Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Mint n' Green


Day 3 of the Green Cleanse and Day 8 on raw...

We haven't made the same smoothie once yet. Not once. We're having fun trying new green recipes or mostly making up our own. Yesterday's lunch marveled me how many greens and veggies my Mom could get into one smoothie and it still tasted fruity and good. That invented one of hers was probably one of my favorites so far.


We had a papaya and greens smoothie for lunch and that was good. Having no bananas in it; yet, having a whole papaya had a very creamy, pudding-like texture.


For our supper, we're having a recipe from the Green Cleanse guide called "Cool Banana". Here's the recipe if you're game enough to try:
COOL BANANA
1/2 c. water
4 bananas
1 handful of mint
1 handful of lettuce leaves

Here's some nutritional facts about mint that I'm discovering:

Peppermint is a good source of vitamins A and C, manganese, beta-carotene (I wouldn't have guessed), a good source of dietary fibre, folate, iron, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin B2. The high nutrient density and low calorie status qualified peppermint as a good source of omega-3 fats (that surprised me), potassium, and copper.

It's health benefits are an anti-cancer aid, helps digestion, gives you fresh breath as commonly known, and it has antioxidant properties which helps neutralize free radicals (the bad guys).

All that said, it makes me want to eat fresh peppermint. This is one herb I love to grow in the spring and not only do I enjoy eating it, but it's a lovely addition to a facial steam or even just throwing some in a cup of hot water for a natural tea. I like to use fresh peppermint leaves for breath mints instead of the traditional aspartame/sugar loaded mints sold at the stores.

2 comments:

JulieK said...

Hi Clarissa! Thank you for adding my blog link, I don't mind at all! It's always so great to meet another raw foodie and build our community. Very nice to meet you!

Charis said...

Nice to meet you to, Julie. :)