Summery Lime Watermelon Slushy

This summer drink comes from memories of my sister Shelby blending watermelon into a slushy before summer youth group. At the time, I was not a fan of watermelon. Years later when I came around to melons my husband was still not a fan of fruit. In order for an entire melon not to go bad beforeI could eat it, I started freezing the extra. To this day, watermelon is still one of the melons I'm not a fan of on its own, but I love the watermelon flavor. Not all watermelons are created equal in the amount of flavor and sweetness present, so over time, I have come to love adding lime juice and zest. This produces a stronger citrus flavor with the light sweetness of watermelon.

Adaptable to Personal Taste

This recipe is a basic outline. Depending on you and your family's personal taste, the amount of lime juice, zest, and choice of liquid can change the final outcome. If you are making this with children in mind, you may want to add a little liquid sweetener like stevia extract or maple syrup, or use a cup of coconut milk for part of the liquid for a sweeter creamier finish. If making this for a group of adults, you may decide to use a bit of alcohol in for the liquid content.

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Summery Lime Watermelon Slushy

Yield: Depends on your blender size. This formula is based on using half a small (but not personal) watermelon per batch which should fill a standard blender pitcher 3/4 full. You can adjust based on the size of your watermelon and blender.

Ingredients:

Zest of 1 lime

2 Limes Juiced

1/2 a Watermelon (cubed and frozen)*

1 1/2 - 2 1/2 c Liquid of Choice**

* With a sharp knife, cut away the peel and cube the watermelon flesh into 1-1.5" cubes. If your melon is not seedless, remove the seeds. Place the cubes on a small pan lined with parchment paper or silicone mat and freeze for at least 2 hours.

** The liquid has the opportunity to serve one or two purposes. It is needed to help the blender process the frozen watermelon, but if decided, it can also add additional flavor or sweetness. Feel free to use water, sparkling water, coconut water, or coconut milk of added creaminess.

Directions:

1. Add the frozen cubed watermelon, lime zest, lime juice, and 1 cup of your desired liquid to the pitcher of a blender.

2. Pulse the blender for a few times. Once the blender is off, use a spoon to mix around the unmixed cubes of melon.

3. Add in another 1/4 c of liquid. Blend, stop, and stir. Repeat one more time if your blender is still having trouble combining the cubes.

4. At this point, pause the blending, stir and taste test the liquified part. Decide if you want more lime or sweetness. If it needs to be sweeter, add a bit of liquid sweetener or switch any remaining liquid to something sweeter like a coconut milk or sweetened sparkling water. When the mixer has almost liquified the remaining cubes, pause adding more liquid. At this point, it is easy to add to much and risk your slushy becoming juice. Stir and pulse, stir and pulse a few time before desiring if you truly need to add more liquid to ensure all of the watermelon liquifies.

5. Serve immediately or store the blender pitcher in the freezer for up to 30 minutes.

If you wish to store for another day, add the extra into ice cube trays and freeze. Pull from the freezer about 1 hour before you with to serve and process in the blender again.