My Pep Upper = Peppermint

I'd like to dedicate a few minutes of my day to my best friend, peppermint. Peppermint has been known for its health effects for centuries:

• alleviates allergies and asthma
• aids with motion sickness, upset stomach, and nausea
  
• opens nasal passages
• gets rid of bad breath
• cures headache
• refreshes and alerts
• cools the skin
• improves blood circulation
• many more benefits here

I grow peppermint and chocolate mint, although there are dozens of other varieties of mint out there. It's easy to grow and really, really tasty.

Aside from my mint plants, many of the products I use on a daily basis are mint-based. Here are a few of my favorites that are very useful this time of year (with allergies sneaking on in...).

I start my day off with a refreshing mint shower. My Dr. Bronners mint soap really opens my nasal passage after a stuffy night of sleep.

I also like to use peppermint hand soap throughout the day:


And my favorite thing (especially after eating to aid with digestion and freshen my breath) is to dring peppermint water. I simply add a drop or two of peppermint oil to my water...yum.


And my guilty pleasure this time of year that got me excited about peppermint again: peppermint nougat!

It's also been a while since I've made backyard mojitos...