[Tuesday May 28th 2012 blog]
Vegan day 150: Chocolate coconut smoothie
One day… one day.. I will get the coconut thing right! The first problem is HOW does one open a coconut and then two, HOW does one include it with a smoothie? It seems so simple yet it’s NOT! 
The first attempt at a coconut smoothie was trying to duplicate a green kale coconut smoothie that we had in Woodstock. That was more of a kale issue and another blog. This time.. it was the coconut giving me trouble. I have to google this immediately.. how?? The first time I needed a coconut, my nephew got it open with a hammer and screwdriver. This time it almost required a drill.. lol nothing like having a tool box in the kitchen. Actually, it took a sterilized screwdriver to puncture it to drink and then a rock and coconut war that had to be moved to the outdoors. This is the brown coconut. More info later on the fresh young coconuts that have to stay refrigerated.
Anyway… we snacked on a few pieces of coconut and they were a bit chewy and time consuming.. tasty of course .. but took some work because of the coarseness. We wanted one more fun item to make with the kids– smoothies it was! Here are the ingredients for this one:Coconut
Almond milkCacao powder
Watermelon- hey we had a lot of it left over
Peaches
Ice
It sounds like it would taste good and it did but not to the main 7-year old’s taste. He said it was good and then later confessed it really wasn’t lol. I’m guessing the coconut was too “texture-ess” and the cacao was not sweet enough.
Earlier that day.. I used the same line twice.. once after the morning fresh vegetable juicing and the second after the smoothie:
“I could add 22 teaspoons of sugar to it if you want”.. each time I received a puzzled look from an adorable child.. or teenager.. who didn’t think my joke was funny when I said.. “well, that’s what’s in a SODA!”
I may have exaggerated the 22- it’s like 17 teaspoons in the common 20oz bottle; 10 teaspoons in a regular can! Take the grams and divide by 4 to get the teaspoons!
A few fun links for those interested in the sugar in SODAS:
Sugar Stacks
How Much Sugar is in a can of Soda- video
Anyway- I didn’t add the sugar or sweeteners because I was drinking it too lol! I added my hemp protein powder though and it tasted great to me. Next time though I am sticking to fresh young coconut. Much more fresh and delicious! One that is difficult to open too however. Here is a good YouTube video on the technique (and another one here)!
Interestingly, as the late writing of this blog due to the Memorial weekend and the fabulous (3 day) LIVING & RAW FOOD INTENSIVE class at the GOURMET INSTITUTE in New York City that I can’t wait to share with you… interestingly, my teacher opened one in class so I shall try all of these methods and see which one works. There is so much exciting food that can be prepared using fresh coconut water and fresh coconut meat so I MUST LEARN!
Interestingly, as the late writing of this blog due to the Memorial weekend and the fabulous (3 day) LIVING & RAW FOOD INTENSIVE class at the GOURMET INSTITUTE in New York City that I can’t wait to share with you… interestingly, my teacher opened one in class so I shall try all of these methods and see which one works. There is so much exciting food that can be prepared using fresh coconut water and fresh coconut meat so I MUST LEARN!
Disclaimer: The information given here is for educational purposes only. You should not use this to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.