nah pop, no style

I’ll tell you about what’s up in my life sometime soon. I’ve been too busy to really update you in the past week, sorry. In the meantime, something I’ve been meaning to alert you all to: the most refreshing beverage on earth. I fix this after pretty much every run. If I don’t have the ingredients when I get back from a jog, I’m cranky.

Icy Orange Coconut Water

You’ll need:

Coconut water

Frozen orange juice concentrate

5-6 cubes of ice
A cocktail shaker
A frosted glass, preferably in the freezer for at least an hour

The process:

Put the ice cubes in the cocktail shaker. Add about one teaspoon of the frozen OJ concentrate.

Then add about 10 oz, give or take an ounce or two, of the coconut water (the single serving containers are 11.2 oz, so that works if that’s what you’ve got). Close the shaker, shake 12-15 times. Get the frosted glass out of the freezer at the last possible second. Take the little rubber stopper thing off the shaker and strain the drink into the glass. ENJOY, and become obsessed. If the glass is cold enough, and you’ve shaken the drink long enough with enough ice, some of the drink will actually start to form ice crystals.

Frosty mug of goodness!
Commentary:

Coconut water is an amazing, astounding substance. A serving has more potassium than a banana. It’s filled with electrolytes, making it a natural sports beverage — Gatorade without the added sugar. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, and the sugar is natural. Adding the OJ concentrate makes it slightly sweeter; this drink kind of tastes like a subtle Creamsicle. When it’s forming ice crystals — oooooweeeee I can’t imagine anything I’d rather have going into my tummy. Sometimes when my body’s recuperating from a good run and this stuff is sliding down my throat, I think that maybe I could live on a diet of nothing but this drink.

Coconut water can be found at the Co-op or Giant Eagle, or probably Whole Foods and maybe Trader Joe’s. They only have single servings (Vita Coco) at GE; they have a couple brands and different sizes at the Co-op. I get the cheaper liter container (O.N.E. brand). I’ve never noticed a real difference between brands. An 11.2-oz container is $1.69 or $1.89 most places; the liter I get is $4.69 at the Co-op and is about 3 servings. I’ll probably special order a case soon because I go through it so fast. Guiltless pleasure. Well, okay, the cost makes me feel a little guilty.

If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, go out and freakin’ buy one. Even if you don’t drink cocktails. I basically only use mine for this drink, and it’s totally worth it. It gets the coconut water to near freezing without diluting it as you drink.

And speaking of cocktails, I’m betting this would be a killer, if expensive, base for a cocktail. Next time I have vodka or something handy I’ll try it and get back to you.