authorities in their own field – nutrition, farming, herbs, cooking… who I learn from everyday.

    It got me thinking, why not join these communities together? This topic of wellness is so broad, and I realised that the best way I can serve you, to answer your questions about beauty food, home, family and lifestyle – is to connect you with these same experts that I’ve gotten to know, and learn so much from. So, I started reaching out and the response has been amazing! We’re lining up our very own A-team, a group of smart and passionate people who are here to help us along our path. They’ll be advising us in their own niche, with recipes and answering questions!

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    The first Little Green Dot Advisor that I’d like you to meet is Alina Uchida, of Abundant Earth. Alina is a clinical herbalist and aromatherapist, and has agreed to help us with our recipes. From now on, whenever you see me post a recipe which uses essential oils, herbs or tea for wellness – know that I am first consulting Alina to get you the best information. I’m so excited about this and I hope that you are too!

    I asked Alina to give us an introduction to essential oils – I hope you enjoy learning more about those below. Also, if you have any questions, send them my way and together we’ll learn how to create our own natural and safe solutions!

    Don’t forget, we’re all in this together! Militza X

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    Essential Oils 101 by Alina, Abundant Earth

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    Do those rows of little brown bottles of essential oils fascinate yet intimidate you? Here’s a quick intro to essential oils, how they work and what to do with them.

    Essential oils are naturally produced by plants to preserve their health and survival. Naturally antiseptic, essential oils protect plants from infection, infestation, and attract pollinators.

    You may not realize it, but you are surrounded by essential oils. They give flowers, herbs and spices their characteristic smells. Peeling an orange releases a vibrant citrus scent, which comes from essential oil stored in the rind. It is the essential oil in peppermint leaves that you smell in the steam from your hot peppermint tea.

    One of the ways essential oils work is via their aroma. Smell has a powerful impact on our mood, emotions, memories and thoughts. You are sure to have your own aromatic triggers. A familiar perfume that brings a loved one to mind, a whiff of roasted coffee grounds that arouses your appetite, or how about the seductive fragrance of warm, melting butter that lures you to the popcorn queue at the movies?

    Besides aroma, each essential oil possesses unique physical healing properties, which makes them useful for common ailments. Lavender, an anti-inflammatory and wound healer is fantastic for cuts and burns; peppermint, an analgesic, is effective for headaches; and eucalyptus, antimicrobial and  decongestant, is useful for coughs and colds.

    Skin application is an effective way of introducing essential oils into the body, as they are absorbed easily through the skin and enter the bloodstream. Try rubbing a clove of garlic on the sole of your foot. You will have garlic on your breath in a matter of minutes!

    Safety note – It’s important to remember that essential oils are extremely concentrated –approximately 3,000 lemons are needed to produce 1kg of essential oil – and in aromatherapy, less is always more. In fact, certain oils may have the opposite effect when too much is used. Essential oils are extremely effective when used responsibly and with respect. When applying to your skin, dilute essential oils in a carrier oil, eg. sweet almond or jojoba, or natural base cream. Test your blend on a small patch of skin on your inner arm when using new oils. If in doubt, consult with a professional.

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    Thanks Alina! Check out her website to learn more about her and her custom blends! http://www.abundantearth.sg/

    p.s. This Thursday I’m sharing a recipe to make your own Pure & Clean –  Linen & Body Spray using a purifying blend of oils that Alina has created for us! I’m so excited about this new direction! Make sure to check it out!