Sweet Coconut Lemonade

This sweet coconut lemonade is your new best friend.

Ok so, it isn't summer yet, but we've had a few warm days and I just couldn't wait to have this drink again.

Remember about our trip to Mexico? During our stay in Acapulco, we took a day trip to La Roqueta beach. It took about an hour to get there from the Mayan Palace (car + boat ride), and it was so worth it. It's on a tiny little secluded island and you have an amazing view of Acapulco. A lot of locals go there to chill and hang out.

We were sitting with my in-laws at the beach restaurant when my husband asked: "Would you like a coconut with lemon and sugar?". I gave him a silly look thinking it was a joke. Lemon? Coconut? Say what? Turns out he was serious so I figured why not. Oh-my-god guys, it's seriously delicious. To top it off, it's super easy, thirst quenching and nutritious!

Lemon juice and coconut water are jam packed with vitamins and minerals; vitamin C, calcium, fiber, folates, the list goes on. It's perfect for a daily immune system boost, or even for a little more energy during a workout. You could also just do like me and sip it at your desk during work, or while relaxing by the pool.

Make sure to pin it for the summer, you'll be glad you did on those hot and humid days!

 What kind of unusual drinks do you like to drink in the summer?

Make a natural and healthy Gatorade alternative with these 3 simple ingredients.

Ingredients

Coconut water
1/2 Lemon
1-2 Tbsp Sugar

Steps

1. Start by squeezing the juice of half a lemon into your glass and stir in the sugar.
2. Fill the rest of the glass with coconut water.

The recipe is actually pretty subjective; you can add more lemon juice or sugar, it's all up to you. On a really hot day you can even add a few ice cubes to make it even more refreshing. Seriously though, doesn't it just look delicious? I'm salivating just looking at the pictures. I know it's still spring but um, bring on the summer!

The Flavors of Mexico

Before leaving on our trip to Mexico, I asked on Facebook what kind of posts you guys would like to see about it. A lot of you wanted to see food!

Being married to a Mexican, I usually travel as a local rather than a tourist, which gives me a unique perspective. I find that most of the basic food items are similar to what I would make at home, the main differences are the spices, and the corn flour (as opposed to wheat).

The picture above is coconut with Valentina. Although having a coconut on the beach is not something unusual, to me, the sauce is. Before meeting my husband, I never would have thought of putting spicy sauce on coconut. It's actually pretty good.

In the first picture below is something pretty typical. Re-fried beans with a corn tortilla and rice. The brown part is chicken with mole rojo. Looks gross right? But what if I told you it's chocolate based? Yup, it's a mild spicy pepper and chocolate sauce. It's as delicious as it sounds. 

The following picture is a container of spicy chocolate chunks. You use it to make Mexican hot chocolate. My mother-in-law also uses it to make the mole rojo amongst other things.

Last but not least, the end picture is tamales. Tama-what? This is a delicious breakfast made with a corn-based starchy dough that is steamed in a corn leaf. They're filled with different things from fruit to meat. I'm pretty sure anything goes, even cheese.

There's a lot of other things, but those are the ones I was able to take pictures of. If any of you are interested, I could ask my husband to help me write up some Mexican recipes so you can try them. What do you think?

Have you ever tried any of these?

Easy + Healthy Spinach Cream

There's nothing quite like warm soup after a fun day playing in the snow. Need I say more?

Not too long ago, my in-laws cam e to visit us from Mexico. My mother-in-law made this delicious meal called Mole Verde. Essentially, it's a sauce made with greens and seeds. You serve it on top of meat, usually bird. I also like it on rice!

Anyway, we had a whole bunch of spinach and broccoli trunks left over so I thought it would be a good time to use up some of my homemade chicken broth to make a new and delicious soup for the upcoming winter months.

I just got around to taking pictures of it to share with you, hope you like it!

INGREDIENTS

Spinach (a handful)
1 small potato
Cream
Chicken broth
Water (as needed)

OPTIONAL

1 small onion
2 tbsp butter
Salt + pepper
Leftover greens

You want about a handful of spinach per 2 cups of liquid. Enough so that the broth covers all your greens so they can cook evenly. If you don't have broth, you can just use water, it'll just taste a bit different but still good, just add a bit more spices! As for the cream, just add as much as you like for the desired consistency, you could also use milk. If a lot of liquid evaporates, don't forget to add a bit of water!

DIRECTIONS

1. Chop the vegetables.
2. Boil everything.
3. Blend and add cream (or milk!). At this point you can also season with spices and butter.

I like to sprinkles a bit of grated cheese on top for added flavor, the I serve it with crackers. Enjoy!

What kind of soups do you like to make at home?