Wheatgrass shots at home

Wheatgrass

Reading the 'cookbook' (term used loosely) 'Food 2.0: Secrets From the Chef Who Fed Google', I was inspired to get a carton of wheatgrass and dig my long-ignored juice extractor out of the cupboard.

Here is a picture of the beautiful growing lawn. You know, if we don't juice it up and drink it, I may need to dye some eggs and go all Martha, using it for Easter décor.


This little carton of wheatgrass is about 3 inches square and the grass growing in it is about seven inches tall.

Has anyone made wheatgrass shots at home? I have some questions. Is it worth trying to keep the clod of grass growing? In other words, should we clip from the top and try to keep the rest of it alive for awhile? Is that even possible or is this designed to be a short lived method to just transport the grass to our homes?

Or should we take a chunk vertically (say, half of the clod) and just not expect anything more?

Before I throw this stuff into the extractor, is all this "keep it alive" stuff a moot point because it takes the entire carton to make a couple of shots? Or is it possible to get four shots out of one of these things?

Just hoping for a few ideas before I boldly go where no one at our house has gone before.

Thanks in advance!

--Joy

My marginally informed opinion is that you can clip the tops of the grass and the stuff should just keep growing.

FWIW, I'd probably add some wheatgrass to carrot juice or other drinks -- it's such a blast of green, it seems to beg for mixing with other, sweeter veggies.

Thanks for the reply, David

I also canvassed some friends by email. My healthiest food nutty friend says, "Wheatgrass juicing is apparently not an easy thing to do correctly. So I've heard. Wheatgrass needs to be pressed, not chopped. If you chop, as with a blender, or a typical juicer I've been told your body cannot metabolize it. I'm not an expert and I really don't know if this is true or not. I've personally used my juicer that has the correct device for this, but frankly I don't care for the taste enough to want to drink it on a regular basis. I haven't done it in a long time."



The idea of digestability keeps coming up! I would have thought that the little green shot would be like a spirulina sort of seaweedy thing. Something you'd find in Odwalla juices or Naked Superfood drinks. But apparently it is potent, not mild.

In his cookbook about cooking for Google, Charlie Ayers says, "Wheatgrass is great for cleansing the blood of toxins. It also contains strong digestive properties, making it a good choice for those with slow digestion or constipation. If taken before a meal, wheatgrass helps you digest your meal properly and move it along through your system. If taken after a meal, your body is more likely to absorb its nutritional values."

Charlie Ayers says that he was skeptical about wheatgrass shots but was convinced by one of the cooks working at Google to offer the shots "and it took off like crazy." He says, "I had one woman who did nothing but trim wheatgrass, grind it up, and pout it into shot glasses. We even had a little bell you could ring after you downed a shot. Drinking this thing that was good for you just became part of the culture and pretty soon we were grinding up 250 shots a day --20 flats of wheatgrass – and the bell was going off all the time."

What is the alcohol content of a "shot" of wheatgrass?

If it's significant, I might think about growing it.

Mike

My proven recipe for wheatgrass shots is take the pallet of wheatgrass and put in a blender. Pulverize for 30 seconds. Pour into a glass. Then throw the glass of wheatgrass into the trash. As well as the blender.

I feed that stuff to my baby tortoise, never thought of eating (or drinking) it myself

Jason, wheatgrass is the miracle tonic, it'll cure malaise, keep your leather shoes shined to a high gloss, rotate your tires and improve your satellite TV signal. I tried it once. That was one try too many. Some people swear by it, but there are people who swear by those adhesive foot pads that "detoxify" your body, as well.

JasonM wrote:I feed that stuff to my baby tortoise, never thought of eating (or drinking) it myself

That is the cutest baby tortoise I've ever seen...but you better keep him away from Ramon!