10 Ways to use Mint

I do not know about you, but I like the aroma and taste of fresh mint. It is the reason I do not grow mint in a pot. I have a special place in the garden where I grow it even if it is known that mint spreads everywhere if allowed to. I do not let it happen and I use it as much as possible! 🙂

Mint is a leafy plant with gentle stems. It has been used for centuries for its medicinal properties. Perhaps, it is the most popularly known as a remedy for digestive problems. It is also used for flavouring food. However, why to grow and how to use mint?

Benefits of Mint :

• is rich in nutrients
• is anti-inflammatory
• helps with weight loss
• calms dry or itchy skin
• helps oral hygiene
• relieves menstrual cramps and pain
• prevents allergies
• helps common colds and respiratory tract infections
• improves Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• beats stress and depression because it increases serotonin levels in the brain

You can use mint for whatever reason above or to enjoy its aroma. Here are 10 ways I use mint for:

1. Mint Tea

As I said mint tea is probably the most known for digestive problems. I love it with lemon or ginger. Here it is my recipe:

• hot water
• 2-3 fresh leaves
• honey

Boil water. Slice ginger root or squeeze the lemon and add mint leaves. Pour hot water over them. Let it cool a few minutes before adding honey. Never pour hot water over honey!!!!! Also, from what I know, you should not have more than 2-3 cups of mint tea daily because of its side effects.

2. Mint Vinegar

Herbal vinegars make good marinades and also can be great gifts.

The easiest recipe of mint vinegar is to pour vinegar over chopped fresh mint leaves and steep 2-3 weeks. Strain before use and add 2-3 fresh mint leaves for decorative purposes.

How to do it? Push as many mint leaves into a clean jar. Heat the vinegar in a saucepan. Pour the hot vinegar into the jar and cap the jar for the period of steeping. After 3 weeks, strain and use the mint vinegar.

3. Mint Chocolate Ice-Cream

Mint chocolate ice-cream is the ice-cream I love and have found the recipe I like here: https://simpleveganblog.com/. I do not add peppermint essential oil, for I prefer adding more fresh mint leaves for aroma if it is needed.

Ingredients:

• 150-200 g raw unsalted cashew soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight
• 25 g fresh mint
• 125 ml of water
• 200 ml of coconut milk
• 5-10 dates
• 100 g chopped dark chocolate

Blend all the ingredients (except chocolate) and chill the mixture overnight. Serve it with chopped dark chocolate on top. I use a lot! 🙂

4. Mint Toothpaste

Another way to use mint is preparing my homemade toothpaste. It is a way of using homemade products and avoiding fluorine toxicity. For the toothpaste I use:

• water
• sodium bicarbonate
• sea salt
• chopped mint leaves

I mix all of them and keep the mixture in a jar.

5. Mint Water

There are hot summer days when may enjoy the mint cooling effect. You can make the perfect drink with three ingredients:

• 3-4 mint leaves
• water
• honey. Instead of honey, you can use sugar or Stevia extract, whatever you like.

6. Mint flavour for food

As I said, mint can be used for flavouring food. I use either fresh or dry mint leaves when cooking and fresh leaves when storing home-canned goods. Eg.: I add 2 fresh leaves in the jars with sliced tomatoes for pizza or in cherries jam. In this way, I also enjoy mint aroma in the cold winter days.

7. Mint Sauce

Usually, mint sauce is used on a roast lamb. I do not eat meat, so I use it whenever I feel that is great to have it with my meal. The simplest recipe is:

• a bunch of fresh mint leaves
• 1-2 tablespoons of Apple Vinegar
• honey or brown sugar

Wash and chop finely the mint leaves. Place the mint in a bowl and add vinegar. Stir well for a thick consistency. Add honey or sugar until it is as sweet or sharp to your liking and stir again.

8. Homemade Mint Jam

I have read and tried several recipes before deciding the way I am making the mint jam. I use:

• 250 g of mint
• 1 kg of sugar
• 2 lemons
• 1 litre of water

Wash and chop the mint leaves and slice the washed lemons. All are added to a saucepan and cooked for 10 minutes. Then I leave the mixture for a day. The next day I drain the mixture, add the sugar and simmer until ready. The hot jam is poured into jars and preserved immediately. It is fantastic with pancakes or whatever you like to use with.

9. Mint Sugar

It can be used to sprinkle on cookies or to sweeten your tea. You will need:

• 100g sugar
• 6-8 fresh mint leaves

Blend them together and use the mixture right away or let it dry overnight and store it in a jar.

10. Homemade Mint Mouthwash

Probably you know that a common mouthwash may contain a lot of ingredients we do not need. Moreover, health experts warn us that mouthwashes containing alcohol can cause cancer. So, we should make our own mouthwash.

I use :

• 2 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon of fresh mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon of cloves
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Boil the water, add the mint leaves, cloves and cinnamon. Let the spices infuse for 10 minutes. Strain the mixture and store it in a sealed jar. Keep refrigerated and use it within 1-2 weeks.

I shared with you 10 faces of love mint offers me. Also, I found more interesting information about mint here: https://www.plantshospital.com/.

Enjoy the aroma and taste of mint in whatever way you like it (if)!

Main image by José Filipe from Pixabay

With Love,

Copyright © 2021 manuela@inalove.world