Watermelon, Raspberry and Mint Smoothies
Smoothies were one of the first foods I learned to prepare on my own as a kid since making them is as simple as chucking a bunch of produce into a blender and zhuzhing it up. The smoothies of my youth often featured slightly freezer-burned strawberries and peaches, along with some orange juice.
Don't get me wrong, these smoothies were usually dang delicious. But after being defeated by one too many bags of flavorless, white-middled frozen strawberries, I got off the smoothie train for a few years. It wasn't until I got my wisdom teeth removed a few years ago that I rediscovered the refreshing and hydrating magic of smoothies. My first bite of food after maneuvering the gauze out of my still-numb mouth was a peanut butter and banana smoothie. I almost cried because it tasted so good. (A word of warning: you shouldn't eat this particular smoothie if you just got your wisdom teeth removed since it has raspberry seeds. Stick to PB nanner and other unseeded varieties.)
Although that level of enthusiasm was probably the result of my being heavily medicated and ferociously hungry, I've gone full smoothie since then and haven't looked back. In my latest (and perhaps greatest?) smoothie creation, watermelon, raspberries and mint are all working together to cool you down during these dog days of summer. To avoid sub-par frozen raspberries, I recommend buying or harvesting fresh raspberries and then freezing them rather than buying pre-frozen varieties. Using a ripe, bright red watermelon will also help you achieve maximum flavor potential.
Let me know what you think of the recipe and don’t forget to follow the sustainability tips below!
Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 4 small or 2 large smoothies
Ingredients
3 cups chopped watermelon
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, plus more for garnish
5 mint leaves, plus more for garnish
Steps
Add watermelon, raspberries and mint leaves to the bowl of a blender or food processor and blend until fully combined. It could take up to a minute for the mint leaves to break down. Garnish with extra mint leaves and frozen raspberries. Slurp it up!
Sustainability tips
Watermelon, raspberries and mint: Grow all these ingredients in your own back yard or buy them from a local farmer. If you buy locally, this will save a bunch of GHG emissions during transportation. Buying locally is also economically and socially sustainable because it can help you get to know your community and support your neighborhood economy.