Jucing Your First Flat Of Wheatgrass (step 6)

Harvesting /Juicing

So your wheatgrass has grown 7 – 10inches and you’re ready to juice!

Congratulations!

Tools needed:

-         Your Juicer (low speed augur juicer recommended)
-         Large serrated knife
-         Scissors
-         Plate
-         Glass espresso cups

Set up shop

Earlier we spoke about how food immediately begins to decompose and degrade from the moment it is removed from its roots. Wheatgrass is no different. Massive changes in wheatgrass nutrient content have been mapped just 6 minutes after the grass was cut from its roots.

In order to get the most from your juice, take a few moments to set all your “work stations” up before you actually begin to cut the grass. Lay down a towel or newspaper (easy clean up). Place and plug in the juicer and get your cups. Set up your cutting station, etc.

After you juice a few flats it will be easy to stream line this whole process… turning the whole thing into a 5min task. This quick 5 minute task will infuse you with a veritable brew of water, oxygen, enzymes, protein, phyochemicals, cholorophyll, carotenoids, fatty acids, and trace minerals.

The juice rushes to revitalize all your cells. Electrically enhancing every cell it comes into contact with.

My friend you and I have stumbled on a truly great thing here…

…this amazing miracle Juice known as Wheatgrass.

Let’s get you consuming…

So with everything set up it’s really up to you here… if you don’t feel comfortable using the knife please use the scissors.

I know others who actually prefer scissors. Feel Free to invent any part of yourself in this process… whatever works for you!

Cutting the Grass

In your cutting station, you have your wheatgrass flat, plate, and knife and you’re ready to go:

With one hand grab juicer sized bunches of grass and with the other position your knife (scissors) at the base of the grass about ½ inch above the seeds and dirt.

Cut:

Try to move quickly now – you have started the clock and the longer it takes to juice & consume, the less potent your juice will be.

Cut the grass as evenly as possible. If you’re trying to re-grow the flat leave a little more grass (cut higher) so the grass can bounce back.

Each little juicer sized bunch of wheatgrass I cut I try to neatly stack on my plate in order to easily grab and feed into the juicer (easier said than done).

Once you have cut your serving portion… I usually cut either:

• The whole flat: 2 or more people consuming
• ½ a flat: 1 or 2 people
• ¼  flat: Single serving

It’s time to juice!

About Juicing

Without going too in depth here, I strongly believe that there is the Holy Grail of juicers… and then just everything else.

After having tried nearly a dozen juicers the Solo Star 2 single auger juicer gets my vote. The most juice, fastest cleanup and cost effective way to juicing/consuming wheatgrass!

High Speed Juicers

Simply said, High speed juicers are not for wheatgrass. Not only are the cutting blades of a high speed juicer less effective, they actually damage the nutrient!

A High Speed Juicer damages the plant cells (cuts and slices through the cell walls and membranes) speeding up the oxidization process… which leads to less nutrient content and damaged juice/plant cells that are not easily assimilated into the body.

If you’re just trying to get into wheatgrass the price of a good juicer might be holding you back…

Don’t let not having the best top of the line juicer stop you from cashing in on wheatgrass!

Even with all the downsides to juicing with a high speed juicer you will still see great benefits from using it! The first year I juiced Wheatgrass I only had a $27 High Speed Juicer that we got from the local supermarket.

It took forever to juice with. Clean up took awhile and it didn’t produce near as much juice as a flat should (processed grass was still wet)…

But it was worth it and if I had to do it all over again… I would juice with whatever I could get my hands on!

High Speed Juicing Tips

1.     Go slow

2.     Put the pulp/fiber back through the juicer 1 or 2 times

3.     Rinse your grass to make it a little more wet (better flow)

Give examples of high speed juicers: jack louangs juice master

Hand Crank Juicers

If you’re feeling up to a little workout, perhaps you will enjoy being hands on with a manual hand cranking juicer. You can go metal or plastic here… I would spring for Stainless Steel if you can. It will be easier to clean and last much longer than the latter.

Low Speed Auger Juicers – Wheatgrass Juicers

Perfect for wheatgrass – Low speed auger juicers “press” the juice out of the grass. By squeezing chlorophyll out of the cell walls/fiber leaving the “cell membranes” still intact, we can be sure we are using the best method to transport the cocktail of nutrients wheatgrass provides us.

Low end: omega affiliate link/promo page

High end: Solo Star 2 affiliate link/promo page – the shibby cake

Juicing Wheatgrass

Now that the grass is cut and stacked, bring the plate of grass over to the juicer/ juicing station.

Tips for great juice:

• Juice the wheatgrass upside down (growing end first, Not the root end)
• Have other fruits and veggies washed and cut ahead of time if you plan to blend your wheatgrass juice
• Find a steady pace, speed depends on your juicer but remember you are battling time now as your wheatgrass oxidizes and rapidly looses nutrients from being cut.

Xxxx grass tip first

Xxxx high speed juicer

Xxxx solo star 2

If you are juicing more than wheatgrass it is good to juice in little bits. High fiber -> Juicier Greens -> Fruit -> High Fiber -> etc.

I personally juice wheatgrass alone by itself. I juice for the benefit… to compromise any nutritional value of wheatgrass by adding an acidic fruit like strawberries, etc. for taste seems counterproductive to me.

However, I usually do a blend when first introducing wheatgrass to a newcomer.

Juicing/mixing 2 strawberries with 2 o.z. of Wheatgrass juice is a great way to take the “bite off” the taste of wheatgrass for those of us who are used to the taste of a toxic lifestyle…

Foods high in salt, sugar, and ingredients such as msg…

Once your body begins running more alkaline you will be surprised to feel cravings for leafy vegetables and wheatgrass juice!

Pineapple is also good to juice with since it is not an acidic fruit.

For the best wheatgrass recipes visit: http://wheatgrass101.com/recipes

Cleanup

Clean up is pretty straight forward and mainly depends on your juicer. If you are using a high speed juicer there is bound to be more “leftovers” than with an efficient juicer such as the Solo Star 2.

If you are someone who composts have a bag available to quickly toss the processed grass into so you can bring it out to the compost barrel/pile. If you juiced the full flat and have no interest/space to try and regrow the flat, you should send the remaning dirt/rootball to the composter as well.

To learn easy steps for composting and how it boosts the nutrient content of your grass while saving you a ton of money: http://www.wheatgrass101.com/composter Click Here!

Most all juicers today have been made dish washer safe so this is a cleanup option for you. I personally juice multiple times a day so this isn’t really ideal for me.

Hot water and dish soap works very well and is what I use. I strongly suggest however you clean your juicer and “work area” immediately. Chlorophyll although water soluble tends to be hard like spaghetti sauce to get off if you let it dry and cake on. Take a quick minute after consuming your wheatgrass shot and clean everything right then and there.

It will make your life a lot easier! Not to mention it’s nice to walk onto a “clean and ready to setup project” the next time you juice.

Again it’s all about taking these little steps to make growing/juicing and consuming wheatgrass just a little more easy and little less time consuming!