I read somewhere that “goals are outcomes; resolutions are actions”. Instead of making New Year’s Resolutions that will inevitably be broken by month’s end, why don’t we set goals we know we can obtain. So, here’s to 2023 and the goals we set!
As I reflect on 2022 and begin the new year, I want to focus on how Mike and I nourish our bodies. I’m all about cooking from scratch and making sure we eat the right foods for our health. With that being said, a Chocolate Coconut Smoothie is the perfect post for this week’s Friday Cheers. It’s healthy, it’s good, and it’s full of good nutrients.
To make this, shall I call it divine, smoothie we grabbed a young coconut for its water and white meat, cacao powder*, honey, vanilla, ice cubes, and a Vitamix blender.
But before we could make the smoothie, we had to open the coconut. Mike was tasked with this job…using a sharp knife, which was pointed down and away from him, he shaved off the white exterior part of the coconut. He cut it off in pieces going all the way around the coconut until he exposed the brown shell on the inside. Once he exposed the brown shell…there were three distinct segments. He made an opening on the largest segment by carefully inserting the knife into the coconut and prying until the top popped off. Here’s a link demonstrating how to cut into a young coconut.
I purchased an EZ Open Sweet Young Coconut through our local Harris Teeter grocery store. These coconuts are equipped with a hole and straw for drinking the water, so Mike was able to use that hole to pour the coconut water out before popping the segments off.
Once inside, he used a flat ice cream scoop to scoop out the white flesh.
Coconuts are good for you. They are high in manganese, which is essential for bone health and the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and cholesterol. They are also rich in copper and iron, which help form red blood cells, as well as selenium, an important antioxidant that protects your cells.
Here’s the recipe for this incredible smoothie shared by our friends Jay and Jillian.
This is what you will need:
- 1 cup Coconut water from the young coconut (approximately)
- White flesh from the coconut
- 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder, heaping
- 7 ice cubes, approximately
- ¼ tsp. vanilla
Directions:
- Take all the above ingredients and place into a Vitamix blender and blend on high until smooth.
- Enjoy – knowing you are drinking something healthy for yourself.
Notes:
*The chocolate cacao powder we used was a raw Ecuadorian Arriba Nacional Cacao Powder… any organic good quality cacao powder will work.
When I spoke with Jay about substitution…he said he did not recommend substituting anything for the flesh or the fresh coconut water you get from inside the coconut. It just wouldn’t be the same.
