While preparing the previous article about cat grass , I often came across recommendations to sprout wheatgrass. This trendy Anglicism means nothing more than wheat sprouts, couch grass, or plain old cat grass.
It turned out I was behind the times - wheat sprouts are used to make detox cocktails, selling for $6 for 50 grams, rather than just sprouting them for kitties. I could afford such luxury every day if I sprouted wheat at home myself.
When wheatgrass reaches its nutritional peak (sprouts 15 cm tall and dark green), its stems have the highest concentration of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, enzymes, chlorophyll, and phytonutrients. And all this is GLUTEN-FREE!
You can sprout not just wheat. For salads, I sprout beans and grains , microgreens without a sprouter .
Just like our kitties (for whom wheatgrass has been grown on windowsills since time immemorial), we cannot digest grass and absorb all those nutrients. Only ruminants can eat a kilogram of grass and convert it into calcium for their milk, powerful muscles, and valuable manure. Humans can’t do that, so wheatgrass must be turned into juice, puree, or a smoothie.
Benefits of Wheat Sprouts:
- Improves intestinal function
- Reduces appetite
- Contains a huge amount of magnesium
- Treats psoriasis and eczema
- Prevents premature graying
- Treats acne and helps skin heal scars from acne faster
- Wheat sprout juice contains 70% chlorophyll
- Contains more than 100 essential elements, absorbing 92 out of 102 minerals from the soil
How to Sprout Wheatgrass?
- First of all, you need to buy wheat seeds for sprouting.
- Choose a container in which you will sprout the seeds.
- To determine how many seeds you will need, spread a handful across the bottom of the container - the grains should cover the bottom in one layer.
- The seeds need to be rinsed. In my case, the holes in the strainer were too big, so I had to use cheesecloth.
- Next, you should soak the wheat in cool water for 10 hours, 3 times. The amount of water should be about 1/3. The soaking container should have a lid.
- Line the container with cardboard or absorbent paper (the paper in the photo is from recycled material, a paper bag).
- Add about 5 cm of soil. The soil should be high quality and sterilized.
- Distribute the swollen seeds over the surface of the soil so that each seed is in contact with the ground. Do not press down on the grains.
- Moisten the seeds with a spray bottle, do not soak them. The wheat should remain constantly moist, but avoid puddles.
- Cover the seeds with absorbent paper, cotton, or linen fabric - this way your seeds will stay moist longer. Moisten the fabric or paper with a spray bottle.
- Water the seeds twice a day. Keep the container out of direct sunlight.
- The tails appeared on the third day. Continue to cover the container with a damp cloth/paper for about 3-5 days, and if the room is warm, moisten the paper in the middle of the day.
- Sprouts on the 5th day. It’s time to remove the paper for a day, but it’s better to leave it on at night for now.
- Wheat sprouts on the 7th day.
16. 9th day.
17. When the sprout divides into 2 leaves, you can prepare a detox smoothie!!
How to Prepare Wheat Sprouts?
- Cut off 2-3 bunches of grass.
2. For making the smoothie, it’s better to use a blender, not a juicer. Chop the cut wheat by hand and add a little water.
- Blend for about a minute. If there are still pieces left, you can strain them through a sieve.
- The taste of the smoothie will be literally grassy. You can mix wheatgrass with any juice or even kefir. Do not prepare the drink in advance; its nutritional value decreases every 5 minutes.
