Wheatgrass & juice (grow your own)
A fun way to consume wheat is to grow the whole wheat seeds as grass. The chlorophyll content of wheat grass is very high. The grass can be chewed to obtain the juice, spitting out the pulp. Special juicers for wheat grass are on the market. Wheatgrass will not juice up properly in a regular juicer. Recommended are hand-crank juicers especially for off-grid.
How to grow wheat-grass
Soak adequate quantity of unpolished wheat-grain overnight in water in any non-plastic container (after cleaning and washing it thoroughly)
For planting, clay pots or glazed with holes or any flat shallow trays made from wood or steel may be used.
For each person, about 25 grams can be sown every day in a new pot or basin so that a continous supply is available. 7 to 9 pots would ensure a fresh harvest every day of the week. Sow twice as much or more for someone who has depressed immunity
For a person who is sick the amount of wheat required to be sown everyday is about 50 to 100 grams.
Do not add any chemicals or fertilizers. Agni hotra ash is just the best fertilizer in the world. Cow -dung may be added as manure instead.
Spread the soaked wheat on the surface of the soil so that the grains are touching one another.
Sprinkle a thin layer of soil on the wheat grains .
Cover the pot with a newspaper to provide darkness which helps the sprouting and also to prevent the birds from eating the wheat if outdoors. It grows uite well on a balcony or a windowsill or a covered verandah.
Next day uncover the pot and spray on some water and again cover it with the newspaper.
Repeat step 7 everyday until you see green leaves sprouting through the soil. Stop covering the pot as soon as the green leaves appear.
Everyday water the pot lightly but adequately depending upon the season. Beautiful green blades of grass keep growing in height everyday.
As soon as the grass is about 8 inches tall ( which usually happens around the 7th to the 9th day from the date of sowing) harvest the grass by cutting with a clean pair of scissors about 1/2" above the surface of the soil.
The harvested wheat grass is now ready to be chewed or juiced.
A second round of wheat grass will again grow in about 6 to 7 days with daily watering as before.
After the second harvest from the same pot, remove all the soil in the pot onto a newspaper- breakup all the roots and mix them with the soil.
Add a bit of cowdung or ash from vedic yajnya to this to rejuvenate the soil. Its now ready for reuse for a fresh sowing of wheat.
How to juice your wheat grass
I have heard electric blenders ruin the grass as the rapid blade movement causes oxidation of the chlorophyll and renders it useless.
A manual juicer maybe used or you can use any stone crushing method available in the home for making chutneys. This second method is tedious. (Im currently scouting a crank-model.
Add a little water while grinding, if pounding- strain the juice through a clean cloth into a cup or a glass. Grind again adding water - repeat this process until the remaining grass is almost white. use the leftover grass in your plants as manure.
To chew - a good mouthful is enough, more if you wish, should be taken early morning and chewed until the remaining cud in the mouth is almost white. Spit it out.
If juiced - 1/4 to 1/3 of a glass everyday. but remember that the juice must be drunk immediately on juicing. its bitter and goes down nicely with apple or carrot juice mixd or as a chaser.
For a low immune system - 1/4 to 1/2 glass of wheat grass juice. 2 to 3 times per day - the important thing being to drink the juice right after juicing.
The quantity should be gradually increased to about 8 ounces a day if chronically ill (approx one glass full). This is not a substitute for medical help. See a healer according to your needs. Wheatgrass juice will help as a dietary supplement.
Wheat can be crushed thoroughly and applied externally on Cancers and Ulcers as a poultice.
Wheat grass juice is also effective as an eye-bath (using an eye-cup).
cleanses and builds your blood,
improves skin and hair,
builds muscle and endurance
fights infections,
lowers blood pressure,
dissolves tumors,
acts as an appetite suppressant.
((((((( SPROUTS! )))))))
Many legumes (beans) grains and seeds will make delicious sprouts.
Sprouting makes vegetable protein easy. And can be made anywhere – even camping.
There are both physical and spiritual benefits to purifying our bodies with a vegan diet. Sprouts are an excellent staple food to raise our sensitivity to higher vibrations such as found in the Vedic Sanskrit mantras and in the nadam of silent meditation or while gazing at and offering intents to the yajnya. When we are high in vibration, we are more sensitive to all living beings and are more useful in the service of humanity.
dried beans: mung, lentils of any variety, adzuki, garbanzo (chickpea), black bean, soy bean,
Wash and soak the dried beans in room temp water for minimum 12 hours or up to 15 hours. Rinse again and put them into a sprout tower as shown. If you don’t have one, use a colander lined with a clean damp thin kitchen linen or muslin and covered with same. Twice every day – morning and night – rinse in cool fresh water. If its warm weather rinse more often so its a good idea to keep them handy by the sink. At about the end of day 2 you will see them cracking and sprouting. By day 3 or 4 they are perfect to eat. If you are using a tower as I have, start a fresh batch every other day and you will have a continuous supply as one layer runs out the next is ready to eat. When one unit is empty, fill with freshly soaked beans and start a new batch so it goes on and on and on....
seeds: celery, alfalfa, clover, oats, radish, fenugreek, and sunflower seed,
grains: rye, wheat, buckwheat, barley, millet, and even rice and more.
Soak the desired amount of seeds or grains in a jar by filling the jar half-way with tepid water and covering it with cheese-cloth or muslin and a rubber band. Keep the jar in a dark area, at room temperature, for about five hours. After five hours, drain, rinse, and let the seeds stand without water for about eight to twelve hours. For the next six days, the seeds should be rinsed and drained twice a day using lukewarm water to prevent rotting. They should still be kept at room temperature in a dark place. After the sixth day, place them in the light for one more day to increase their chlorophyll content. Seeds will expand about eight times the original amount so remember this when choosing a jar and measuring out the seeds. A cheesecloth bag also works suspended above the sink or with something under to catch the drips.
Pile them on top of anything you can think of, as a side dish or topping, in a wrap or salad – use your imagination. You can mix up just about any bean in a sprouting situation except the chickpeas which take a bit longer to sprout so I keep them separately.
A rule of thumb with seeds and grains is to not mix the seeds with the grains ever and mix only the seeds (or grains )of the same size to have them sprout at the same time or else keep them each in separate containers.
*** One of the many benefits of sprouts is their high energy content. The following is a brief outline of the nutritional value of some of the more popular sprouts.
LEGUMES are high in both protein and starch and are acid-forming unless sprouted. Sprouting helps to reduce the acid-alkaline imbalance.
Mung beans, similar in composition to fruits, are rich in vitamins A, C, and B complex.
SEEDS contain a great deal of phosphorous, an important mineral for spiritual aspirants, who want to increase their alertness and mental abilities. Phosphorous is also necessary for healthy bones and teeth, wonders for little growing people.
Sunflower seeds are rich in vitamins B and D and all the essential amino acids.
Sesame seeds are a rich source of calcium, iron, phosphorous, niacin, and protein.
Alfalfa, probably the most popular sprouted seed, contains much chlorophyll, as well as vitamins A, B complex, C, D, E, G. K, and U. It also has large amounts of iron, calcium, phosphorous, and sulphur.
GRAINS. Sprouted wheat contains vitamins C, E, B complex, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, sodium, potassium, protein, enzymes, chlorophyll, and possibly B-17. I n its cooked form, wheat intolerances are becoming common, but when sprouted, a large portion of starch is converted to simple sugars, making it acceptable to many who would otherwise need to eliminate wheat as a food source.
buckwheat is rich in lecithin and rutin.
