In her restaurant in Lima, Peru, Carmen Gonzalez plucks one of the 50 frogs from the aquarium, bangs it against tiles to kill it and then makes two incisions along its belly and peels off the skin as if husking corn.
Yes, it's true, Peruvians put frogs in their smoothies as in Andean culture a bit of liquid frog is reputed to be good for asthma, anemia, brain activity and is also used as a powerful aphrodisiac.
The drink sells for about 90 cents and is made by adding three ladles of hot, white bean broth, two generous spoonfuls of honey, raw aloe vera plant and several tablespoons of maca — an Andean root also believed to boost stamina and sex drive — into a household blender. Then the frog is added!
Once strained, the result is a starchy, milkshake-like liquid that stings the throat.
At least 50 customers a day ask for steaming beer mugs of frog juice at Gonzalez's counter top-only restaurant in eastern Lima, and many treat the concoction as their morning — and afternoon — cup of coffee.
If you don't happen to have an aquarium full of frogs to hand there are other things that you can do to increase your libido. In her book The Orgasmic Diet, Marrena Lindberg says you should eat as many fruit and vegetables as you can. They are good for healthy serotonin levels - the sugar they contain is fructose, which takes longer to break down than processed sugar and is further slowed by the fibre content - avoiding serotonin spikes. The good news is that drinking your 5-a-day also counts.
My breakfast was 'plum punch' (minus the frog, thank you) which you can make with 1 peach, 2 plums and 1 kiwifruit. This makes about 200ml so if you want to increase the yield just add more fruit. Just put it all into a juicer and serve over ice. This looked like a glass of orange juice and was very pleasant, although the plums were a bit sweet for my taste buds. Rating 3/5.
Again I didn't have time for my second juice so I am going to attempt to make some tonight and freeze them. Also I didn't wash-up and I think I may be greeted with a juicer full of mould tomorrow morning!
Today's Ratings (out of 5) Energy:5 Hassle:3 Benefits: 4
