Blueberry Lime Detox Cooler

Three weeks of vacation - pure, wonderful, indulgent vacation - has left me in somewhat of a food coma and ready for fresh, revitalizing foods.  Which brings me directly to today's Blueberry Lime Cooler recipe.  

Light and refreshing, I've prepared this minty drink for the last three days and have found it an ideal "get me going" drink on sluggish jet lagged mornings.

Filled with antioxidant-rich blueberries, protein and vitamin rich spinach, digestion enhancing mint and a bright squeeze of lime, this cooler is easing by post vacation blues and helping me transition to the slightly chillier end of summer mornings.

Blueberry Lime Detox Cooler
A get you back on track nutritious drink that sets your morning off in the perfect direction.  Light and refreshing, it's a great way to start the day!

1 cup coconut water
1/2 cup ice
1/2 cup frozen organic blueberries
1 handful organic spinach
1 Tbs oatmeal
1 Tbs goji berries
2-5 leaves organic mint
juice of 1 lime (more if desired)

Place all items into your blender and blend until smooth.  The mint leaves usually bring quite a bit of flavor, so adjust to your taste by using more or less - we use between 3-5 leaves, I love a nice minty drink! 

Add more water if smoothie it too thick.

 

Captain Greg's Masterful Mint Chip Gelato

It's been a while since we've had Captain Greg stop by with one of his fabulous, and oh so decadent gelato concoctions. Who can forget his scandalously rich Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk?  Or maybe it's the zingy Lemon Lime version that stuck with you?  Personally I'll never forget the Ghirardelli Mocha Chip that sent me dreaming of Italy for days on end.

One of the kindest and most generous people I'm lucky enough to know, Captain Greg remains one of my favorite neighbors and gelato makers.  For the last 18 years he's always the calm voice on the other end of the phone when I'm in a pinch, but more importantly - he delivers treats right to my door.

And today he's sharing with all of us a new and ever so special Mint Chip Gelato in this guest post. Join me as we explore this most recent flavor explosion.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Two years ago I decided to teach the children of close friends to cook Italian. As you would expect, when I left menu choices to the kids they came up with two “food groups”: pizza and gelato. 100% of the time.

“No pasta? No entrée’s with rich tomato sauce or cheeses?”

Nope. Pizza or gelato.

I know when to give in, and decided instead to build the challenge a different way.

I insist they choose the flavors and make it start-to-finish. No shortcuts. It lets me talk food chemistry, creativity, the importance of natural ingredients, and lets them experience the richness and fun of making their own creations. And it is fun!

Two great girls, Chloe and Sophie, showed up with a vision of “the greatest Mint Chip gelato ever”. So we brought together a garden of fresh mint, lots of eggs and most importantly, two packages of Andes Crème de Menthe Thins. You know, the ones you always grab 5 of when leaving a restaurant? They melt in your mouth with an explosion of mint, like the essence of a Girl Scout Cookie or a Grasshopper Martini (two very different delivery vehicles)!

I couldn’t think of a better, more refreshing frozen treat. And... we nailed it!

Start with my basic sugar and egg custard base, but prep it with a clutch of fresh mint sprigs steeped in the simmering milk ingredients. Cool it, add a couple drops of pure peppermint extract (guaranteed to clear your sinuses). An optional drop or two of green, throw it in your gelato or ice cream churn, and when it sets up swirl in the Andes Mint bits --- if you haven’t already eaten them.  Good luck!

It’s a complete rush of freshness -- silky, laced in chocolate and taking mint to the level of fantasy. I don’t think the girls will ever ask for pizza again…

Green Tea with Ginger and Mint... A Detox Tummy Tamer

We've all done it on occasion.  You know... eaten a few too many helpings at a picnic, perhaps indulged in that extra cocktail we didn't really need, or maybe even finished off the last slice of pizza simply so we didn't have to wrap it.  And unfortunately, sometimes the after effects of these indulgences can leave us a little bloated, queasy, or purely parched from too much salt.

While many of us turn to "detox" drinks to help, and yes, many of them do make us feel better, I have a feeling that pure hydration plays a key role.  But add in a slice of ginger,  green tea and a few sprigs of mint, and you actually do add ingredients that can help.

Green Tea:  Filled with antioxidants and polyphenols, green tea is said to improve immunity, help rid the body of free-radicals thereby helping to protect against disease, speed up your metabolic rate and re-hydrate.  A little caffeine can also help ease an aching head. 

Ginger:  Known to provide gastrointestinal relief, ginger is many a pregnant woman's best friend.  Safe to take during pregnancy (in proper doses... check with your doctor first), ginger has been proven to provide relief in many cases.  Ginger is also the first thing I pack when heading on a cruise, and has seen me through rough seas with minimal issues (and I'm fairly sensitive to motion sickness).

Mint:  A well known appetizer or palate cleanser, mint promotes digestion.  Soothing the stomach in cases of indigestion or inflammation, even the aroma of mint can activate the salivary glands in our mouth as well as glands which secrete digestive enzymes.

Mixed together we have a concoction to rehydrate and hopefully soothe.  Poured over ice is my preferred Detox Tummy Tamer, but my husband prefers his steaming in a mug.  Either way, a concoction of these digestive ingredients is a lovely drink on a hot day, or, the perfect Tummy Tamer for a queasy kid or friend suffering from a day of over indulgence.

Healthy, fresh ingredients, the best way to detox out the bad stuff or hydrate by the pool.  Enjoy!

Minty Cucumber Honeydew Smoothie... I finished the challenge!

October brings to close my participation in the 30-Day Juicing Challenge of September.  With goals of healthier eating and losing a few pounds, I am happy to report resounding success in both areas!  More importantly, I now have a husband requesting his morning "Green Detox Super Drink" and kids who look forward to an after school blueberry or mango smoothie in place of chips and salsa or frozen burritos.  While the official challenge may be over, our move towards healthier foods is not, and I'm ever so thankful to Teresa, of Eat. Drink and Be Skinny, for inspiring us to make better choices.

Closing out our month of smoothies and juices, I have one more new favorite to share, a lovely Minty Honeydew Cucumber Smoothie.  With my mint plant continuing its takeover of my flower bed, I enjoyed snipping a few of his bountiful sprigs to flavor our morning drinks.  Bringing a fresh, clean flavor, the mint combined with lime and sweet honeydew to bring an invigorating start to our day.

During September we shared a number of new smoothie favorites, and I in turn received a few emails and comments stating that juices and smoothies bring "too much sugar and calories into the diet".  I absolutely agree that many smoothies on the market today truly resemble milkshakes more than any sort of health drink, however, I do believe that smoothies and blended fruit and veggie drinks can be a wonderful addition to one's diet - so long as they are used in moderation and with the proper ingredients.

For us, smoothies bring the addition of fruits and veggies that we wouldn't otherwise have had.  My husband, not a huge salad fan, receives a nice dose of spinach or kale in his morning "Green Detox Super Juice", and my son, not a blueberry fan, amps up his antioxidants with a cupful of our Blueberry Cucumber Smoothie.  That said, serving size is also an issue.  We keep our serving sizes to about a cup to a cup and a half, thereby keeping the calorie count in check.  Drinking pints of smoothie indeed throws the equation out of balance and yes, can bring too much of a good thing.

Personally, I prefer smoothies to juicing as blending a smoothie uses the entire fruit or vegetable thereby keeping the fiber in the serving.  True, the fiber is broken down in the blending process and is not as intact as eating, say a salad, but much of it is still there in addition to vitamins from the skins and seeds (for example blueberries or kiwis).

In any case, this 30-Day Challenge resulted in a big success for my family and we've seen our fruit and veggie consumption increase in volume.  Incorporating a few super foods, such as Camu Camu Powder, Flax Meal, chia seeds and Goji Berries has amped up our nutrition even more, and I'm enjoying the new flavor creations we've been experimenting with (well,most of them anyway...).

Thanks again to Teresa for making a difference for our family and for getting me in shape before my high school reunion.  I'm keeping with the challenge for the foreseeable future... just because I like it.

Lemony Israeli Couscous Salad with Mint

A Green Thumb I have not, and as such most plants in my care tend to live somewhat abused lives due to a simple lack of water.  Orchids have withered on my shelves, potted tomato plants have been seen wilted and gasping for breath, and petunias have seen better days when given proper water.  Mint, though, is a different story.

Years ago I brought home a beautiful, emerald green, perfect mint plant from the local farmers' market with a warning from the vendor that the roots tend to be somewhat aggressive.  With my past history of plant growing, very little worry entered my mind and I actually never even planted the beautiful herb in my garden.  Six months later as I went to move the pot, I found the little guy had rooted itself through the holes in the bottom, thereby explaining how he had lived even though his water source had been sparse.

Cleaning for winter I tossed the overgrown, flowering plant and promptly forgot I had ever grown a mint plant.  Until this spring.  Along with my snapdragons (they thrived beautifully with my husband's loving care), little shoots of the brilliant green herb popped up where the old pot had been.... as well as on the other side of the garden, and as well as numerous other spots in between.  Aggressive roots indeed, but a hardy little guy who seems to be a survivor.

With mint back in my garden, the fragrant, flavorful leaves have been finding their way into my daily iced teas as well as into my salads.  Bringing a clean and fresh element to recipes, mint became a welcomed addition to my Israeli Cous Cous concoction and had me repeating the recipe twice in a week with resounding reviews from the whole family.

My mint... it's the little plant that could.