The Farmer's Market on the Square is definitely starting to bustle every Saturday morning. We were there sometime around the 10 a.m. hour, and the crowds were definitely heavier than they have been in weeks past. The Great Harvest Bread Company already had sold out of the giant cookies Clint looks forward to, so we stuck to fresh greens and cilantro this week. There are still a lot of empty spots at the market, but they'll be full soon, and we'll be taking home a lot more.
Local artist Larry Steinbauer is at the market every week, selling the most charming Midwestern t-shirt designs. He goes by "Farmboy Artworks", and he and his t-shirts are hilarious...and on the money. Here are 2 of dozens of his designs:
There's Larry now, no doubt telling his customers that they get a free bag with their purchase. Larry's wife, Mary Tangora, is also an artist, and they own the Wind Water, and Light Gallery in downtown Champaign—one of my favorite places to shop. Stop in and see them, and introduce yourself to their giant cat, Montana.
Popeye JuiceI promised I'd try a shot of this homemade juice at the new sprout booth. I found out Saturday that it's really Wheatgrass Juice. It's really some disgusting looking stuff, all the way around. Here's our shot, being whipped up, straight from actual blades of actual grass!
That grass cud looks disgusting too, doesn't it? Here's the pour.
Its ours now! At $2/oz, we decided to split a shot.
Wheatgrass juice is supposed to prevent everything and cure the rest. According to the literature they gave me, it helps fight the following conditions:
• fatigue • diabetes • arthritis • arteriosclerosis • acne • Exczema • constipation • anemia • mucus build up in intestines • thyroid gland problems • high cholesterol • cancer • pancreatic troubles • high blood pressure • liver troubles • premature aging • hypoglycemia • allergies • heart problemsIt has a a million-billion vitamins (ok, 92/102), enzymes, antioxidants, and chlorophyll. It increases red blood cell growth, oxygenates the blood, sweetens your breath, and can be used on your skin for poison ivy and sunburn.
Well! Bottoms up, then! Clint goes first, then me.
Well. It has a sweet taste, at first. And then...it tastes sort of like...what? What is it? It's reminiscent of..
grass. That's it! It tastes like grass.
And quite honestly, it's one of the more disgusting liquids I've ever tasted, giving Korean Ginseng Drink a run for it's money. It had an unpleasant aftertaste that lingered for more than 2 hours, and I was nauseous for quite a while after, also, although that could be due to the sudden healthy state of my system.
If the stuff did everything it claims to do, I might consider taking an ounce a day for a month, to see if I'm suddenly perkier, and red-blood cell-ier.
But, I did a bit of online research, and found that most of the information about what all the stuff can do for you is referred to as a "claim"...they claim it will do this for you, but that all claims are unsubstantiated.
The Stanford Daily published this piece: "What Grass Juice: Power Food or Waste of Money?"
Well, at $2/oz (that's $256.00 a gallon, folks), terrible flavor, and no substantiated facts, I'm putting my tickmark in the "waste of money" column.
This concludes this weekend's market report. Catch ya next week!
Drinking grass juice? Ewww!
ReplyDeleteThough I have heard the youngsters talking about putting grass in brownies... and they say they feel much much better afterwards.
That'll teach ya to do your research after puttin' down your money, ya dope.
ReplyDeleteIt does taste nice if you throw in some oranges and lemonade. Still grassy, to be sure, but less like a field and more like a fruitbasket.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can use that there ol' juice to remove skunk stink. ;)
ReplyDeleteAh the wheat grass. I tasted that too once, and once was enough.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's gotta taste bad since, apparently it's so damn good for you.
*shudder*
I can tell you one thing it does...Turn my stomach. Maybe if you put some ketchup on it, it would taste better. That works for everything else.
ReplyDeleteNice market by the way.
Drinking grass, wheat or other just seems wrong. You can plant it, mow it, even water it, drinking it is out of the question!
ReplyDeleteI have never tried Wheatgrass and I must say, after this report I don't know if I ever shall...:-)
ReplyDeleteI didn't have to drink that stuff to know it was gonna taste like grass....
ReplyDeleteGlock: Wheatgerm brownies? Huh!
ReplyDeleteLarry: You really think I learned a lesson? Time will tell.
Sveny: So it tastes good if you cover it up...
Paradise: You're brillant!
Jazz: you have a good point; why couldn't it taste like chocolate!
Greg: brrrrr
ReplyDeleteCrazyYBW: I hear it makes you feel better than a Long-Island Ice Tea does...
Dona: C'mon, just tryyyyyyy it
BuffaloDick: Well, I thought it might be more...refreshing. Like cucumbers or something.
I can take a hint. Wheatgrass Juice it is!
ReplyDeletePlain juice made of grass sounds 'Ewww!'
ReplyDeleteI believe in the nutrition fact of the greens though( any greens for that matter) and have a bottle of 'Odwalla Superfood' Juice in the fridge always.
It looks greenish and 'Ewww!' too, but tastes Smooth-and-Heavenly !
thank you for doing the research for us...I've read so much about wheatgrass that I was really curious...but that's all over now...lol!
ReplyDeleteMy cats eat that stuff but at Sunflower, where I buy it, it's called Catgrass. So you want to squeeze the bejeezus out of some catgrass and drink it to be healthier? I'll tell you what it does to the cats: it makes them puke.
ReplyDeletenuf said
Ugh! Wheatgrass juice is so disgusting! I think it became popular in the late 70s out in California, and I tried it. Once.
ReplyDeleteI think you need to become more educated. The benefits of wheatgrass are real and extremely beneficial. Its very ignorant of you to read an article by some unknown person with no credentials and make a assumption. I have been studying health and nutrition for 16 years and i can tell you that wheat grass is packed with goodness and does help many people. The only placebo effect is in your own mind making you think the juice in no good just because your taste buds dont like the taste. That's obsurd. Sometimes things that dont taste great are really good for us and you're not a child so not everything needs tobe sugar coated. Knowledge is power.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think it's cowardly to leave a rude, name-calling comment, anonymously.
ReplyDeleteI left one citation for the research I did, and it was one of hundreds that turned up the same evidence...which is, hands DOWN, "unsubstantiated claims."
Unlike, for instance, spinach, a documented "superfood" that I love, despite it's lack of sugar coating.
I DID look into the wheatgrass, before I wrote that post. I even had my sister ask her oncologist if it would have any benefits to help her while she went through a rough bout of chemo, and I ended up embarrassed for doing so.
If you wish to share you 16 years worth of knowledge with people, I'd think that you could better go about convincing them of your point of view without calling them "ignorant" and "obsurd" and making snide comments about sugar coating.
By the way, "obsurd" is spelled "absurd."
Knowledge is power.
You go girl! Intelligence wins out over smugness every day.
ReplyDeleteorangeblossom53;I have just tried wheatgrass in powder form and it does taste like grass smells, if that makes sense to you! After about 30 min. I did feel like I had taken a good shot of speed, without the jitters. You have to drink all at once, no sipping!I will see how it works at a longer pace.It is worth the try since it is a natural herb.If it does nothing ,I have lost nothing!
ReplyDeletesheken-wheatgrass is great and it gives you energy very fast after you drink it. Try powder form with pineapple juice.
ReplyDeleteorangeblossom: POWDERED wheatgrass! Oooo! Let me know how you do with it; I think that might have been what put me over the edge with my shot: the jitters made me nauseous.
ReplyDeleteWhere'd you find powdered grass?
Gnightgirl:I ordered my wheatgrass powder online @Living Whole Foods,Inc.I am going to try growing my own soon. Will keep posted as to how it works.I ordered the single packs. You add 8oz. of your desired juice and chug!
ReplyDeletegNIGHTGIRL:p.s. They do also have a chocolate powder for kids too!
ReplyDelete