Summertime Means Watermelon Time!

I've been busy this past week enjoying a fun game of "Myth Busters- Labor Edition". I've eaten eggplant parmesan, basil, garlic, Mexican food, and pineapples. I've religiously taken Evening Primrose Oil, had 2-3 cups of raspberry leaf tea a day, and loved many giggle fits with my husband. I've stepped up the pace on my morning walks, and I've enjoyed 30 minutes a day doing hip rotations and other exercises on a birthing ball. I've had two labor-prepping acupuncture treatments so far (going for number 3 tomorrow). Guess what? I'm still preggo. Perhaps I started all these "tricks" a little prematurely- my due date is this Saturday- so I plan to "rinse and repeat" all of these efforts next week. None of them have been anything less than enjoyable, and it's a fun way to pass the time. My mom-in-law bought me a subscription to Fit Pregnancy magazine, which I absolutely love reading. The most recent edition had a great article about the health benefits of watermelon along with some great recipes. My favorite fruit is kiwi, except in the summer- then it's watermelon!

After I read the watermelon article, I decided to try out a couple of recipes that appealed to me. First was the "Summertime Slush". You can click on the link for the original recipe, or see below for my version.

The ingredients

I don't like green tea, so I omitted it from the recipe. I didn't have any white grape juice on hand, so I used apple juice. It was deeeeeeee-licious!!

I used an ice cream scoop to scoop out a cup of watermelon, and I pureed it in my Magic Bullet.

Add frozen strawberries and kiwi

I added 5 medium-sized frozen strawberries (you could use fresh ones, of course, but it won't give your slush the same texture at the end) and one peeled, chopped kiwi. Seeds don't bother me in a smoothie, but if you're not a fan I'd recommend cutting out the core and seeds from the kiwi before tossing it in the mix. Last, pour in 1/2 cup of ice cubes and 1/2 cup of apple or grape juice and blend. It is soooo tasty!

It's slurpin' time!

This was a very yummy, all-natural breakfast treat to start my day! It was a great refreshing treat after my morning walk, too. The next recipe I'll share with you, but I have to say I was NOT a fan of the watermelon pops I made.

I started with measuring out 4 cups of cubed watermelon. These went into the juicer. If you don't have a juicer, you can just puree them in the blender. The recipe suggested straining them with a fine-mesh sieve that I didn't have, so I just used my juicer instead. In hindsight, I might have liked the pops better if there had been some of the watermelon threads in them.

I didn't have popsicle molds (an investment I suppose I should make since I'll be making William frozen treats soon enough!), so I just poured the watermelon juice into plastic disposable cups. The recipe called for a tablespoon of lemon juice, which I didn't have, so I added a tablespoon of pineapple juice instead (perhaps that's where I went wrong??). Then I covered the tops with aluminum foil and slit the tops with a knife.

 I didn't have any popsicle sticks either (my shopping list continues to grow) so I just used plastic spoons instead. They worked well enough. :)

 Then, into the freezer they went. After an overnight stay, they were ready to enjoy. . . I thought.

Looks can be deceiving. . .

I was sooo excited to take the first bite. It looked so good, and it even smelled great! Then I took a bite. It. Was. Gross! Now I think I know why you can't get watermelon juice by the bottle in the stores. I don't know how to describe its taste. It was just bad. *Sigh.*

Oh, well. At least the watermelon slush was good! I will definitely make it again for breakfast, or even an afternoon treat! Maybe William will join us for my next post. . . no one stays pregnant forever, right?! Until next time! :)