Bad Taste of my Homegrown Wheatgrass

(Written by a Wheatgrass Lover)

I want to find out why my wheatgrass juice tastes so bad.

I first started drinking wheatgrass (off and on) approximately 20 years ago, when I lived in California. I did not mind the taste of wheatgrass juice. Sometimes, I actually liked the sweet grass taste of the stuff and adding wheatgrass juice to my diet changed my diet and lifestyle for the better. I loved the stuff.

I then moved to East Texas approx 5 years ago, purchased wheat grass seed and other supplies as well as an electric Omega Juicer so that I could grow and juice my own wheatgrass (its not easily found around here).

The indoor wheatgrass I grow and juice at home is so different. The smell of the wheat grass makes me gag, I find it repulsive, and I have a hard time drinking it. It is not a pleasant experience whatsoever and, instead of making me feel energized, it just makes me feel sick.

I don't understand how this could be and am wondering if growing my own wheatgrass indoors in trays could have something to do with this.

I would really like to get back to having it as part of my daily diet again - I never felt as good as I did when I was drinking it every day.




Eryn's Reply: Hmmm, bad tasting wheatgrass juice. Well let's see - first of all let me state that I have never really jumped up and down over drinking fresh squeezed wheatgrass juice - whether I drink my own homegrown wheatgrass juice or buy some from the local juice bar. When I drink my wheatgrass juice at home, I add water to it or other vegetable juices to it - to counter its pungent flavor.

It is funny how I will juice wheatgrass for my next door neighbor now and then. She just loves the wheatgrass juice flavor, even likes to put the wheatgrass blades in her salads. She even says she finds the flavor to be so sweet tasting. OK, so I know people definitely have different taste buds as that is truly not the case for me.

I would not drink wheatgrass juice if it were not for the fact that I appreciate the health promoting benefits it brings to my body. Here are some of the many incredible health benefits from drinking wheatgrass juice.

Perhaps before, the wheatgrass juice you drank was from wheatgrass that was grown outdoors. The wheatgrass flavor, from wheatgrass grown outdoors, is more sweet. According to Steve Meyerowitz, Wheatgrass Nature's Finest Medicine: The Complete Guide to Using Grasses to Revitalize Your Health, there are more simple sugars in indoor grown wheatgrass than outdoor grown wheatgrass. These simple sugars are evidently one of the main reasons it has such a strong taste. When the wheatgrass is grown outdoors, Meyerowitz says, "The outdoor grass has converted those minerals into complex carbohydrates and has a more mild taste."

So, if you remember that sweeter taste from drinking wheatgrass juice about 20 years ago, maybe the wheatgrass was grown outdoors.

Now, I have not noticed any difference in flavor between the wheatgrass juice I purchased at a juice bar, and the wheatgrass juice I have grown at home. You can do some experimenting though. Find you local juice bar that sells wheatgrass juice. Give it a swig, and compare the taste to your wheatgrass juice from your indoor homegrown wheatgrass. If it tastes different, find out if they grow their wheatgrass outdoors.

When drinking the wheatgrass juice, it is best to start out drinking very small amounts at first. Here are my recommended dosages on how much wheatgrass juice to drink. Remember it is OK to give your body a break from the wheatgrass juice now and then. I really listen to my body in terms of how much I drink. My dosage varies according to how I feel and just how good my diet has been lately. I usually take a few days break here and there. You know, sometimes I run out of growing wheatgrass too.

I used to be frustrated that my husband would not drink wheatgrass juice from my homegrown wheatgrass because I knew how beneficial it was for him. When he drank a straight shot, the hairs would indeed stand up on the back of his arms - now that is potent and pungent! He said it made him feel uneasy in the stomach too. So, I just started adding carrot juice or diluting it with water and down the hatch it goes with no troubles for him now, no uneasy stomach and the hairs don't stand up on his arms either! Now, he really misses his wheatgrass juice when none is available for him.

Others also add a little lemon juice in their wheatgrass juice to make it more palatable.

Also, make sure you don't have a mold problem on your wheatgrass too. Here are my tips for reducing or eliminating mold on wheatgrass.

Is your indoor growing wheatgrass receiving indirect natural sunlight? Maybe receiving more indirect natural sunlight will affect its taste for the better.

Make sure you are harvesting your wheatgrass when it is the right height. I like drinking it when it is about 6"- 7" tall ideally. When the wheatgrass blades get too long and start drooping and looking less perky, I find the flavor to be more unpalatable too.

You know, I am going to try growing my next batch of wheatgrass outdoors, now that it is cooler here. Wheatgrass grows most optimally in cooler temperatures. It will be interesting to note if there is a difference of flavor or not.

Finally, many that do not like the flavor of wheatgrass find the taste of barley grass juice more palatable. So some time you might want to experiment with that.

Don't give up Wheatgrass Lover! I am sure with some experimenting you will be able to make sure you have a good healthy source of homegrown wheatgrass providing you good wheatgrass juice - wheatgrass juice that you are able to consume without turning your stomach upside down and that will bring you that feeling of vitality that you remember from 20 years ago!

Please post back here to let me know how things turn out for you.

All the best from one wheatgrass lover to another!

Eryn


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