Coconut Water: Yay or Step Away

You may not have noticed but this poor blog was neglected over the summer. Neglect leads to guilt, which sucks, and anyway I’m back and it feels refreshing…sort of like the YOSA (Yay? OR Step away?) topic today... coconut water (corny transition, I’m a little rusty).

 

Yesterday I spoke to CBS about coconut water. I must admit I haven’t been pounding the coconut stuff as much lately. Partially it’s because I spend all my beverage bucks on kombucha (and some Tito’s martinis) and also because I am fickle, sort of like a toddler, and go on benders with certain foods (and workouts) and then lose interest. So the segment got me thinking and here are my 2 coco cents.

The basics

Coconut water is the liquid from a coconut. If you think you dislike coconut water it may be because you’ve had the bottom of the barrel versions that often have a milky appearance and very little taste. I’d describe them as phlegm-like, agree? The best coconut water is organic, unpasteurized, straight from the coconut and a personal preference-ice cold. I was super psyched that juice generation has these adorable coco to go offerings. They’re 50 calories, fun (put the straw on the dot), and idiot proof- just saying I was worried about my coco abilities and first time got it right. If you're concerned you can also have them use a large coconut and open it for you. Carolyn and I were sent a cocojack tool and it wasn’t pretty. Coconut wrestling is a workout. If you’re not up for it, Harmless Harvest is also good stuff, our bottled go to.

The pros

Coconut water has way less sugar than sports drinks, sodas and fruit juices. It also has an impressive potassium content. If your retort is bananas, potatoes and avocados do too, I’ll ask when the last time you drank a potato was… This potassium content makes coconut water great post workout, after imbibing (or during) and good for blood pressure. Coconut water also has magnesium; potassium and magnesium make it a great PMS drink (debloat and de-stress-YES).

The cons

So yes, coconut water has sugar. I will say my least favorite of the sugar family is fructose and coconut water isn’t loaded with fructose. There are about 6g of sugar per cup of coconut water. Again, this isn’t a ton but I’d keep liquid snacks (coconut water OR kombucha OR green juices) to 1 per day max.

Uses

Coconut water is great in smoothies; I freeze coconut water in ice cube trays for this purpose. If I am not having a smoothie, 1 cococube makes water more interesting. And as you can see in the link above coconut water is superior to many cocktail mixers.

Yesterday I was asked if I could see a time when people would be walking down the street with coconuts? One can dream. Oh and I have to answer Yay or Step Away. If forced to choose I'd say Yay but needs to be quality coco and once per day is perfect/max. 

Do you drink coconut water? Straight up or in other ways? Do you want to walk down the street with a coconut? 

Foodtrainers Video Debut and Metabolism Boosting Cocktail

We finally got our act together and shot a few videos. We debuted the first of three in our “Two Foods You Should Be Eating More of “ newsletter today. Thank goodness for editing, we may have had more outtakes than good takes but I think you’ll really like the final result (just don’t tell me if you don’t).

So one of the two summer must-eat (or drink) foods is matcha. I’ve gushed about matcha before. There’s a Matcha Colada in my book. I survive winter thanks to matcha almond lattes. And I adore these matcha on the go packets, our newest matcha love.

 These are perfect for smoothie making, water bottles (shake well with ice water) or in our matcharita cocktail. Sorry to give matcha all the love; you’ll have to read the newsletter for the other food you should be eating more of this summer. Isn’t it nice to be told (or nudged) to eat more of something? 

Are you familiar with matcha? How do you drink or eat it? Did you like the video? Do you find your voice as annoying as I find mine?

Smoothie Scientists and Giveaway

Yesterday we sent out our “Smoothie Support Group” newsletter tackling your most pressing smoothie issues: how to ensure your smoothie isn’t a gazillion calories, solutions for those of you who feel you rather eat versus drink your calories and the most common smoothie query “do I need a Vitamix?”

When I last posted about smoothie ingredients, one commenter said “You talk about things you put in your smoothies a lot and I have this image in my head of you with a zillion potions and powders, in a lab coat

Carolyn and I in front of Smoothie Central cabinet with all sorts of powders and mix-ins

That’s all Carolyn and I needed to read…enter your Smoothie Scientists in our labcoats. Here is our video debut (we’ll hone our skills, I promise) with our Thin Minty Smoothie.

6oz Harmless Harvest Coconut water
1 cup frozen blueberries (if you skip berries be sure to add ice cubes)

1 handful kale

1 scoop Sun Warrior Chocolate protein powder

1 Tbs Cacao nibs or powder

¼ avocado

Organic Peppermint extract
pinch Himalayan salt

6 drops NuStevia

Cacao, if you’re not familiar with it, is what chocolate is made from. The powder or nibs are high in fiber (good to get things moving), it keeps LDL or bad cholesterol from doing nasty things, is a mood booster and a source of magnesium (most people are magnesium deficient).

Turmeric Carrot Smoothie with must-have Strawesome 

I love to “smooth” it’s true and have been playing around with my Turmeric Smoothie

 6oz ice water (or I tried with carrot juice too)

1 scoop Vanilla Sun Warrior

½ frozen banana

1 tsp. nut butter (used cashew butter)

Ice cubes

Cinnamon

¼ to ½ tsp. turmeric

NuStevia (used their lemon flavor)

Reasons everyone should add turmeric to your diet daily:

• Weight loss- studies (yes on rodents but still) show turmeric added to diet resulted in less weight gain; less lower body fat, if you’re a “pear” turmeric is for you.
• One double blind, placebo-controlled study found that turmeric reduced symptoms of bloating and gas in people suffering from indigestion (love well executed bloat study).
• It is a natural liver detoxifier, important in the summer time with perhaps more cocktails consumed
• Good for healthy skin and conditions such as psoriasis
• It is a potent anti-inflammatory with zero side effects; therefore, it is a natural treatment for arthritis, soreness following exercise and nature's Advil
• Prevents various forms of cancer from spreading, described as “turning off cancer cells”

I want to try turmeric in a smoothie with Socal Cleanse hemp protein (which made our protein powder Hall of Fame). It’s what we call our Monday morning protein- excellent for bloat or when PMS strikes. Socal has generously offered to give away a bag of their protein to one of our thirsty (we didn’t say bloated) readers.

To enter comment below and tell us where you stand on the smoothing spectrum (smoothie newbie or seasoned smoothie maker), what your favorite smoothie is and what type of blender you use. If you haven’t lost your smoothie v-card, what’s holding you back?

Harmless Harvest Coconut Water, Believe the Hype and Giveaway

I apologize if I’ve been somewhat inconsistent with my blog posts. I’ve been busy reapplying my natural deodorant, which I now do in plain sight like some would chapstick (only I don’t put it on my mouth, not yet anyway). I’ve also been spending time on another project that may or may not be my book proposal.I’m grateful writing has kept me primarily inside during this heat wave. I started a list of other things that make me happy when it’s hot as hell out.

Beastly Weather Gratitude Journal

• I’m grateful for my tennis ball sized ice cubes.

I should note I’m also grateful for my jalapeno cocktail at Peels where I first learned of these cubes and for my friend Meg, a know-it-all in the best sense of the word, who was with us and sent me a link to the MOMA shop the next day.

• I’m grateful for being female and for the multitude of sleeveless options we have, many of which are work appropriate. I realize I cannot go for a run shirtless and I should say I’m grateful to the men who wisely choose to retain theirs.
• I’m grateful for the chocolate mint sorbet at ABC Kitchen, I may have said I’m not a dessert person, more salty than sweet…I may have lied.
• I’m grateful for tartare and all its relatives ceviche, sashimi etc. Nothing is better in the summer and my vote goes to the tuna crudo at Mermaid Inn.
• I’m grateful for cucumbers not only because they’re “cool” but also for the abundant juice you get from them. Anyone who has put a bunch of kale in a juicer knows what I mean.

• If there’s one thing, other than sleep away camp, I’m most grateful for this summer it’s Harmless Harvest’s Coconut Water. This coconut water is raw and organic. Most importantly it’s insanely delicious. If you’ve tasted other brands and think you don’t like coconut water, I vote for a retrial. This is different. We have a whole shelf of them at work, I stockpile them at home, add some to smoothies, green juices and rice water. Heck (did I say heck, interesting), I would bathe in it but it’s a little pricey. While I’ve tried, young coconuts and I don’t play well together and I’m grateful that I don’t need to wrestle with them anymore.

You’re going to be grateful too, you know why? Harmless Harvest is giving away ONE CASE of their liquid heaven and t-shirts to one of our lucky readers.

To be eligible, leave a comment telling us why you like or want to try Harmless Harvest

OR retweet this post and include “@Foodtrainers @HarmlessHarvest #giveaway

OR tag @Foodtrainers on Facebook and spread the word about this post.
You have until Sunday July 22nd to enter, winner will be announced Monday July 23rd. 

What’s on your hot weather gratitude list?

Check out our "Drinks Around the Clock" July Newsletter for other refreshing ideas.