How to Grow your Own Wheatgrass at Home
January 30th
 Let me tell you how you too, can grow your own wheatgrass at home. There is probably a few different ways that you can do this, but this is the way I do it and it is simple to do. Pick yourself up some seeding trays and good soil from the garden department. By good, I mean NO additives (like miracle grow) in the soil. Remember, you are going to be drinking the nutrients from this, so the soil is very important. You can get organic soil from www.soiledreputation.com if you contact him in advance to get it.
 The next step is to sprout your hard wheat berries. (You can get the wheat berries in both the sprout section as well as the bulk section of our store). Place approximately 1 cup (you may want to use more if you are doing lots of grass) of the hard wheat berries into a large mason jar and fill with water to soak over night. In the morning, drain the water from the wheat berries and rinse. Place the jar on a 45 degree angle to allow ALL the water to drain from the jar. Now, all you have to do is rinse and drain both morning and evening, until you see small white tails coming from the berries (this is the root). The berries are now ready for the next step!! Fill the bottom of your seeding trays with around 1 inch of soil. Place a layer of your sprouted wheat berries on the soil and give it a good watering. Put the lid of the seeding tray on top and cover the tray with a cloth so that it is in darkness until it starts growing grass. Keep an eye on the grass to water when it is needed. Don't be alarmed if you notice something fuzzy on the roots! This is just more roots growing AND its a sign that you need to water.
As soon as you notice that your grass is starting to grow (it will be white at this stage), remove the lid and place your tray in the window so that it will receive light and turn green. When your grass is around 6-7 inches tall, it is ready to juice!
I use the Healthy Juicer for making my wheatgrass juice. It is very simple to use - just use the clamp that comes with the juicer and clamp it to your counter. Using a sharp knife, cut off a section of grass and place in the juicer. Turn the handle and watch how the juice (which comes out the back end by the handle) appears at one end and the pulp at the other. I like to put a small dish under the front of the machine (opposite of the handle - where the pulp comes out) so that I don't miss any of the goodness that may drip out. If you are just making juice for yourself, you only need to just fill the bottom of the juicers holder. If you are making for 2 people, I usually fill the container with around 1/2 inch of juice. Enjoy!!!
Written by Nancy
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Spiralizer Demo
Thursday January 26th 2012
We had a great demo today featuring the Paderno Spiralizer that we now have in stock. This spiralizer beautifully shreds, slices, and chops most vegetables and fruits.
It has 3 interchangeable blades (large noodle, small noodle and slicing blade) and is easy to use, clean, and store.
For today, I used only the small noodle blade to show customers how easy this appliance is to use. The vegetables that were demonstrated were zucchini, daikon radish, red onion,
carrot & sweet potato. I served this combination of vegetables with the raw dressing called French Fusion (available in the produce area) then topped this delicious dish with kelp
noodles (available in the dairy alternative fridge) to add extra crunch and nutrition. To finish off the dish, a raw 'Parma-Veg', which is a vegan 'parmesan' was sprinkled on the top
of it. This vegan 'parmesan' is made with walnuts, nutritional yeast, kale, sprouted sunflower seeds, golden flax seeds, spices, hemp, and himalayan salt and can be added to
anything you would use traditional parmesan for.
This dish did not just look good but it also tasted delicious. We had a great response and feedback from customers on both the actual spirializer and also how
delicious the dish was. The customers that tried it, loved it.
These kelp noodles can be used to add extra crunch in anything you are eating. I love to make a salad and sprinkle kelp noodles on top for added nutrients (as well as the crunch). You can even make a salad using just the noodles and add vegetables and a dressing to it. Here is a couple of recipes to give you a couple of ideas on what you can do with them:
KELP NOODLE SALAD
- Kelp Noodles
- Honey Mustard Dressing
- Cucumbers, sliced
- Carrots, sliced
- Apples, thinly sliced
- Salt, to taste
- Combine all ingredients and mix well. Salt to taste.
KELP NOODLE AND VEGETABLE STIR FRY
- 12 ounces Kelp Noodles
- 1/2 cup onion
- 1/2 cup bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup carrots
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup mushrooms
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Tamari or soy sauce, to taste
- Dash of raw sugar, to taste
- Dash of sea salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
- Sautee the garlic in the olive oil. Add the vegetables and sautee until cooked. Add the rinsed Kelp Noodles along with the soy sauce, sugar, and broth and mix. Sautee until the noodles have softened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Be sure to drop by for my next demo - Thursday February 9th 11:30am - 3:30pm. I will be giving you a very healthy chocolate recipe for you to create at home!!!!
Written by Nancy
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January 23rd, 2012
Exciting News!!!
Our Holiday Teas are on Sale!! Pick up a tin of "Hot Apple Cider Tea", "Dream by the Fire Tea" and/or "Holiday Spiced Plum" and get $2 off!!
When you come into the tea section of the store, you will notice a display of NEW teas that we have in stock, just on time for Valentines Days!!
We have one called 'get passionate', which is a fun gift for yourself or loved one!! The ingredients are organic rooibos (leaf); Muira Puama (part); Ashwagandha (root); Lemon Verbena (leaf); Hibiscus (flower); Maca (root); Passionflwer (leaf); Stevia (leaf)
We also have a fantastic variety of chocolate teas from the same company that are staff approved!! Strawberry Chocolate, Peppermint Chocolate, Coconut Cocoa, and Red Velvet Chocolate for the chocolate lover.
There is no doubt in my mind that you will find the tea of your choice with the large selection that we have!!
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Goodbye to Andrew & Anne
November 11, 2011
Both Andrew and Anne are leaving the staff at Gentle Rain and will be missed. We wish them both all the best in their future and that their journey is a happy one.
Fun on Halloween 2011
October 31, 2011
We have fun on the best of days, here at Gentle Rain, but when it comes to Halloween... it is the most fun. Throughout the day, customers commented on the creativity of the costumes that we wore. With Halloween falling on a Monday this year (which is one the busiest days for orders), we all needed to team together to get that huge order put away. Most of us wearing costumes, made that task so much easier. See if you can figure out who is who in the photo!!!
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