I can now appreciate the high cost of wheat grass juice. I began my current juice mix with a celery base and kale and lots of other leafy greens. I juiced the wheat grass last because I wanted that pulp separate because it was to be thrown away.
The first pass through my Bullet Express juicer shot out most of the grass, producing very little juice. I then read that I must blend the grass to extract the juice, so I did. I do not have a special wheat grass juicer although I do have a manual meat grinder but I chose not to use it.
Anyway, I poured the mix into the juicer and ran it though twice. I added water because the grass is dry and must be masticated or pulverized to extract the juice. I eventually ended up squeezing with my hand, the pulp to extract the remaining liquid. Whoo. It was a pain.
I now see why wheat grass juice is so expensive. It is labor intensive and after juicing a whole case-clippings from about 24 live plants-I had about five cups of wheat grass juice. This much was yielded because I added water to the grass to make slurry before running it through the juicer. It was tasty by itself but I added it to a huge pitcher of juice I try to keep filled. Radish and ginger stood out. The carrot, pear and the apple made it sweeter.
I also read that to get the maximum enzymes, vitamins and minerals from wheat grass, it should be consumed within three hours after processing it. The second clippings from my plants will be the last because the nutrition value diminishes on third and fourth clippings. I will probably transfer the plants to my garden. I also plan to get wheat grass seeds to plant outside because I read wheat grass grown outdoors has more nutrients than the hothouse grown plants.
Wheat grass has many nutritional claims but the basis of those claims is that it provides so many nutrients, that it allows the body to heal itself naturally. It can’t hurt to drink it or grow it and your pets can eat it too.
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