With strides towards healthy eating at home and being a resource to others on the topic, often I receive questions about wheatgrass. This beautiful, brilliant-green health food seems to be shrouded in much mystery. Many people harbor doubts on how to consume it, and don’t know where to get it. Prepare to have the mystery of this superfood uncloaked!
Wheatgrass is loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that can be hard to find in other foods. It has vitamin A, C, and E. All three of which are tied to healthy immune function as well as the body’s regeneration and detoxing processes. Wheatgrass also has a high amount of amino acids. These are often referred to as the body’s building blocks and wheatgrass contains 8 essential amino acids. That means it has 8 amino acids that the body can’t produce itself, you must get it from an outside source. Combine that with hard to come by minerals like iron, magnesium and calcium, and you have a supercharged supplement to a healthy diet.
Studies on the benefits have indicated that wheatgrass is loaded with other benefits too. It has thylakoids, which have shown to help with weight balance by influencing your body’s satiation triggers. There have been animal studies showing it reduces blood sugar and it has been shown to reduce inflammation in the digestive tract helping with many digestive issues such as irritable bowel syndrome.
With all these benefits, the question still remains “how do I eat this stuff!?!” There is no shortage of ways to answer that question. A very common use is to juice the cut blades in a juicer. If you do not have access to a high quality juicer, don’t fret. There is another way to make the juice that is quick and easy. Simply put a bunching (approx 1 inch diameter) of the cut grass into a traditional blender, pour in approximately 1/2 cup of water. I use warm (not hot) well filtered water to help extract the vitamins, minerals and oils in the leaves without too much heat causing degradation. Turn the blender on and blend until well pulped. Strain the pulp from the juice. Once you have the nutrition packed juice, there are so many ways you can consume it. I add it to fruit juices, smoothies, or into my home brewed kombucha. I particularly enjoy the flavor when mixed with ginger and pineapple.
Another use I have for the fresh blades is to wrap a ¼ inch bunch in the string of my tea bag and lower it to steep with my morning tea. Wheatgrass can be used in stir fry, pho or sushi rolls. The imagination can be used to find an endless amount of possibilities.
Wheatgrass can be grown at home, and many online stores sell kits. Urban Prairie Agriculture certainly sells such a kit. However, many people want to buy it ready to use. Urban Prairie Agriculture sells ready to eat wheatgrass as well. If you are not local to UP ag territory, you can find wheatgrass at most health food stores. Contact us to order yours and discover what all the fuss is about.