Wet Summer Watermelon Smoothie
Green Thickie Thursdays
[pinit] I was just about to serve my baby her dinner, there was food all over the counters and all of a sudden every wall and every counter turned black. I looked up and the flies were in all my pans, on all my clean dishes and covering all my fruit. There were millions of them in my hair, on my face and covering all the food I was just about to serve. Could I keep calm and carry on? Read on to find out. I also bring to you the recipe for a sweet, thick watermelon smoothie that is great whatever the weather.
Fly infestation
We have set up a compost heap for the first time this year and don’t exactly know how to manage it. So I’m not sure whether it’s down to the soggy weather we’ve had this year but millions of flies have been breeding in there, and after adding the food waste for the day, we literally have to slam down the lid, beat of the flies and make a run for it. (I use the royal we there. I must admit I can’t bear it so my husband usually does it) So when my Dad kindly offered to cut the grass, he added the grass cuttings to our compost bin as usual. But the flies all flew out of the bin and straight into our house. Yuk!
Stress and swarms of flies
I like to think of myself as a calm, laid back person. When I’m on my own and I’m not in a rush and nothing out of the ordinary happens, I’m the calmest person in the world. In reality though life isn’t always like that and I guess I can get stressed out when I’m trying to do too much especially when entertaining and looking after a baby at the same time.
So no, I didn’t remain calm and carry on. I ran round the kitchen like a mad person trying to waft them out of the door until my dad and husband went out to try and find some solutions to the problem. At which point me and my baby went to hide in another room.
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They worked tirelessly all night and finally got rid of most of them thankfully.
[tweetherder]“An infestation of flies was enough to bring out the worst of me” [/tweetherder]
I then had a conversation about stress levels with my Dad which got me thinking about stress and digestion. I think there’s definitely a link. I think there’s a good chance if you’re the type of person to easily get stressed you’re more likely to have digestive issues. I definitely get IBS and stomach aches if I’ve had a very stressful day. It makes sense if you think about it. When you’re stressed your body all tenses up and can’t digest your food properly.
I also think eating a healthy diet helps you to remain calmer and makes it easier to digest your food in all circumstances.
Wet Summer Watermelon Smoothie
[pinit] I named this watermelon smoothie after the wet summer we’ve been having in the UK this year. This smoothie is part of my Simple, Seasonal Save series and I’m still continuing to eat my seasonal fruit. We don’t get much locally grown fruit in the UK so I have to buy imported fruit. But it’s still seasonal fruit as it’s cheaper at this time of the year and doesn’t come quite as far.
Most watermelon smoothies I make are very thin as watermelon is such a water rich food. So I thought it would be a challenge to make a thick watermelon smoothie. I have managed it. Not only is this smoothie very thick, it’s also very sweet. Feel free to use less dried fruit for sweetness. I added quite a lot as my watermelon was a bit sour.
Watermelon is a great fruit for good health as it includes practically all essential vitamins and minerals.
The best thing about this watermelon smoothie is there is no water in it so there are much more nutrients in this than a smoothie made with water.
So there’s my take on stress and just some of the damage it can do to your body. Of course I’m still working on trying to control my stress levels. I think I will continue to work on my state of mind and tell myself that in the grand scheme of things, these little day to day stresses really don’t matter. That will probably help me more than trying to fit in some extra ‘stress busting’ activity such as yoga into my day. That would probably cause me more stress trying to find time.
Do you think there is any link between your digestive problems and stress levels? How do you avoid stress in your life?
Wet Summer Watermelon Smoothie (Green Smoothie/Green Thickie)
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Watermelon chopped About a quarter a standard UK size watermelon which is quite small
- 1 Tablespoon of creamed coconut or ¼ cup of desiccated coconut or coconut meat.
- 1 Cup Spinach tightly packed or 2 cups loosely packed. (Or any other mild greens)
- ¼ Cup Almonds
- ½ Cup dried apricots or any other dried fruit which can also be pre-soaked for a smoother blend
- 1 Cup Oats If you don’t have a powerful blender and want the smoothie very smooth you can soak the oats for an hour before blending
- Juice half a lemon
Instructions
- Blend the ingredients in the order listed. Add more water if required to thin it out. Substitute any of the ingredients for whatever you already have. If your smoothie is too warm, you can cool it down in the fridge
Notes
Gluten free*, raw*, vegetarian, vegan, dairy free, egg free, sugar free, wheat free*, soya free*, salt free, nut free*
* If you want to check if you can drink green thickies on your special diet please read this first. This will suggest some substitutions so you can still enjoy Green Thickies with ingredients you can tolerate.
Comments always put a smile on my face, so please take a minute to say hello below. Many thanks.
I have submitted this recipe to Wellness Weekends, and Allergy Friendly Fridays.
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Gabby @ the veggie nook says
Ahhh so sorry to hear about that experience with the flies! I hate bigs in my house, especially close to my food!
I have a big watermelon sitting on my counter just asking to be put in a smoothie! I’ll definitely have to keep this one in mind :)
Katherine Natalia says
Yes I do too. I have a different attitude to bugs outside though. If I’m in their territory I’m not bothered by them but as soon as they come into my home I really don’t like it.
I love watermelon as you get so much fruit for your money. I saw a great recipe for watermelon juice blended with some mint then strained. I’m going to have to try that as it sounds very refreshing. When I was on my raw diet I would eat half a watermelon for breakfast every morning. I really looked forward to it, but the watermelons I get aren’t often that ripe so it’s a bonus when I get a really sweet one.
Heather @Sweetly Raw says
I’ve never used watermelon in a smoothie! (well, other than just a watermelon slushie shake but that doesn’t count). Looks delish! I’m a watermelon monster in the summer :) Looking forward to browsing through your green thickies! Cutest name for them.
Katherine Natalia says
Thank you so much for visiting. Watermelon is great in a smoothie. You have to try it. Usually you don’t need any water if you use watermelon and they can make quite a thin smoothie but I made this extra thick just for a change. Thank you, I know Thickies can be a negative term but it’s also the name for a thick smoothie so I had to coin the term Green Thickies.
Choc Chip Uru says
A watermelon smoothie is such a cool idea, this looks incredible my friend :D
So refreshing!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Katherine Natalia says
Thank you. This watermelon smoothie is also very filling, unusual for a watermelon! Many thanks for visiting.
Mary says
Hi, you really arent supposed to combine watermelon with anything else due to digestion times. It is called food combining. It can mess up your digestion.
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
Hi Mary. Thanks for your comment. I wrote about food combining here: https://www.greenthickies.com/what-is-food-combining-grains-in-smoothies