I am melting, I am actually melting. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) terms I already have a lot of "heat" in me, and when you add weather that "feels like 38C", I literally feel like I am melting from within.

Luckily, TCM also has dietary suggestions to cool aforementioned heat. Mint, lime, and water are a few of them, and so, physician heal thyself.

The last of the 4 ingredients is the herb Stevia rebaudiana. Stevia is my favourite sweetener as it has negligible calories, and literally the opposite actions of sugar, other than its intense sweetness! It has been shown to:

- Inhibit dental bacteria (unlike sugar, which feeds it and gives us cavities and bad breath)

- Balance blood sugar (while sugar throws it for a loop)

- It doesn't cause the "dampness" that sugar is good at forming (if you're a patient of mine, you've likely heard me talk all about dampness, if not then in short: dampness is another TCM diagnosis, very common in our society and it often leads to symptoms like loose stools, foggy thinking, fatigue, bloating, congestion, acne, etc.).

This recipe is SO easy and SO refreshing, so I had to share it with you all on this very, very warm day. Let's get this party started:

Ingredients:

750ml (3c.) chilled sparkling water (or still water)

A bunch of peppermint (I'm sure other mints would work, too, and would certainly have the cooling function)

1 lime

Stevia leaf powder (I keep mine in a shaker so it's easy to dispense)*

Recipe:

1. Juice the lime and add juice to jug.

2. Tear up half of your peppermint and add it to jug.

3. Muddle the lime and peppermint together.

4. Add 3-4 "shakes" of the stevia leaf powder. It's an extremely sweet (but zero calorie!) herb, so it's easy to go overboard- better to add less and add more later if it's not sufficiently sweet.

5. Pour in sparkling water and the other half of your mint, ice if desired, and stir together.

Notes:

- You can also just muddle the whole bunch of mint, it's just less pretty!

- Steeping it, the longer the better will get more mint flavour from the un-muddled leaves. Personally, I had no time for such things, too hot immediately.

* You can use crystallized stevia like Truvia, I don't know how that changes the amount, and I don't particularly trust a green herb now being a white crystal, but it's still likely better than sugar! I use Organic Traditions Stevia Leaf Powder (see below), and I'm sure the liquid forms would be a great substitute.

I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I do!