Ginger Mint Smoothie
By: Jennifer Manriquez
Published: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - 8:50pm

Ingredients




2 bananas, either very cold or frozen
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped up for blending
1/4 cup Handful of peppermint or spearmint leaves, about loosely packed
2 teaspoons crushed ginger root (I used the frozen cubes)
6 ounce container of vanilla soy, or organic dairy, yogurt
6 large ice cubes
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1 Throw everything into a blender and swirl until desired consistency is reached. I like mine really smooth and creamy.

About


I have a lovely crop of fresh peppermint growing in my backyard, and another of fresh spearmint. I've been throwing mint into everything - salads, smoothies, brownies, you name it. It's so delicious and it adds a great bevy of health benefits, such as the following:
+ Peppermint soothes the tummy. Peppermint oil has been shown to relieve the symptoms of irritable bowl syndrome, indigestion, and lots more.
+ Peppermint has been shown in preliminary studies to be a potential anti-cancer agent.
+ Peppermint is high in antioxidants. Take that, free radicals!
+ Peppermint acts as an anti-microbial. Eat and drink when you're sick, or to help ward off illness.
+ Inhibits fungal growth. I had horrible bout of pneumonia last year, followed by blazing systemic yeast overgrowth... Yeah, peppermint helped a lot (along with tons of acidophilus).
+ Excellent source of Manganese, Vitamin C, and Vitamin A. Vitamin C has been shown to help reduce the incidence of colon tumors.
+ It just plain tastes awesome!