Coconut Water
Provided you are in an area where you have access to “young coconuts”, it just doesn’t get any better than seeing your little ones sipping on cooled, refreshing coconut water straight from the coconut itself…especially after a long day of playing hard outside in the sun. There isn’t a sports drink or pedialyte pop out there that could win over first place in my heart from the natural coconut water of a young coconut with it’s sweet, nutty flavor and it’s high electrolyte and mineral content, with no artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives…It is, in my mind, simply pure, all natural AWESOMENESS. Although I think it is important to support local grown and sold foods that are in season, I also consider it a blessing that we have access to and are able to experience such a wide variety of whole foods available to us from all over the world. My first experience with drinking coconut water however, was while on a humanitarian trip to the pacific islands of Tonga & Samoa where I attended a high school rugby game. Not only did I notice how awesome these young men were at playing rugby, but I also noticed that instead of the typical pop you might find at a sporting event here in North America, fans and players alike, were drinking with a straw straight from the coconut as their drink of choice. How brilliant! Now every time I have a sip of this refreshing drink, or see my kids enjoying it, I am reminded of the wonderful time I spent in the islands some years ago….truly a heaven on earth.
The more you learn about coconuts and their versatility, the more you will fall in love with this tropical icon. We will show you many different ways to use coconut on this website and you will soon realize how much we adore it… and not just because my husband is polynesian.
If you are going to try giving coconut water to your kids for the very first time, I would make a few suggestions:
- First, make sure it is well refrigerated or cold and make sure those little busy bodies are feeling thirsty. For some it is love at first site and for others it is an acquired taste, but it’s a lot easier to love when it is cold and needed.
- We like to serve it right in the coconut shell with a straw and the girls have fun scooping the young meat out with a spoon to eat afterwards. See Chocolate Coconut Pudding for a great dessert.
- When purchasing young thai coconuts, make sure the outsides are clean, crack and mould free. If the outside looks bad, don’t buy it, it’s too much of risk that it will be bad inside and a thus a waste of your hard earned money. Then be sure to refrigerate when you get home.
- There are many different ways of opening coconuts and we use different techniques for different purposes, but to help you, here I have included a great video demonstration by raw food chef: Russel James.
- Make sure the water smells good and tastes sweet. It’s ok if the flesh in the coconut is purple, some times this is the case, the water is probably still good. But if the water is very cloudy or the inside of the coconut has some green, yellow or brown spots on it, or the water smells or tastes “off”, then it’s probably gone bad.
- Just as a note, really fresh coconuts actually have almost like a zingy, fizziness or carbonated taste to them. This does not mean it’s gone bad, it just means it’s very young and very fresh. Most of the thai coconuts you get shipped to Canada or the US, have lost this feature by the time they arrive to you.
How do you like to eat or drink your coconut? We would love to know. Please share by leaving a comment below
