Young Coconut Smoothie

 

Ingredients

1 young coconut (pictured left - Market Basket and Whole Foods both carry them)

cinnamon

vanilla

pinch salt

vanilla liquid stevia or other sweetener

2-3 cups ice

 

Directions

First it is important to pick a good young coconut.  Pick the lightest weighing young coconut.  This indicates that there is more white flesh inside.  

 

Next you need to hack it open.  A machete probably works best, but I use a large kitchen knife that I dont care too much about (it will get damaged probably!). Hack 4 cuts into the top of the coconut in the shape of a square (see photo).

 

Pry open the square revealing the white flesh underneath.  If the flesh is slimy and thin and purply/pinkish, the coconut is bad and you shouldn't use it.

 

Slice through the top layer of white flesh and pour the coconut water into your Vitamix or high-speed blender.  Using a spoon, scrape the white flesh out of the coconut.  Be careful to pick off any sharp husk fragments.  A little brown soft skin is ok, you just don't want any wooden fragments.

 

That's the hardest part!

 

Now add cinnamon and vanilla to taste, pinch of salt, and about 4 drops of vanilla liquid stevia or to taste.  Add ice.  Blend well at high speed and enjoy!