Watermelon Ginger Lime Un-Cocktail (vegan, paleo)

2011 July 20

tags: beverages, drinks, ginger, honey, lime, summer, watermelon

Watermelon Lime Ginger Juice

Suuuuummer. Its finally here, in all its glory. Along with lots of sugary summery treats like popsicles and freezies and cocktails and juice mixes…. before you know it, you’re on a sugar binge that you didn’t expect.

The thing is, when its hot, we don’t always want to have plain water, and so those pretty and sugary drinks get mighty tempting. Sometimes you want something a little festive. Sometimes you want something to take to a party (I mean, “here’s a jug of my favorite spring water” doesn’t exactly spell Ideal Host Gift, ya know? ;) ). Sometimes, you just want a little fun, but not have to overdo it on the sugar. This is where Watermelon Lime Un-cocktail totally fits the bill.

So, if you are looking for a drink that isn’t too sweet, totally refreshing, and big on taste with a pretty colour, this, dear friends, is totally your drink. Perfect for the long weekend coming up for my canuck buddies and for my american friends too. Its naturally sweet, and has some fresh bright undernotes of lime and ginger– you could even add muddled mint if you want. And if you are going to a more “adult” function, it mixes well with those “other” kinds of drinks. Which shall remain nameless. ‘Cause its a family blog. ;)

You can easily adjust the proportions of this drink to suit your tastes. If you really want a lime-y flavour, rather than increase the lime juice (which can be quite acidic), use a grater to zest the limes you use and let the fine zest infuse into the drink over night and pour through a strainer before serving. You can add water to tone down the drink if you wish, or add more or less honey or agave. I am not a big ‘sweets’ person, so I’m really light on the honey- you may want to add more for your tastes, or even some powdered stevia.

Note: this post linked to Cybele Pascale Allergy-Friendly Fridays, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, and Diet DessertnDogs Wellness Weekend.

Watermelon Refresher

Ingredients

10-12 cups watermelon pieces without the seeds
juice of 5 limes (about 2/3 cup)
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp melted honey thoroughly mixed with 1/2 cup water (if desired) (Vegan: 1/3 cup agave nectar) (Paleo: use stevia powder to taste, instead)

Directions

Put all the ingredients except the ginger, in a blender.
Blend.
Pour through a strainer. Add the ginger and stir. Let it sit to infuse for at leas an hour- you may want to strain it again to take out the ginger pieces. After a few hours the drink will settle so you will want to give it a nice stir.
Done. :) Happy soon-to-come long weekend everyone!

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Watermelon Lime Ginger Juice