Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Buying Wheat Grass

In the organic section of our local Save Mart supermarket there is something put out now by "The Natural  Trading Company". What they do is to put sprouting wheat grass seeds in 4inch by 4 inch plastic containers. This is very convenient for people like myself who have wheat grass juicers. So, when I cut off about 8 inches tall one of these wheat grass containers I get about 1 ounce or 2 of wheat grass juice if I juice it myself. The advantage to buying one of these it is is alive and then you can either water it and put it in the sun to keep it growing like I do or you can juice it right then so you get all the present aliveness into your system. So, I just thought I would mention it because I think it is a great idea. Also, I'm experimenting to see if the two 4 by 4 plastic containers that I already cut and got wheat grass juice from will grow to give me a second cutting by watering the  wheat grass and putting it out into the sun. So far it has grown another few inches in the past few days.

However, the one thing you might want to also think of is wheat grass gets a lot of its nutrients from whatever soil it is grown in. So, when I grow wheat grass from scratch I buy potting soil from someplace like Orchard supply or another garden outfit so it has soil to grow in.

Because the ones they sell at Save Mart in the organic section are only sprouts by themselves without soil. But I suppose if you wanted to you could transplant these 4inch by 4 inch plastic containers of wheat grass sprouts into soil. Here they are about $1.99 a piece for one of these or so. So, it is something to think about if you like to grow your own wheat grass for juicing.

Also, Jamba Juice (the fruit juice and smoothie business chain) in California (and other places?) you can get 1 oz to 2 oz. of wheat grass juice with an orange slice chaser any day as well if you want wheat grass juice to tune up your biological system. Also, at Jamba Juice you could get a fruit juice smoothie (your choice of flavors and fruits) and have one or two shots of protein (whey or soy) put in and that would be a meal in itself if you are dieting for health or to lose weight or both.

If you don't already own a juicer this would be one way to begin a diet like this by replacing one meal a day with something that might make you both feel better and begin to lose weight.

My dietician about 1 year ago told me that one of the best ways to start out in the morning was with a protein drink with one scoop of either whey protein or soy protein combined with either milk, orange juice or whatever fruits you want to add in like strawberries, blueberries, bananas, or whatever. That along with 1 or 2 pieces of toast with peanut butter only on it should last you until lunchtime. This prevents low blood sugar cascades like I dealt with a lot from my 40s on from not eating anything until 2 to 4 in the afternoon which was something I did most of the time I could get away with it from about age 9. However, in my 40s I started not being able to do this anymore because of getting low blood sugar cascades because of then undiagnosed hypothyroid condition. But this finally was diagnosed when I was 58 and I now take Armour Thyroid from Canada by a doctors prescription which has no side effects at all which is why I like it.

Note: you can buy wheat Grass seed at most health food stores that will sprout into Wheat Grass. It is important to get wheat grass seed that hasn't been killed by radiation or something to preserve it or just for cooking or something like that. Ask your health food store which seed grows wheat Grass and if they don't have it ask them to order you some wherever you live. You might have a minimum order or 5 or 10 pounds but that might last you 6 months to a year even if you are growing one or two flats of wheat grass year around to juice.

This is my method for growing wheat grass in organic potting soil. I take the cardboard flat that my dogs dog food cans come in that I buy by the flat. Then I take a white clean Garbage bag out of it's container and put the flat into the garbage bag. Then I tie the ends of the garbage bag so the cardboard flat stays in there. Then I get some organic potting soil that is okay to use for vegetables to grow (and also sprouts) from a place like Orchard supply or other garden supply store. then I put in about 1 to 2 inches of organic potting soil. Then I cover the soil with solid wheat grass seeds. The reason I have every square inch of soil covered with seeds is that sometimes some don't sprout and this way you will have a really thick growth of seeds. The flats I use are about 1 foot to 15 inches wide and at least 2 feet long. Once I have seeds on the soil in the covered flat I take a white or brown new paper towel and lay it over all the seeds. Then I put water lightly over the top of the paper towel until it is completely soaked but I really don't necessarily want the soil wet yet. And every morning when I first get up I soak the towel again. If it is a particularly dry day sometimes I soak the paper towel midway through the day as well.

The first 3 days you take a paper bag and keep all the seeds and potting soil in the dark which mimics when they are under the ground which is their normal sprouting sequence. After three to four days of them being in the dark you can carefully put them into the sun. However, you don't want to burn them so be careful during the summertime or if they are in the sun in a sunny windowsill indoors or something like that. So, watch what the sun does to them the first day. If it is a cloudy day sometimes at first that actually can be better. But remember, sun hits the sprouts through the clouds even on a cloudy day. It only has to be daylight, or even under a non-fluorescent lamp like an Incandescent and they are getting good light. (Humans need non-fluorescent lights to be healthy too) just like plants do.

So, by repeating wetting the towel until the sprouts are about 2 to 3 inches tall and have taken over the soil and made it one piece then you can if you want take off the towels indoors. But outdoors you want to take off the towels in the sun by the 4th day so they can grow and make chlorophyll  from the sunlight so you can juice them and take the clorophyll into your body as liquid energy. For me, Wheat grass juice is also a coffee replacement only without the coffee crash afterwards. However, if you are not used to drinking it you might have to get over being nauseated when first starting to drink it every day. However, as it detoxifies your body and you get on a better diet it will start to seem more like a natural coffee that energizes without any coffee crash afterwards. In other words in the ideal, Wheat grass juice is "natural liquid healthy energy".

Also, I don't usually cut my wheat grass sprouts with a really sharp serrated knife until they are 8 to 12 inches tall. And under ideal circumstances you might get 2 8 to 12 inch cuttings but the first cuttings taste the best. It usually takes about 2 weeks to grow 8 to 12 inches. So, however much wheat grass you want to consume you might want to make more than one flat. I usually make one flat and then wait one week for it to get going and then make another flat. If I keep doing this every week or so I can always have at least 1 to 2 ounces of wheat Grass every day from my juicer. You can buy an electric but I kind of prefer a hand crank one because it sort of reminds me of all the hand crank cherry pitters and apple corers  and peelers from the late 1800s and early 1900s that I used to own for fun and for  canning in the 1980s with my 2nd wife.

Miracle Stainless Steel Manual Wheatgrass Juicer - Model MJ445

Miracle Stainless Steel Manual Wheatgrass Juicer - Model MJ445
SKU: SSMJ
In Stock
The Miracle Juicer is a sturdy stainless steel manual wheatgrass juicer that offers strength, efficiency and easy cleanup. It's a great choice for people who rely on a daily dose of wheat grass juice. Free Ground Shipping.

 
Price $169.95
Sale Price $149.95
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end quote from Amazon.com

The above one is what I have that is all stainless steel and easy to clean and really hard to break. But I also saw something like this one only it looks like a lot more plastic for about 49.95
However, I have never used that one so I really know nothing about it. Also, there are electric ones too of all sorts and sizes. The above one usually comes with a reverse thread front cap which you have to get used to and a nylon white gripper for taking it off if it gets too tight. Also, the one I got also has a green plastic plunger to push down on the screw portion that presses the juice out of the wheat grass. The rest of the grass extrudes out eventually through the hole in the front cap as you turn the crank.

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