Today was the most gorgeous sunny day; I finally feel like the nice weather is here to stay! To celebrate we made one our favourite blender drinks; watermelon blended with ice, mint, lime juice and a touch of agave. This whole juice is perfect for bbq season and could also be turned into a summer cocktail. I think we made some variation of this drink almost every weekend last summer. Back then it was called “that watermelon thing”, but in 2015 I’m calling it the Watermelon Mint Refresher. It’s about time our signature drink got it’s own name!
I often feel like eating watermelon is just like water with no real nutrition. However, don’t let the watermelon fool you, it is full of antioxidants and is high in lycopene which is a carotenoid phytonutrient important for heart health. Lycopene is often associated with tomatoes but on average, watermelon has about 40 percent more lycopene than raw tomatoes. Red, ripe flesh is the best indicator of the sweetest and most nutritious watermelon (Source: USDA Agricultural Research).
We actually bought a few gardening supplies today for our balcony including a mint plant and a how-to book for growing food on your balcony. I’m not sure about “food”….but I have confidence in my little mint plant (it’s supposed to be quite resilient). So at the very least the summer should be filled with new mint recipes. A mango-mint smoothie is next on my to-do list!
Watermelon Mint Refresher
Ingredients
- 2 cups watermelon chunks
- 4-5 ice cubes
- 2 fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 tsp agave
- 1/4 cup water
- few squeezes of fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Using a high-speed blender (we use the Blendtec), blend all ingredients together until smooth.
Mr. Pea finally makes an appearance – that’s his hand in the picture!
And my mint plant – happy growing little buddy!
