New #29: Drink Wheatgrass

Ever wonder what grass tastes like? I've never been very curious to find out myself. Not being one of those people who finds freshly cut grass aromatically pleasing or soothing or anything of that sort, the wheatgrass shots offered at juice bars never appealed to me. But year after year, I'd always see people at Jamba Juice taking these shots and apparently feeling really good about it. So with my first sprint triathlon approaching, I decided to see what the hype was all about. As it turns out, grass tastes pretty much exactly as you'd imagine: green and gross.

I went to Jamba Juice, where wheatgrass is going for about $2 a shot. Cheaper than a shot of tequila - but really not half as fun. When ordering, I asked the cashier what's so special about this grass. First she told me that it's filled with antioxidants, which didn't really impress me. However, I was surprised to learn that each shot is equal to about 2 1/2 pounds of vegetables. Now that's what I like to hear!

After I ordered, the juice barista went over to this little field of grass growing in the back of the shop. She grabbed a chunk of the grass, picked up a knife and began hacking it away. The green shoots were then shoved in a strainer thing, which seemed to pee out the grass juice and poo out the grassy pulp. Yummm. With the grass juice in a little clear tea kettle, the lady poured me a shot and served it with an orange slice on a fancy dish.



Then it was shootin' time. Luckily I've had lots of practice with other types of liquids. It's a good thing, because this shot was gross! It didn't have that semi-yummy nature taste like you find in other healthy foods. No, instead it just reminded me of falling face first into a lawn. Not what my taste buds were craving. At least the orange slice was a nice addition to help wash it all down.


After my shot, I didn't grow giant Popeye arms, or even any hair on my chest. I guess I'll have to wait a while to see if the wheatgrass actually improves my health at all. Maybe I won't even notice if it's working, like if it prevents some illness and I don't get sick in the next few days. If nothing else, at least now I can stand next to other health snobs and shoot my grass with the best of them.