JAMAICA

Soooo, I've just come back from a lovely trip to Montego Bay Jamaica.  It was my first trip ever to Jamaica and I will be returning again next year for sure. The place is absolutely fabulous. The people are friendly and Jamaica is beautiful.  Sun, sand, surf and fabulous food...  what else could a girl ask for.

star apple

The morning breakfast buffet was filled with all kinds of yummy local fruit.  I especially loved the fresh mango and the papaya.  So delicious and sweet.
There was a purple fruit called the star apple that was kind of jelly inside but was quite tasty and sweet.
Also offered  was a Jamaican apple.
This fruit was bright red on the outside and white on the inside it had the texture of a hard pear and was very mild and almost a bit bitter in flavour. Not my favourite, but I am happy to have been able to try it.

Jamaican apple

The morning buffet also offered a wide range of juices and milkshakes.  My favourite juice combo, that I liked to  mix up in my glass was cucumber, beet and carrot.  Yummmmmy!  I had a glass every morning.  I also filled my travel mug with more juice so I could sip it throughout the morning.  So good I can taste it now!

Papaya juice, fresh orange juice and  the fresh pineapple juice were all very tasty and fresh too.  The two milkshakes were banana and strawberry and just banana and milk and ice.  Soooo good too.  I could drink these all day.

Talk about eating well naturally.  Nothing is better than fresh, ripe tropical fruit and their juices first thing in the morning on a beautiful sun shine filled day.

Among a few alcoholic drinks with great names like, Purple Rain, Big Bamboo and Dirty Banana, I enjoyed a few young coconuts filled with coconut water throughout the week.  Very  rejuvenating.  So hydrating too.

It's super easy to make your own banana milkshake for your own tropical paradise breakfast.  Put lots of peeled bananas, milk and ice into a blender.  Blend well.  Enjoy.
Now close your eyes and imagine the sun shining on your face and sitting at the beach or around the pool and take it all in.
Ahhhhh!

Eat Well
:)

YOUNG THAI COCONUT

young Thai coconut

OMG!!!! If you like coconut, or even if you don't like coconut, you've got to try a young Thai coconut.
They look like this.....





Kind of spongy on the outside but yummy coconutty inside.
I will explain....

whole coconut

In the picture above is a whole coconut that you would see growing on a coconut tree.  Green on the outside.  A Thai coconut basically is the green part cut away.  The hard "brown" coconut shell is the next layer and finally the coconut meat and the coconut water.  

In a young Thai coconut, the meat can be in a very thin layer almost jelly like or it can be a little bit more meaty as the coconut could have a nice layer of coconut meat inside.  It all depends on how young the coconut is.  You can't tell by looking at one when purchasing.  

They are soooo incredibly tasty.  Full of flavour.  Not like a normal hard mature brown coconut.  Yes the meat is tasty too, but most of the coconut water has been absorbed by the coconut itself and the meat tends to be quite thick and hard and difficult to get out of its shell.  Still tasty, but not the same as a young Thai coconut. There is a ton more coconut water inside a young coconut too.  It's pretty much full to the top, where in a mature coconut you could probably get about a 1/4 the amount of water in them.  Not only do they taste good but coconut water is excellent for hydration.  So after a night out drinking with friends, have a sober person open up one of the young coconuts and down the water.  No hangover in the morning.  Bonus!! Also, these coconuts contribute to our bodies good HDL cholesterol, as per popular belief years ago saying that coconuts are all bad fat. In fact they have very good and healthy fat.  

This is how to open a young Thai coconut.....

I open mine on my kitchen counter on a big cutting board.

The first time I bought one here at my local grocery store (I paid $2.49 for it), and opened it and tasted it, I couldn't believe how yummy it was.  Go and try one for yourself.  Really good!!!  I can't tell you enough how tasty they are. You really have to take my word for it and try for yourself. 

The first one I opened I drank the water and scooped out all of the meat and just devoured it all.  Mmmmmm.  I did share a bit with my husband.  He is very anti-healthy food, but he really thought this coconut was very delicious too.

I have since bought  more and have made a pineapple and coconut smoothie, a coconut berry smoothie that I went crazy with and added everything but the kitchen sink including gogi berries, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, cashews, frozen strawberries, frozen raspberries, bee pollen, maca root powder and greens powder and i also made a green smoothie using the coconut water and meat, spinach, greens powder and frozen mango.  I can just taste it now. Mmmmmm.
I'm planning on buying many more of these young Thai coconuts and making lots of  tasty meals and desserts with them.  

Try one and let me know what you think.

Eat Well.