Mint... How Refreshing!

Look at what a wonderful co-worker brought me this morning!

Love this picture of the mint!

My very own mint plant!  Now, you know that I have said before that herbs just seem to die on me, but I’ve heard that it is really hard to kill mint.  So I am going to give it a try.  I use so much mint that the cost of buying it all the time was getting too high.  Hopefully growing my own will help.

Now, I mainly use mint to make infused water.  I love ice water with lemon and mint!  It looks so pretty in the glass and tastes so refreshing!  Plus, it helps to naturally detox your body!  (And who doesn’t need that?)  I also like to use mint as a garnish on desserts, too, or on yogurt parfaits. 

After I got my mint plant, I decided to Google mint and see what other uses there are for this herb. 

I found some great information on mint from HealthMad site.  According to HealthMad, here are some uses for mint:

·  Boil few mint leaves in milk; add sugar to it and drink it when you have stomachache

·  Apply mint juice to acne every night and wash it with cold water early in the morning. This remedy works for dry skin also.

·  Add some salt to mint decoction and gargle with it to get relief from sore throat.

·  Apply mint juice on skin affected by Eczema, Scabies and Dermatitis

·  Mix 5 teaspoons lemon juice and 2 teaspoons honey in a ¼ cup mint juice to get relief from acidity, thread worms and Diarrhea.

·  Mint tea relieves from menstrual cramps and heavy menstruation

·  According to traditional medicine mint is a contraceptive. Taking ½ teaspoon mint powder with water 10 minutes before intercourse prevents pregnancy. (NOT SURE I BELIEVE THIS ONE!)

·  Taking mint juice at night before going to bed induces restful sleep

·  Taking mint tea half an hour before meals stimulates appetite

·  Infusion made with mint leaves is useful for cold, flu, hiccups and flatulence

·  Keep your breath fresh by chewing some mint leaves

·  Mint cures from dog bites, scorpion and beestings

·  Mint has excellent wound healing properties

·  Infusion of mint is good for hypertonic diseases, atherosclerosis, and kidney and liver diseases

Read more: http://healthmad.com/alternative/15-wonderful-medicinal-uses-for-mint/#ixzz10q1nHbJV

 

Now, some of these, I am not so sure about… I’d want to know some of their sources.  But it’s interesting reading!

Now, for the food...

This morning, I had a yogurt parfait for breakfast! 

I used Dannon Light n Fit Vanilla Yogurt, fresh raspberries, and some Fiber One Cereal.  I had these convenient little packets of Fiber One from the Get Your Rear In Gear 5K Run (raises money for colon cancer and other diseases of the colon).  Yum!  The raspberries made it tangy and the FO added some crunch. 

Lunch was a bunch of random stuff from the fridge thrown into baggies.  Cheese slice, some pastrami, turkey, an apple... not very satisfying.  I'll have to do better tomorrow.

Tonight I taught Zumba at church!  I had a GREAT group of participants, many of which were new to Zumba! 

Now, I am finally home and having a late (easy) dinner.

I took leftovers from our pork tenderloin and made a sandwich.  (And the round bread makes yet ANOTHER appearance!)   I sliced up some fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and a fresh peach to go with it.  And then I saw some cinnamon applesauce in the fridge, and I thought, yummm... that sounds good!  So I am having a bit of a random dinner, too.

I am really looking forward to dessert-- a yummy chocolate ice cream cup.  These were on sale at Harris Teeter this week for $1.50!  That's a HUGE deal!  So I grabbed a few for desserts this week.  This ice cream is a great treat!

I was thinking about making more pumpkin muffins, but I think I am just too tired... maybe tomorrow? 

Stay tuned for progress on the mint plant... I put it in its home this afternoon... hoping it makes it!