The South Arm Hungry Men Community Kitchen served Orange Earl Grey Iced Tea for the drink of the day.

This Orange Earl Grey Iced Tea can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup loose Earl Grey tea, or 12 Earl Grey tea bags
• Peel of 1 orange, plus orange wedges for garnish
• 4 cups boiling water
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 cups cold water
• ice

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Continuing with the Mexican theme, Michelle shared a Raspberry Lime Aqua Fresca drink in the South Arm Women Community Kitchen.

From Wikipedia:

Aquas fescas (Spanish “cool waters”) are a combination of fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water to make light non-alcoholic beverages. They are popular in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and the United States. Some of the more common flavours include tamarind, hibiscus and aqua de horchata.

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh or one 12-ounce bag frozen raspberries (or strawberries)
• 1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup lime juice (about 4 limes)
• ice cubes
• fresh mint sprigs and lime wedges for garnishing

Source: http://napavalleyregister.com by Isabel Cortez “Isabeal’s Cantina”

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Michelle, the facilitator of the South Arm Older Adults Community Kitchen shared the following tips on how to boost your intake of fruit and veggies in the recent session.

• Grate carrot or beet into your salad
• Add dried fruit, like raisins or dried cranberries to salads
• Make a smoothie with fruit and veg!
• Have cut up veggies in the fridge to snack on like baby carrots
• Have a fruit salad prepared ahead of time to have for dessert with yogurt if desired
• Add sliced fresh fruit to oatmeal or cereal
• Add cut up sauteed vegetables to omelettes or scrambled eggs (e.g. mushrooms, spinach, onion, zucchini)
• Add blueberries or diced banana to pancake batter
• Make soup with whatever vegetables you have in your fridge and cook in a broth with or without pasta or rice
• Make mini pizzas out of English Muffins or Pitas and load on the veggies
• Have a stirfry and use up fresh or frozen veg and serve over rice (e.g. peas, beans, carrots, onions, broccoli, etc); Asian likes to stir fry greens like bok choy, A choy, choy sum, water spinach, etc.
• Throw in grated or chopped vegetables into prepared pasta sauces (chopped spinach, grated zucchini, grated carrots, etc.)

Here is a food guide on serving of vegetables or fruit

Adults 51+ need 7 servings of vegetables or fruit a day

1 serving is equivalent to:

• size of a tennis ball for fresh vegetable or fruit
• 1/2 cup (125ml) of raw or cooked vegetables or fruits or roughly the size of a hockey puck
• 1 cup (250ml) of leafy vegetables or salad or roughly the size of a baseball
• 1/4 cup (60ml) of dried fruit, or roughly the size of two golf balls
• 1/2 cup (125ml) of 100% vegetable or fruit juice

A general guide line for a meal is:

• 1/2 of the plate to be filled with vegetables
• 1/4 of the plate for grains
• 1/4 of the plate for meat

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Michelle prepared a Mint Iced Tea for the South Arm Older Adults Cooking Club lunch. The mint is from her garden.

Possible health benefits of consuming mint:

• Mint is also known as mentha, is actually a genus or group of around 15 to 20 types of plants including peppermint and spearmint.
• Mint plants contain an antioxidant known as rosmarinic acid, which has been studied for its effectiveness in relieving seasonal allergy symtoms. Because of rosmarinic acid’s anti-inflammatory properties, roamarinic acid has been shown to be a promising treatment.
• Mint contains menthol, which is a natural decongestant that helps to break up phlegm and mucus. Mint can also be effective to improve the flow of bile through the stomach, which helps to speed and ease digestion.
• The use of peppermint oil has been found to be an effective and safe treatment for those suffering from abdominal pain or discomfort associated with irritable bowl syndrome.
• When applied topically in oil, ointment or lotion, mint has the effect of calming and cooling skin affected by insect bites, rash or other reactions.

Ingredients

• 3 green tea bags
• 1 quart boiling water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 large lemon/lime, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 bunch fresh mint, washed
• 2 cups cold water

Source: Food Network

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To be really kind to the Earth, don't buy bottled water! Bottled water is no safer than the water that comes from out taps. Michelle shared this simple Fruit Waters…