BLUEBERRY MINT COOLER

1 smoothie, 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup - 1 cup fresh blueberries (NOT FROZEN)

• 1 tbsp fresh mint

• 1/4 cup hemp milk (or water or coconut water)

• Spritz of lemon

• Splash of rosewater (optional, for extra cooling and calming)

DIRECTIONS

1. Blend all ingredients together and drink, preferably room temperature (not straight from the fridge-level cold).

Recipe adapted from joyfulbelly.com

#vata #pitta #spring #summer #kidfriendly #under15minutes #breakfast #snack

Notes

• I make this smoothie whenever I feel excess heat in my body - whether that is a pitta type of insomnia (difficulty falling asleep), headache behind the eyes or temples, heat in the mouth, ulcers, acidity, inflammation etc - these are just examples.

• When there is excess heat in the body, it has a tendency to rise (heat rises, we all know the saying). Thus, it goes from the stomach to the upper parts of the body - think acidity, headaches, acidic nausea, facial acne, dental/ mouth inflammation, burnout, anger, frustration, snapping too much etc. Cold has a downward moving direction. Thus, drinks like this, with a cooling nature, helps redirect the heat back downwards, alleviating all of the issues I have mentioned above.

• Mint - mint is interesting, it is known to be great for IBS and calming the nerves. It actually has an outward moving energy which can help clear toxins in the lymphatic and blood tissue. BUT it's cold and light nature can aggravate vata in excess, so if vata, use in moderation and when in season (which is late spring - late summer/ early fall).