au.was.here.

siempre, in order to consume our wheatgrass, we need to juice it. puede rin nguyain pero hindi yata masaya yun although i've heard some do that. the grass should not be eaten kasi indigestible yata ito so even if you chew it, you have to spit out the fibrous pulp.


to get going, there is one crucial piece of equipment you need: the wheatgrass juicer. this juicer is quite different from the regular fruit juicer commonly found at the appliance centers. those are usually 'centrifuge-type' juicers. they extract juice via the principle similar to a washing machine spin-dryer. on the other hand, the juicer for wheatgrass is an 'auger-type' juicer. the auger looks like a big metal corkscrew that masticates the fibrous grass and there's usually some sort of a strainer that separates the juice from the fibers. slow mastication is good for wheatgrass so that there is no heat generated from friction that could destroy some of the live enzymes.


in a pinch, you may probably use a regular blender then use a cheesecloth to squeeze the pulp but there are a couple of setbacks to this. for one, it's a bit messy so it could turn you off from juicing on a regular or even daily basis. second setback is that the heat generated by the fast moving blades can generate heat and oxidizes the juice so it kills some enzymes.

there are different kinds of wheatgrass juicers as well. there is an electric version that my friend Cabbie got off Ebay. there is also a manual handcranked version and this is the one i use. even the handcranked version has a few kinds: there's one that's mostly plastic, another that's cast-iron and another that is all stainless like the one i have. there are other more expensive, heavy duty ones like the Champion or Greenstar brands of juicer but i can't find them in the Philippines and they are pretty expensive. get what ever is in your price range and is readily available to you. there may be a bit of a cost but i consider it an investment in mine and my family's health.


my juicer attaches to the edge of a counter. the wheatgrass goes on the top receptacle and when i crank, it gets pulled inside and masticated by the auger. juice drips at the bottom holes-where i put a container- while the pulp is expeled like green poo out the hole at the front of the juicer. cranking this little mechanism is a little morning 'exercise' for me, because sometimes, there is quite a bit of resistance as the grass gets pull through.


you really need very little juice--30 ml (or about 1 oz) is enough for one dose. You can put it in a shotglass so it looks pretty. i just put mine in those little plastic measuring container i get from my kiddies Tempra medicine. if you like, you can have a 2nd shot either at the same moment or maybe at night. for a healthy person, they say this is enough. if it is for someone who needs it to help cure a sickness like cancer, i heard they can take up to 10 oz a day.


they also say, it is best to take the juice in the morning, on an empty stomach, so it doesn't combine with other foods and would get through quickly. you can then eat 30 mins to 1 hour later.

oh yeah, it would also be a good idea to prepare a bit of water as chaser after you chug it down. although some people say it really doesn't taste too bad, i still think it is not the best thing i've tasted. it's really like i swallowed a mouthful of mowed lawn, only it's quite sweet...like nutrasweet sweet... especially when the grass is harvested at just the right time. if harvested past its prime, the sweetness gets lesser.


different people also have different reactions to taking it for the first time. some say it made them go poo very quickly while some say it constipates them a bit. one niece of mine threw up about an hour after gulping it down but i think it was because of something she ate earlier that didn't digest well. i think the wheatgrass even helped move it out of her system. another friend of mine told me it made him very hungry. personally, i have had most of the symptoms they reported but it was different for each time depending, i guess, on my current physical condition. but these days, i don't even notice anything different anymore.


i think you really just have to try it for yourself. bottoms up to good health!