Lean-Green-Nutrition-Machine

I must say, I am especially proud of today's smoothie, it is absolutely sensational, and looks delightful to boot. The Lean-Green-Nutrition-Machine has a small cucumber from my garden, about a half a cup of Balkan style yoghurt, about a half a cup of fresh mango (I usually use the frozen stuff because it's both convenient and consistently fresh and ripe, but the fresh ones looked nice today so I grabbed one), a splash of orange juice, and last but not least, a handful of leaves of sorrel from my garden. It's nice and sweet, and the sorrel leaves give it a bit of a lemony tang. If you don't have any sorrel, I'm sure arugula would do the trick.

Sorrel, or Rumex acetosa, is considered to be much like spinach in that it is said to have blood-cleansing and improving qualities. It's got iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, some calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and dietary fiber in it, but because it's relatively high in oxalates, sorrel leaves shouldn't be over done by anyone who is prone to kidney stones or arthritis. It's also super easy to grow, and will grow all year long in a pot. Left outside it's a perennial, so it'll just keep coming back with a vengeance. Here in eastern Ontario it can get a little hot for it; I don't get many leaves in high summer, but in spring and fall I'm treated to beautiful fresh young leaves. I'm going to try putting some in a pot this winter, I'll let you know how that goes. (PS It's also really good in soup, but I digress...I just can't help myself)