The refreshing coolness of mint is loved by all, isn’t it? Most of us associate the leaf/plant with wonderfully fresh breath, but most rarely pick up a bunch of mint from the market to use for other purposes, and that’s a shame! Whether it’s spearmint, peppermint, or some other type of mint (I love chocolate mint, by the way: I sliced some leaves over fresh fruit and made a delicious low-calorie dessert), the uses for mint are almost endless. Fresh or dried, the leaves have a pleasant warm, cool, aromatic and sweet flavor with a fresh aftertaste, and are excellent in teas, jellies, syrups, candies and ice cream.
In some parts of the Middle East, they use mint in lamb dishes and you are almost always served a nice cup of mint tea after a heavy meal, great for digestion. A drop of peppermint oil is delicious on chocolate when serving chocolate fondue after a meal, and I love adding fresh mint leaves to fruit and vegetable salads for a fresh twist.
Apart from its use in food, mint also helps us in many other ways. It is a great relief if you have severe headaches; simply put a few drops of peppermint oil on a cool, damp cloth and place on your forehead to relax your senses. If you don’t have fresh mint at home, add a drop of peppermint oil to a cup of herbal tea to aid digestion, relieve gas, and soothe heartburn. It’s also a great massage cream when added to a fragrance-free body lotion, and is quite invigorating in the hot summer months, especially if you’re trying to cut down on air conditioning bills.
Put a few drops of peppermint oil in an oil burner to freshen up a room and kill bacteria in the air. A few drops of peppermint oil in a footbath helps soothe tired feet, and it’s even great for freshening clothes – just add 2-3 drops of peppermint oil to a dry cloth and add it to the dryer with your clothes. And finally, my favorite use for peppermint oil: I always carry a container of encapsulated peppermint oil between meals to prevent gas from foods I don’t digest well. You can also rub some on your abdomen or lower back to ease gas pains as it is absorbed through the skin. A minty relief!
