Coconut Water Strawberry Banana Smoothie

I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day weekend - the official "last hurrah" of summer!

We spent a good portion of it at the beach with family.

Long Beach Island, NJ with cousins 

Point Pleasant Beach, NJ with Poppa & CandiGram

I find it incredible that The Mini started summer afraid of the ocean, and now she can't get enough.  Amazing what a few months can do!

Overall, though, I'm just not sure where summer went this year.  I think in large part it hardly felt like summer because we had so many unseasonably cool days.

Except for this week when it decided it would make a September appearance with extreme humidity and near-90 degree temps!  Weather like that makes me want a refreshing smoothie.

Cocozia* was nice enough to send me a case of their organic coconut water for review here on the blog, and so my first thought was to create a smoothie with it.

Personally, I find that coconut water has a bit of a peculiar taste - which is not to say that it's bad, but rather nothing like you would typically associate with "coconut."  However, I started drinking it a few years ago because of its supposed health benefits, and grew to enjoy the taste.  Cocozia happens to be one of the better ones I've tasted, and I love that it's organic.

Especially because I like to give it to The Mini - she thinks it's juice, and is perfectly content to drink it plain over ice.  Sometimes I throw some fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries in it, and she thinks its fancy.

But make it a smoothie, pour it in her Princess cup, and now you're really speaking her language!

Coconut Water Strawberry Banana Smoothie

• 1 C. coconut water
• 1 C. plain yogurt
• 1 banana
• 1 C. frozen strawberries
• sweetener, if desired (honey, agave, or sugar to taste)

Place all ingredients in blender, in the order listed above.  Blend until smooth.  Makes 1-2 servings.

Original Recipe

*Special thank you to Cocozia for allowing us to sample their coconut water at no cost. Please note that I did not receive any compensation to write this post, and it reflects my personal opinion.