My friend Lenor, who is an amazingly creative cook, made a coconut watermelon smoothie for me out of frozen watermelon and coconut flavored syrup. It was so delicious, but I wanted to come up with a sugar-less version for my family that didn't use coconut syrup since it is full of refined white sugar. Not exactly processed free! I also wanted to introduce one more flavor - lime. Have you ever heard of people eating watermelon with a sprinkle of salt? It may sound odd, but it does tend to add a nice flavor enhancement. Lime can often take the place of salt in a recipe and add tremendous depth of flavor, as well as a freshness you just can't beat from citrus. So this was my thinking in adding the lime. The result was something absolutely wonderful, sweet, and completely processed free. My kids gobble this up as if they were being given the most delicious treat in the world.
juice of one lime
1/4 tsp. coconut extract
3-4 drops liquid stevia
2 Tbsp. finely shredded unsweetened coconut
3 1/2 cups frozen watermelon chunks
Cut fresh watermelon into 1 inch squares and freeze in a zip top bag. This will take hours, if not over night to freeze completely. Once frozen, you are ready to make the snow cone. Juice one lime and add the coconut extract and stevia to the juice and stir. Pour this into the blender or food processor. Add the shredded coconut and frozen watermelon. Puree this until it all comes together. You will have to stop the machine, scrape down the sides, and stir it together a few times. Once the watermelon is not in chunks anymore and it's all the right consistency, give it one more stir to make sure all the flavors are incorporated evenly before serving. You will see white bits of coconut throughout the snow cone.
Another great thing about this recipe is that it doesn't melt as fast or in the same way as a regular snow cone made of water and syrup. Because the base is watermelon, it stays together quite well - even to the last bite! And the kids do not get as sticky with sugary syrup since there is none, not to mention stained by artificial food coloring. I hope you enjoy this as much as our family. This has become one of our favorite summer treats - with no refined sugar!
