Over the summer, one of my demo themes was: Cooling Foods. There are various foods that can help us stay cooler during the warm summer season. In this recipe I chose a few different cooling foods that I thought would go nicely together. It’s cooling, hydrating and great for your outdoor festivities.

Ingredients

5 cups cubed cucumbers (peeled and seeded)
5 cups cubed (seeded) watermelon
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons tangerine balsamic vinegar (one of ME’s bulk vinegars)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
½ teaspoon salt

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix until well combined. Serve cool. Enjoy!

Health Benefits of Cucumbers

1.  Keep you hydrated
2. Cucumber has 96% water content that is more nutritious than regular water, which helps in keeping the body hydrated and regulating body temperature. It also helps in flushing out the toxins from the body.
3. Fight cancers
   Cucumber contains lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secoisolariciresinol – three lignans that have a strong history of research in connection with reduced risk of several cancer types, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, uterine cancer, and ovarian cancer.
4. Control Blood Pressure
   Cucumber juice contains a lot of potassium, magnesium and fiber which are very helpful for regulating blood pressure. This makes cucumber especially good for treating both low blood pressureand high blood pressure.
5. Aid digestion
   Digestive disorders, such as heartburn, gastritis, and even ulcers, can be cured by the daily consumption of fresh cucumber juice. The high water content and dietary fiber in cucumber are very effective in driving away the toxins from the digestive system and hence aid digestion.
6. Promotes joint health
   Cucumber is an excellent source of silica which is known to help promotes joint health by strengthening the connective tissues.
7. Relieve gout and arthritis pain
   Cucumber is a best ingredient for gout pain relief. When mixed with carrot juice, they can relieve gout and arthritis pain by lowering the uric acid levels.
8. Reduces cholesterol
   Researchers found that some compound called sterols in cucumber may help reduce cholesterol levels.
9. Acts as a diuretic
   The water content of cucumber acts as a diuretic. It encourages the elimination of waste products from the body through urination. Regular intake of cucumber helps to dissolve bladder or kidney stones.

Health Benefits of Mint

1. Aid in weight loss.
   Due to its low calorie and high water content, cucumber is an ideal diet for people who looking for weight loss.
2. Boost Digestion. One of the main mint health benefits is that it aids digestion and helps to remove stomach pains. Mint is a great appetizer and due to its soft aroma, it soothes the stomach. The aroma triggers the mouth to produce more saliva and more digestive enzymes. As you can imagine, this aids digestion tremendously.
3. Strengthen Your Liver. When your liver is chugging along slowly, you’re going to be feeling pretty dismal. A poorly functioning liver is an energy sap. Thankfully, one of the great mint nutritional benefits is that it is a powerful liver booster.
4. Cool Your Body. Mint is a cooling herb. Consuming mint causes your body to slightly lower its temperature. This is one reason that mint goes great in fruity, summery drinks.
5. Relieve Asthma. Many people have found that consuming mint produces positive relief for asthma symptoms. Scientists believe that regular use of mint is super beneficial for asthma patients. It is a great relaxant and relieves congestion (unblocks your nose). However, don’t go too crazy as too much mint may cause irritation.
6. Less gas. One of the interesting mint nutritional benefits is that it will help relieve gas. Since it eases digestion, the body makes less gas. The benefits of lemon juice are also great for this.
7. Defeat Cancer. Like all edible plant food, mint is believed to have potent cancer-fighting powers. This health benefit of mint leaves is probably due to the variety of enzymes that mint contains.