bitter melon smoothie?

[bw2082]

Does anyone have any ideas how I can create a bitter melon smoothie sort of thing that would be somewhat palatable? My uncle was diagnosed with diabetes and his doctor told him he could try bitter melon capsules or juice to lower his glucose levels. He has the capsules already but also grows bitter melon in his garden so he was thinking to juice some of them but he can't stomach the juice straight up.

[bw2082]

he cooks it chinese styule with black bean sauce or steams it stuffed etc.. but he heard from someone that the raw juice was better for medicinal purposes since it's unaltered by heat. I'll tell him to try making tea with it. Thanks!

[smalt]

my mom swears by it, and makes a tea out of it. in the original form, she uses chicken broth, slices of ginger and chunks of bitter melon and boils it. then refrigerates and drinks a cup or two a day....either hot or cold....for newcomers, she says the chicken broth and ginger eases the harshness of the flavor.....lately she's just using water and skipping the ginger....but then she likes it as a vegie, too, so the taste has never bothered her.

real melon tends to work better for her than tea bags....and she can only eat so many meals of it (she'd be the only one eating it!), so the tea works out better.

as for cooking it.....stuff it with pork and steam it, or cook it with black bean sauce.....or soup.....or sauteed with beef and oyster sauce or....

[emmisme]

How does your uncle use the bitter melon he's growing now? The idea of using it in a smoothie or sweet juice doesn't sound appetizing and I LOVE bitter melon! I'm Filipino and we use it in many dishes. One of my all time favorites is Tinola, a chicken soup, lots of ginger and bitter melon. Using the leaves is even more bitter than the fruit. Maybe he could have the broth every day. Good luck to him!

[ipsedixit]

Try this.

1. Juice the bitter melon and strain
2. Dissolve some Chinese rock sugar
3. Brew some Chrysanthemum tea, and let cool to room temp
4. Mix all three of the above together. Chill and serve.

[cimui]

this would be a great idea -- except that diabetics probably shouldn't have all that added sugar! (i have had bitter melon tea before, though, and liked it.)

[ipsedixit]

[slaps forehead]

Brain fart on my part. Totally spaced on the "diabetic" part of the post.

Ok, maybe sub the rock sugar with Nutrasweet or stevia.

[cimui]

bitter melon is lovely in sautees and soups (or even fried if your uncle doesn't also avoid fats). i personally don't think i could stomach it as a smoothie or in any non-savory form. bitter melon as a solid is supposed to have the same healthful properties as the juice.