Smoothies and Brain Freezes.

Just to clarify, yesterday's Face Mask recipe is not my own creation, but is a recipe that has been floating around CCNM and the naturopathic community. I've had it in the back of my mind for awhile now and finally decided to share.

Another recipe that is not mine, but that I'd like to share on the blog, is one for a smoothie. I found this recipe written on a poster hanging on one of CCNM's walls this week. You see, it is Men's Health Week on campus, and in celebration, smoothies are being made and sold in the main lobby of the school. I picked this recipe (out of the three posted) to share because there are two men in my life who I think would both love this smoothie (Dinkum... Tony...).

The smoothies are $5, with a dollar discount if you bring your own container, and all of the proceeds go to Prostate Cancer research. I believe this initiative was headed-up by one of my awesome classmates; I must say that I am in awe of some many of my peers. Watch-out world, the class of 2014 is going to move mountains! Now, for the smoothie ingredients (according to the poster I saw):

Five Element Aphrodisiac

Chocolate Protein Powder
Almond Milk
Peanut Butter
Cocoa Powder
Banana

I am thinking the ratio would be as simple as: 1 scoop protein powder, 1 cup almond milk, 1 tablespoon PB, 1 tablespoon cocoa, and 1 banana. Blend and serve. Sounds uber yummy to me.

Speaking of smoothies and other cold beverages, we learned about brain freezes today. In the roof of our mouth, we have a tiny depression. The depression is formed by the remnants of a hole in our mouth. This hole, the incisive foramen, used to connect our nasal cavity and our oral cavity. Humans no longer require these cavities to be connected, but many animals still do and thus still possess this hole. The hole allows animals to analyze the quality of the food they are eating by not only tasting it, but smelling it to. Have you ever seen an animal chew grass, then stop eating, and then resume eating in a new location? It's likely that the food in the original spot wasn't very good. Now, back to brain freezes. As humans still have this hole (but it is covered by mucous membranes and other tissue), some nerves slightly poke through and brush the roof of the mouth. These close-contact nerves are extremely sensitive to temperature and humans perceive extreme temperatures as pain (temperature and pain are often perceived as similar sensations).