In the quest for better hydration (and an attempt to up my fruit intake), I’ve been experimenting a lot with smoothies.
As has the rest of the world. But for me, it’s been a little more complicated, because … I don’t like bananas.
I mean, I really do not like bananas. But try finding a smoothie recipe these days that doesn’t call for one – or even two – frozen bananas! Those smoothies have no a-peel for me. I’ve experimented with throwing various fruits and juices together in smoothies, and while the results have been fair I’ve often thought I would just as soon eat a peach and some strawberries than drink them.
Then I saw an intriguing recipe for a watermelon/strawberry smoothie. I didn’t have any strawberries, but I did have watermelon – lots of watermelon – so I chucked about two cups of watermelon chunks into the blender and pureed.
And sweet mother of pearl it was good! It was the perfect degree of ripe sweetness, and a perfect slushee texture.
The next time I made a watermelon smoothie, the watermelon wasn’t quite as sweet. Instead of adding sugar or agave nectar, as the watermelon/strawberry smoothie recipe had suggested, I decided to add a pinch of salt. I sipped – almost. On a whim I added a squeeze or two of lemon. Brilliant!
It’s since become one of my favorite smoothies – sweet, slightly tangy, and completely refreshing on a hot summer day.
It’s nutritious, too – full of Vitamin C, beta-carotene, Vitmain B1 and B6, and more lycopene than a tomato. Plus watermelon is an excellent source of magnesium and potassium.
Ingredients (For One Smoothie)
- Roughly two cups refrigerated seedless watermelon, cut in chunks. I like freezing a couple of the watermelon chunks, to give the smoothie an icier, slushier texture.
- Pinch of salt
- Squeeze of lemon – maybe a teaspoon or two. (You could also use lime, but I like the lemon better.)
Directions:
- Toss the watermelon into the blender and blend. It will only take a few pulses. Be careful not to overblend – you want a nice, slushy texture.
- Add just a pinch of salt or one shake of the saltshaker.
- Add a squeeze of lemon, stir, and taste. You may need to add another small squeeze, but no more than two squeezes. The end result isn’t supposed to taste lemony – the lemon just adds a bit of tang, sparkle and brightness. If, however, you add too much lemon – no worries! You’ll have watermelon lemonade – still good, just a different flavor than the one we were going after.
I haven’t tried this – yet – but I suspect this would also be really good with a splash of alcohol.
Yum! That looks very refreshing.
It’s great on a hot day. I’m officially addicted.
It’s great to have a healthy addiction 🙂
This looks verrrry refreshing! I have not thought to use melons in smoothies but you’re the second blogger to do it, so I’m going to have to try it soon. I do like bananas in smoothies but sometimes it can be too heavy and rich so it’s nice to omit it.
yummy! I like mine with mint and lemon.
Lemon’s a must. I’ll have to try it with mint!
After making some for the kiddos, I added a shot of Jose Cuervo Tequila (the only liquor we had in our cabinet at the time) to mine and I must say, this was quite tasty to sit by the pool and sip on.
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂