Wheatgrass: The King Of Alkaline Foods

Whether or not you've ever held the title of Fast Food Queen as I once did, you've likely ingested your fair share of highly processed and chemical laden foods. Let's face it, in this day and age, it's increasingly more challenging to eat a diet rich in whole foods that aren't filled with chemical preservatives, additives and pesticides. Just take a look at the Dirty Dozen list – even fresh fruits and veggies aren't immune.

Unfortunately, most processed foods are acidic and when we consume too many of them, our body's acidity-alkalinity balance is upset. Prolonged acidity is very taxing on our cells and organs, and ultimately leads to illness and disease. 

The King of Alkaline Foods

Wheat grass has a high alkalizing effect, which helps restore the balance between acidity and alkalinity in the body. When your body’s pH levels are balanced, you'll begin to notice an increase in energy, stamina and less need for sleep.

Ann Wigmore, author of The Wheatgrass Book, writes:

“Each of us is the keeper of ten trillion little batteries called cells. Like flashlight batteries, our cells hold a charge of electricity. In order for this charge to be strong and steady we need to have a steady supply of proper nutrients. With the addition of wheatgrass and raw foods to your diet, your cells will store a maximum electrical charge, and you will have plenty of energy.”

Rich In Chlorophyll

Wheatgrass contains an abundance of chlorophyll. The structure of chlorophyll is very similar to that of hemoglobin – the protein molecule in red blood cells – which makes it possible for our body to transform chlorophyll into hemoglobin. How cool is that? Drink your wheatgrass and increase your red blood cell count!

Scientists have found chlorophyll strengthens liver functions, neutralizes toxic compounds, as well as eliminates toxins in the blood. Take that, nasty chemical additives and preservatives!

Rejuvenate Your Body

Studies and tests of wheatgrass have concluded that it:

• Stimulates the repair of damaged DNA
• Neutralizes infections
• Assists in wound healing
• Promotes healthy bowel function
• Inhibits the activity of carcinogens
• Reduces or eliminates offensive body & breath odors
• Has a more potent anti-inflamatory effect than aspirin

Okay, so I think we can all agree that there are oodles of reasons to consume wheatgrass. But here's the thing: try as I might, I cannot seem to get past the taste. I quiver, and shiver, and gag. You get the picture.

I've tried combining it with coconut water as well as adding it to various juices and smoothies to make it more palatable. Ann Wigmore strongly advises against this. Great. So what's a girl to do?

Well, a couple of months ago, I was introduced to the Best Organic Wheatgrass. The company name says it all. Really.

I've been drinking their wheatgrass daily for the last month, and no gag reflex. In fact, I rather like the taste! It reminds me of green tea.

So, here's the scoop. Their Easy Pha-max wheatgrass is 100% organic and uses no artificial chemicals, preservatives or other ingredients. It is the only wheatgrass powder in the world grown Aeroponically in 100% oxygen – soil free, fungus free and pollution free.

Wheatgrass is lifted out of its tray with the roots. 

One pound or 1/4 tray of wheatgrass = 1 sachet of powder

Why Is The Root So Important?

From the perspective of Chinese medicine, the leaves of wheatgrass have a cooling effect, whereas the roots produce a heating effect. Combining both characteristics neutralizes the effect produced by each individually.

The active ingredients found in the root of wheatgrass, especially cancer fighting agents and 13 amino acids not found in the blades, stimulate damaged cells to undergo cellular repair.

Bonus: by combining the roots with the blades, the taste is not as strong and nauseous as juiced wheatgrass. Score!

After harvesting, the aeroponically-grown wheatgrass is cold dried to maintain its live enzymes and nutrients when combined with water. One Easy Pha-max wheatgrass sachet has the equivalent nutrients of 17 pounds of vegetables. Four packets are equivalent to one tray of wheatgrass. Yowza!

What About Folks Who Have A Wheat Allergy?

Wheat allergies are usually a reaction to the gluten found in the wheat berry.  Wheatgrass is a vegetable, cut before the wheat plant forms the grain (berry). Easy Pha-max wheatgrass has no gluten.

So, Who's Feeling Lucky?

The lovely folks at Best Organic Wheatgrass have offered to gift one reader of In The Raw a box of organic 100% Wheatgrass Powder, containing 66 individual sachets.

But wait, there's more! Because they're so generous, they're also going to include a box of Wheatgrass With Honey. Traditional Chinese medicine uses honey to prolong life and treat diseases. Honey reduces body heat, nourishes spleen and stomach, moisturizes intestine and lungs, improves urination, detoxifies, and reduces pain.

Mandatory Entry: Have a look around Best Organic Wheatgrass and tell me one thing you learned from visiting their site. Leave me a comment below this post.

You have until Midnight EDT, June 27th to get your entries in. I'll then call on Mr. Random Number Generator to pick a winner.

Meet you back here on Monday, when I'll announce the lucky winner. I'll also have a special treat for everyone else.

Good luck!

UPDATED 6-28-10: This Giveaway Is Now Closed

Congratulations to Mbwilkes, you're the lucky winner of 2 boxes of the Best Organic Wheatgrass!

But wait...everyone's a winner today!

The kind folks at Best Organic Wheatgrass have generously offered EVERYONE WHO ENTERED a free 7 day trial sample of their product by going to their website and filling out the form. Just be sure to specify in the Comments that you had entered the giveaway on
In The Raw.

Now everyone can try the King of Alkaline Foods! The wheatgrass is best assimilated by drinking the first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. Simply mix one packet in an 8 - 10 ounce glass of water. Cheers!

Sipping On Summer

Summertime, and the living is easy.

Baseball. Flip flops. Ripe, juicy melons. Just-picked veggies from the garden. Wildflowers. Blue skies. Sunshine. Sitting poolside.

These are just some of the images that come to mind.

Monday marks the longest day of the year and the official start of the summer season here in the northern hemisphere. How 'bout celebrating with a nice tall cool one? How 'bout having over 20 thirst-quenching recipes to choose from?

Meghan Telpner of Making Love In The Kitchen has hit another one out of the ballpark. You may recall my review of her Healing With Everyday Superfoods. The certified nutritionist's latest offering, Summer Sipping, is a sweet collection of sun-kissed healthy drinks and frozen treats. 

Any of these grab your attention?

• Lemon Gelato
• Orange Sorbet
• Mocha Frappe
• Blueberry Choco Mama
• Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade
• Berry Delicious
• Summer Love Potion
• Cucumber Chiller
• Iced Basil Cooler

Check out these beautiful pages! Each one, a stand-alone recipe that you can print out. Also included are some handy dandy tricks to amp up your summer sipping:

• Make your own nut/seed milks
• Power up with herbs
• Primer on coconut water

You can get your own copy HERE to start exploring new flavor combinations and summer quenching options today.

Happy Solstice readers! Drink smart this summer and feel great from the inside out.

Tell me how you beat the heat. What's your favorite summer sipper?

Ooooooh Baby, It's Blueberry Season

I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill
On Blueberry Hill where I found you

They may rank #5 on the Dirty Dozen list – so be sure to buy organic – but blueberries are phytonutrient superstars. In fact, these little gems have the highest antioxidant capacity of all fresh fruit. This is mainly due to the presence of Anthocyanin. That's the pigment responsible for their lovely blue color. So take advantage of the season, load up on these yummy berries and rev up your immune system.

Bonus: a study at the University of Michigan suggests that blueberries may help reduce belly fat and risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. Sweet!

How To Pick 'Em

Choose ripe berries that are firm and rich in color. It's best not to wash your berries until right before eating, as washing will remove the bloom – the whitish hue – that protects the skin from degradation. Gently pat them dry and store in a covered container in the refrigerator, where they'll keep for about a week. Ha, just try to keep them a week! Bet you can't do it. These babies will be calling your name.

Here's a thick and creamy post-workout smoothie I've enjoyed every day this week.

Berry Boost

2 C organic blueberries
2 frozen bananas
4 Tbsp Garden of Life Raw Protein
1 1/2 C Zico Pure Coconut Water

Place all ingredients in your favorite blender, hit the magic button, and voilà. 

Here's a sampling of some other raw vegan recipes where I've found my blueberry thrill. Enjoy!

♥ The Gluten-Free Hippie serves up this delightful Blueberry Lavender Coconut Creme, drizzled over fresh peach slices. Does a summer breakfast get any better than this?

♥ Enjoy a quintessential summer with this smooth and silky Blueberry Pie.

♥ I felt like I hit the lottery recently when I discovered YumUniverse™. It's definitely one of my new favorite haunts in cyberspace. Lots of fab food porn to explore, but these Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes and Blueberry Hemp Milk ought to keep your inner voyeur happy for awhile.

♥ Raw Chef Shernell Cooke does double duty with her tasty Blueberry Fondue/Ice Cream.

How 'bout you? What's your favorite way to enjoy fresh blueberries in season? Thrill us with your recipes below!

Review: Becoming Raw

The title says it all – Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets. This is most certainly not a book you read through once, put up on the shelf and forget about. I know I'll be referring to this exhaustive guide repeatedly.

Although over 45 recipes are included, this is not your typical raw food recipe book.  In fact, this isn't your "typical" book about the raw food diet, and I've read oodles of them in the past two years.

Authors Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina are both registered dietitians. They offer scientifically sound answers to tough questions about raw foods, furnish nutrition guidelines and practical information, and show how to design a raw vegan diet that meets recommended nutrient intakes. There's no biased information in this book; it's just full of facts and you can draw your own conclusions.

Despite having healed myself from morbid obesity and a host of chronic health conditions by adopting a raw foods lifestyle, I've met my share of both skeptics and critics along the way, as has, I'm sure, most anyone who's been raw for any length of time. From friends to family members to medical professionals, we've all undoubtedly heard the questions and concerns:

• Won't we end up with osteoporosis if we eliminate dairy products?
• How will we get enough iron without meat?
• Where will our vitamin B12 come from?
• How can we possibly get enough protein?
• Does cooking destroy nutrients?
• Do the enzymes in raw foods really contribute to human digestion, health and longevity?
• Are sprouted legumes indigestible?
• Are most raw diets too high in fat?

Trust me when I say, this is the definitive guide in addressing each of these questions and many more — and not from opinion or even personal experience, but from scientific scrutiny that is referenced throughout the book.

The authors also look at specific health problems – cancer, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, etc. – and how the nutrients in raw plant sources address those ailments.

Rynn Berry, historical advisor to the North American Vegetarian Society, contributes a chapter on the history of the raw food movement, which I found fascinating. In addition to being introduced to the early pioneers of the lifestyle, I gained a better understanding of where the various "sects" originated — fruitarianism, sproutarianism, gourmet raw cuisine, and the Christian and Essene raw food lifestyles.

It's well known that raw vegan diets tend to be low in calories and high in fiber, a perfect  choice for folks who want to lose a few or many pounds. I've managed to shed all of my excess weight without counting a calorie, carb or fat gram; however, having done so, I now want to ensure that my cells are fueled with an optimal amount of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. I've also moved from a sedentary lifestyle to a very active (dare I say, athletic) one, so I know both my caloric and protein requirements have changed dramatically.

That said, if you're someone who likes to see data broken down into charts, tables and graphs, you'll have plenty of eye candy here. My new best friend is Table 5.3: Calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate, and water content in raw food. My BFF spans six pages and comprises just about every food imaginable – fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, grains, and more!

The authors then went on to educate me in determining how much caloric intake (energy) I'll need to maintain a healthy body weight and adequate nutrient intakes (protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins, minerals) for the long term. These are all broken down by individual foods into easy-to-reference tables as well.

Whether raw vegan or not, Becoming Raw is an excellent resource for anyone interested in understanding the relationship between food and health. I definitely recommend adding a copy to your home library today.

Simple Spring Salads

Strawberry-Arugula Salad

1 pint strawberries, sliced
1 bunch arugula

Vinaigrette:
1/4 C fresh lime juice
1 tsp local raw honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
handful of freshly torn mint leaves
freshly ground pepper to taste

To prepare the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients in a jar. Close tightly and shake vigorously to combine. Of course, you can whisk the ingredients in a small bowl, but I think it's much more fun to shake it up, baby.

Toss arugula and the red springtime jewels in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over top.

This salad is a taste sensation – the bitterness of the greens, the sweetness of the berries, the tang of the dressing – it's got it all going on!

Fennel-Lemon Salad

1 fennel bulb, shaved thin with a mandoline
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
fresh thyme leaves, chopped
fresh parsley, chopped

Remove the frilly end of the fennel and trim the root. Slice thinly crosswise – here's where the mandoline comes in to play.

Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, thyme and parsley in a salad bowl until blended. Add  the sliced fennel and toss until coated. Let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving.

You'll have to trust me on this one. The lemon perfectly complements the slight licorice of the fennel. Thyme and parsley provide a nice accent.

Pineapple-Spinach Salad

1 pineapple, quartered and sliced
1 bunch fresh spinach
1/2 red onion, sliced
1/2 C raw almonds

Vinaigrette:
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
sea salt + freshly ground pepper to taste

I'd actually recommend using a blender to make the balsamic vinaigrette. It will produce a thicker dressing.

Toss all ingredients in a bowl and serve immediately.

What's your favorite springtime salad recipe? Share in the comments below.