Pina Colada Juice

Pina Colada Juice

At this time of the year, with summer on the wane, you need some colour adding.  You need something to remind you that holidays, beaches and the sun, are not just figments of your imagination.  They exist and are alive and well in this pina colada.  It is guaranteed to add a little tropical swing to any day.  Sweet and vibrant, when we tried this, we both felt like we were back on a Thai island or any land where the pineapple grows.

Pineapples always remind me of Costa Rica, where in many places, pineapple plantations stretch to the horizon.  Quite a site, rows and rows of those sharp leaves.  Pineapples take  a long time to grow, like a lot of the fruit and veg we eat and they are real gifts from the earth.  They also look quite amazing, bar the rambutan and the dragon fruit, is there a cooler looking fruit?

You can technically grow your own pineapple, just take the severed head part and plant it in the ground.  Quite shallow.  After a year, a pineapple may have grown.  We have not tried this for obvious reasons.  Wales is not a pineapple friendly environment (however the raspberries are looking well this year).

You can see we quaffed this with a rather funky fruit salad, putting the meat of the coconut to good use with some other fruits seeds and yoghurt.  You can try to make your own coconut butter/paste, just blend it up in a decent blender and after a few minutes it will take on a lovely creamy texture.  Ideal to keep in the fridge and add to dishes.

This sweet and tarty juice takes half a pineapple to make, but its well worth it and the lime juice adds a nice tang to proceedings.  We’ve added a little bit of canned coco milk, for creaminess.  The combo of coco and pineapple is always tantalising and a quick burst of escapism in the morning sets you up nicely for the day.

The Bits

1/2 pineapple, 1/4 tin organic coconut milk (stirred and creamy), juice of 1 fresh coconut (the water only), 1 squeeze of lime juice.

Do It

Get the magimix fired up!

Juice your pineapple in large chunks into a large container.  Stir in the coco water and milk.  Just before serving, squeeze a little lime into the juice and stir.

Serve 

Immediately, with sun hats on and some calypso music.

We Love It!

It’s a tropical juice to spark wanderlust in even the most rooted of souls.  The tropical beaches seem ever closer with this juice in your life.

Foodie Fact 

Pineapples are drought tolerant and the plant grows up to 8ft tall.  Pineapples are a brilliant source of vitamin C and dietary fibre.  They also contain bromelian and incredible enzyme that actually helps you digest your food and fight all sorts of infection/ disease.

View of a autumn sunset from the Beach House Kitchen window