Healthy, Refreshing Summer Beverages, Made with Moringa Leaves!

      I have a new tree growing in my backyard!  It is about a foot tall now, but by the end of the summer, it should be as tall as I am.  It is a Moringa Tree and the most recent trend in super foods! 
      Two of my friends, Julie and Anita are the ones who first told me about this tree.  It produces a bean that people in Asia love to use, but here is the west, many don't find it very palatable.  But never fear!  The leaves are also edible and healthy and delicious!  
       Anita has a number of Moringa Trees growing in her yard, and she gave me some seeds, which I sprouted and now have growing in my backyard!  The tree is very fast growing and it will be a large bush or a tree, depending on how you trim it as it grows.  I want mine to be a tree, so I am snipping off lower growth as it comes out.  Anita has been harvesting leaves off of her trees as well and gave some to me!  So guess what?  You are going to be seeing some Moringa leave recipes here on the blog!  So keep reading because what could be better than some cool Moringa Iced Tea Beverages for Summer! 

Here are two views of my small, growing Moringa Tree! You can tell its height by the soda bottle next to it. This has only been growing from seed for 2 months. These trees are very fast growing! I've trimmed off the lower branches because I want it to be a tree, not a bush.

      I found this chart on Pinterest.  It says it is over 10 years old, so people have been aware of Moringa long before me!  This chart shows some of the health benefits known about Moringa:      

     Other benefits include helping control blood sugar, boosting energy, reducing inflammation, and may help improve memory!  So, count me in when it comes to using Moringa! 

     When we had our big gardening workshop at Anita's house, she made some moringa leave teas for everyone to try.  One was hot and one was cold.  I loved the cold one!  It was so refreshing!  Since the weather is getting into the 100s here in Phoenix now,  my first adventure into using moringa in our food is to make some of those delicious beverages myself.  
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    Another great thing about moringa is that you can dry the leaves without losing any of the nutritional benefits!  So, that is great because I can add moringa to my greens powder for a big boost, but also store it separately for use in a variety of recipes.  
       
          Anita sent me a bunch of beverage recipes that she had found, and using those as a starting point, I decided to use what I have at my house to make a couple of variations of my own.  That is the fun of making beverages, you can change them up to suit your taste.   

    
      There are two  ways that you can make a "tea" from the moringa leaves and of course, I had to try both of them.  The first way is to use the fresh leaves , before you dry them.  This method is for impatient people like me!   This is how I did it:

•  I'm sure that you've heard of making a "bouquet garni" from fresh herbs to use in soups and stews.  It is a bundle of specific herbs that you put in your pot and then remove when the food is ready to serve.  I decided to make my own variation of a "bouquet garni"  for my "tea" that was to be the basis of my beverage.  I put it together like this, click on the photos:

These are sprigs of Moringa.

These are mint leaves from my garden.

I used baker's twine to tie them together into a little bouquet.

     After making the bouquet, I put it in a little pot with about a cup of water over it and brought it to a boil, then turned it down to simmer for a bit.  I added honey right to this tea, as the recipe will explain. Then, I set to work putting together the rest of the refreshing drink that I had in my brain.  
      I had a watermelon in my fridge, so I decided that a watermelon refresher would be delicious.  I was right!  I also used a couple of drops of lime essential oil (or you can use lemon)  in the recipe.  Not to sweet, sweetened with honey.  I hope you will give it a try! 

     You may want to add more or less honey to taste.  The sweetness will also depend on how sweet your watermelon is! The recipe says lemon oil, but I actually used lime, which was delicious!

      The next method of making the moringa tea is to dehydrate the tea first and to  use the dry leaves to steep in boiling water.  I am not a tea drinker, so I don't have the equipment that someone who drinks tea would have.  Anita had gotten herself a tea steeper on Amazon.  I can't remember which one it was, but I found these that I will have to get for myself.  In the meantime, I used a small mesh strainer to do the work. 

Of course, when you steep the dried leaves, it rehydrates the leaves. But you can see the water taking on the color of the moringa in the cup below.

      I used mint again with the moringa.  Mint and moringa seem to make a great combination.  I used lemon juice that I had frozen into cubes in this recipe, plus the juice and zest of one orange.  At first I thought that this recipe might be two tart and that I should increase the honey in the recipe.  But, after a couple of sips, the tartness really grew on me.  So, you decide how much you want to put in when you make it.  I try not to use too much honey because it can also have an overpowering taste.  

Do you see how I garnished my drink with the Moringa leaves? Don't worry if you accidentally swallow them without thinking, they are good for you. Don't ask me how I know.

     One more way that I used the dehydrated Moringa Leaves is in a Blackberry Banana Smoothie.  Sometimes a  nice creamy, fruity smoothie just hits the spot.  If you don't like seeds, you may want to strain this smoothie, but I don't mind them much.  I just swallow them whole!  I usually have some frozen blackberries in my freezer just for making smoothies.  If you don't, you can use fresh berries, but just add a couple more ice cubes to get the thickness desired for your smoothie.  You can also substitute other berries in this recipe!  
        In this recipe, I simply put two Tablespoons of Moringa Leaves right into the blender and blended them up with everything else.  It is like adding a greens powder, and I really don't taste the Moringa in the smoothie, but I know it is in there giving me all of the benefits of great nutrition! 

     There you go! 3 healthy, cool and delicious drinks to start your summer off right! Think of all the vitamins you will be giving your kids that they won't even know about! 

     If you don't grow your own Moringa Tree, here are a few sources for you: 
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Seeds to plant

4 Plants!

If you enjoyed these recipes, here are a few more beverages you may enjoy.  Just think, you could throw a bit of Moringa in any of them amp up their nutritional value! 

• Cool Beverages for a Hot Summer
• Creamy Cherry Limeade
• Make Cran-Blackberry and Cran-Cherry Juice in the Instant Pot
• Healthy Summer Smoothies
• Summer Smoothie Ideas

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