herbs Archives | Page 11 of 19

Pineapple Cucumber Slush (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Frozen pineapple, cucumbers, lime, and mint are blended for a cooling and refreshing vegan summertime slush!

In Houston we don’t need the Summer Solstice to let us know it’s summer because we experienced our first 90 degree day back in March. YIKES! That’s pretty early, even for Houston standards. Our elevated temperatures are here to stay so we might as well adapt. For me that usually means consuming more fresh/raw foods, especially during the hottest part of the day.

Cucumbers are definitely a summertime favorite making their appearance on open-faced sandwiches, salads, and even juices. Last week I was really craving a cucumber pineapple combo so I whipped up this slush to enjoy while catching up on some reading. It was pretty darn delicious and refreshing! If you want more of a true slush texture (and less fiber), use cucumber juice in the recipe instead of a whole cucumber.

More Refreshing Cucumber Recipes

For more cucumber inspiration, check out this cucumber limeade, this Indian-inspired salad, or the quick-pickle recipe in this post.

Pineapple Cucumber Slush

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Author: Courtney
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 serving
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Frozen pineapple, cucumbers, lime, and mint are blended for a cooling and refreshing vegan summertime slush!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups roughly chopped cucumber (this was about one standard 7–8 inch cucumber)
3/4 – 1 cup frozen pineapple
juice of 1/2 a lime
optional add-ins: handful of fresh mint, lemon balm, or basil

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Instructions

Add everything to a blender along with a splash of water to make sure everything blends easily. Blend until the cucumber has broken down and you have a slushy texture.

Drink and enjoy!

Notes

If you want a thinner texture, you can use 1 to 1 1/2 cups of cucumber juice in place of the cucumber. If you go this route you don’t need to add a splash of water as instructed below. If you’ve been outside sweating and need to replenish electrolytes, add in a glug of coconut water or a pinch of salt before blending.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Fresh Mint Salt Scrub | via the sweet miscellany blog

This homemade fresh mint salt scrub requires only three ingredients! The salt exfoliates while the coconut oil moisturizes and the mint cools and soothes. Set aside some time so you can whip up a batch and indulge.

Mint is one of my favorite herbs, hands down. It outnumbers anything else in my garden and grows well despite our erratic weather. Come summer (which is basically 6-7 months of the year here in Houston) it’s all I want to eat and smell in order to stay cool. Luckily, I have three different mint plants in my garden to keep me stocked year-round: spearmint, peppermint, and chocolate mint. The chocolate mint is probably my favorite but I don’t like to say that out loud around the others 😉

This past weekend I was standing amidst the mint in my garden, running my fingers through the leaves as one does, and I had the idea to make a salt scrub with the fresh and highly fragrant leaves. I’d been meaning to make a quick salt scrub so why not put my favorite herb in it? I headed inside to gather a couple of things so I could make my scrub out in the garden, but not before tripping on the fencing and ripping a hole in my pants. Just keeping it real around here!

What You’ll Need to Make this Scrub

This scrub requires only three ingredients: dead sea salt or regular sea salt, fresh mint leaves, and unrefined coconut oil. How’s that for simple homemade body care?! Since you’re putting a fresh herb in your scrub rather than a dried one, it should be used the day you make it. And, since that’s the case, the amounts listed in the recipe below are enough for 1 generous application in the shower. The salt exfoliates while the coconut oil moisturizes and the mint cools and soothes. I highly recommend setting aside some time this weekend for a little salt scrub indulgence.

Fresh Mint Salt Scrub

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1application

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Description

Ingredients

1 large handful of fresh mint leaves, rinsed and patted dry
1/3 cup dead sea salt (standard sea salt works great, too!)
heaped tablespoon of unrefined coconut oil

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Instructions

Add your mint and salt to a mortar and pestle so that you can begin to gently pound and muddle them together. Whenever the mint is in small pieces and it’s incredibly fragrant, you’re done! Don’t have a mortar and pestle? You can pulse the mixture in a blender or food processor until the mint has broken down or you can use a muddler/wooden spoon and a small bowl.

Add the coconut oil to the mint and salt and mix to combine. That’s it! Now your scrub is ready to be used.

I prefer to use my scrub at the end of my shower so that it does double duty as an exfoliator and moisturizer. Do whatever makes sense to you!

Notes

If you don’t have access to fresh mint, you can use 2-3 tbsp of dried mint in its place. Or, you can use fresh basil or lemon balm which are both cooling herbs.
This scrub is meant for your body and NOT your face as the skin on the face is much more delicate. The scrub does not keep well since it uses fresh herbs so plan on using it the day you make it!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Category: body