Easy Watermelon Agua Fresca

Today’s post begins my celebration of all things Eat Write Retreat and a great recipe for Easy Watermelon Agua Fresca.  

As you all know on May 31 – June 2, 2013 I had a chance to attend a food conference in Philadelphia thanks to a wonderful sponsorship by Williams-Sonoma Philadelphia.  The conference was exceptional and I walked away feeling so inspired.  While at the conference, I had the chance to connect with so many amazing brands and food representatives one of which was the National Watermelon Promotion Board.  Talk about a fun job! I could totally talk about and think about fun ways to serve watermelons all day.  I love watermelons.  

Watermelons are an incredibly interesting fruit and I learned so much about them, as well as the many ways to serve up watermelon and celebrate this glorious fruit.  Did you know Americans consume more watermelon than any other melon?  Watermelons also have significant health benefits and nutrients such as:

• Citruline, which can help maintain blood flow in the heart.
• Watermelon is the leader of lycopene, an antioxidant in fresh fruits and vegetables category.
• A source of Potassium (9%), Magnesium (7%) and Thiamine (6%).
• Vitamin A is also found in watermelon, which helps you see better.
• 92 percent of the fruit is made from water.  A slice of watermelon supplies the equivalent of a glass of water.
• Watermelon has zero saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium in a standard serving.

For today’s post, I decided to put the watermelon to the test and make a batch of my Easy Watermelon Agua Fresca.  I had my first taste of agua fresca during a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico with my then-fiancee, now husband.  In Mexico, you can get a fresh glass of “fresh water” just about anywhere, similar to the way we serve soft drinks here in the States.  Essentially, agua frescas are fresh blended fruits combined with sugar and water to create a non-alcoholic, thirst quenching drink. Agua frescas come in many different varieties.  Aside from the watermelon agua fresca, I also like Strawberry Agua Fresca and Mango Agua Fresca.  Talk about delicious.

My recipe for Easy Watermelon Agua Fresca is just that – easy.  I combined my ingredients in a Vitamix blender and found myself finished in the matter of minutes.  

The result is a fresh drink made from the perfect summer fruit.  Watermelon Agua Fresca can cool you off on the hottest summer day and leave you feeling refreshed and ready to face the scorching summer heat.

BONUS TIP:  Picking a Watermelon is as easy as 1, 2, 3 (source: watermelon.org)

1. Look the watermelon over.  Look for a firm, symmetrical watermelon that is free from bruises, cuts or dents.
2. Lift it up.  The watermelon should be heavy for its size.  Watermelon is 92% water, most of the weight is water
3. Turn it over.  The underside of the watermelon should have a creamy yellow spot from where it sat on the ground and ripened in the sun.

If you give my Watermelon Agua Fresca a try, please loop back and let me know what you think.  Enjoy!