Lime Juice with Mint
What better way to start my Blog series than with the need of the hour - a refreshing Lime, Mint cooler. With temperatures reaching all-time highs, this drink will leave you feeling hydrated, refreshed and that sweet tooth satiated.
Here’s a simple recipe for a juice concentrate that I learnt from my best friend Vidya’s mom, Sharada Bhat.
My children have grown up reaching for this in the refrigerator, instead of aerated beverages every Summer.
INGREDIENTS :
Lemons : 6
Sugar/ Jaggery powder : 1-2 cups (or any other sweetener of your choice)
Mint Leaves : Fresh - torn, coarsely chopped
Color (Optional for the kids) : Green (Food grade) or Saffron Fronds (A pinch)
Cardamom Powder (optional) : As desired
Preparation time : 15 min
METHOD :
Heat sugar with 2-3 cups of water until it boils, turn off the heat.
Immediately add mint leaves, cardamom powder, color. Let the flavors steep and cool a bit.
Now squeeze lemon juice (Vitamin C gets degraded at higher temperatures), mix well and strain.
You could refrigerate it as a Juice concentrate and dilute to taste while serving. Goes well with Soda, Water and Ice.
INFORMATION :
Vegan Friendly : Yes
Keto Friendly : No
CALORIES : Depends on the amount of sugar/jaggery used and on each serving volume.
1 Tbsp of Sugar = 15 grams of carbohydrate & 60 calories.
1/4 cup of lemon juice = 13 calories [ 31 % of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C and 3 % of Folate and 2 % of Potassium]
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Lemons are an excellent source of vitamin C, flavonoids and antioxidants. One 58 g lemon can provide over 30 mg of vitamin C. RDI (Recommended Daily Intake) is 75 mg of vitamin C for women and 90 mg for men.
Mint leaves are rich in vitamin A and vitamin C and antioxidants. It is a good source of iron, magnesium, calcium manganese, folates.
HEALTH BENEFITS :
The health benefits of Vitamin C in lemon juice need not be elaborated (antioxidant and boosts immunity, heart health, weight loss, known to prevent stroke and cancer, etc.)
Mint is a calming herb that people have used for thousands of years to help soothe an upset stomach, including indigestion, IBS, stomach pain, etc. It contains contain an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent called rosmarinic acid, which helps reduce asthma. It is effective against allergies and cold.
ORIGIN :
Lemon : Lemon (Citrus limon) belongs to family Rutaceae, Origin of lemons is unknown, although some horticulturists theorize that they come from South Asia, primarily North Eastern India.
Mint :Mint (Mentha species) belongs to the Lamiaceae family. It originated in Asia and The Mediterranean region and is distributed across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America
WATER FOOTPRINT (is litres of water needed to produce the food):
Lemon/Lime: 642 L/Kg; Pepper Mint : 288 L/Kg
DID YOU KNOW :
The taxonomic family Lamiaceae is known as the mint family. It includes many other aromatic herbs, including most of the more common cooking herbs, such as basil, rosemary, sage, oregano, etc.
REFERENCES :
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mint-benefits#section3
https://www.livescience.com/54282-lemon-nutrition.html
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/283476#nutrition
https://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Report47-WaterFootprintCrops-Vol1.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki