Agua De Sandia (Watermelon Water)

Can't think of anything more thirst quenching that this on a hot summer day like today – chilled watermelon pureed with water, a squeeze of lime juice over a large glass of ice. Agua fresca is as common in Mexico as ice tea is here in the States. And BONUS, since watermelon is naturally sweet, there's no need to add any sugar!

Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamin C, lycopene, beta-carotene and a great choice for it's anti-inflammatory and antioxidant health benefits, so eat as much as you can, before the summer's over.

Last weekend I spent a few days out in Montauk for a little family getaway. It's only about 2 hours away by car (if you don't count traffic) but since it's on the most eastern tip of Long Island, where all the highways from NYC merge into one road, there's always traffic. It's worth it though – the beaches, lighthouse, restaurants, shopping  – it's so much fun!

After a morning at the beach we went to the town to grab some lunch at La Brisa. Aguas frescas, horchata, fish tacos – I was in heaven. Probably had the best ceviche I've had in a long time (although a bit overpriced) but I couldn't stop talking about it all weekend. I had a fish taco and pork taco with the watermelon agua fresca. As I sat there, I kept thinking I can't believe I don't have this recipe on my blog. So of course, I came back, bought some watermelon and here it is, tasted exactly like the one I had in La Brisa.

And you may even want to make some skinny fish taco's to go with it!

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Matcha Green Tea Shots

These healthy energy shots give you a BLAST of antioxidants, the perfect afternoon pick-me-up for a healthy Happy Hour!

I'm in love with Matcha, not just because of the antioxidants, or because it has two amino acids (theophylline and L-theanine) which have both an energizing and calming effect (which explains why Buddhist monks have been drinking Matcha for centuries!)

I really just love the taste of Matcha, more than I enjoy drinking a regular cup of green tea. Because it's a fine powder form of the tea leaf, it quickly dissolves in anything you put it in, hot or cold, so if I want to drink it cold, I just mix it in – no heating required!

This is so easy, and takes just 1 minute to make. I combine sweetened vanilla Almond Breeze almond milk and Matcha powder – then shake, shake, shake! That's it! You could even use unsweetened almond milk and a few drops of stevia.

For a quick afternoon pick me up, rather than reaching for a cup of coffee (which I prefer to drink in the mornings) I go for Matcha instead. It's the perfect pick me up without the jitters.


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Skinny Frozen Hot Chocolate

A dreamy, icy blend of chocolatey goodness, without the guilt! Today's recipe is a guest post from my dear friend Brandi. She's blogs over at BranAppetit, please welcome her!

Hi guys! This is Brandi from BranAppetit, and I’m so happy to be here, sharing a recipe with you.

If you’re anything like me, you have families that love to eat and drink super high calorie foods during the holidays. I’m guessing it’s like this for everyone, really, but it doesn’t have to be! I definitely indulge in some foods that I only get during the holiday season like my mom’s fudge pie or my Mammaw’s ham gravy, but there are some easy ways to make great holiday treats a little more figure friendly.

Take this frozen hot chocolate.

A normal recipe would set you back hundreds of calories, but you can slim this down easily by swapping in skim milk and adding a touch of rich unsweetened cocoa powder for even more intense chocolate flavor.

My favorite way to have this is to add in a drop or two of peppermint or coconut extract, but it’s just as delicious without it, too. And with the warm December we’ve been having in Virginia, a frozen hot chocolate has been my go-to treat this year.

Hope you all have a great holiday season!
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Iced Green Tea Mojito

The perfect summer cocktail, a cross between a tall glass of fresh brewed iced green tea and a mojito!! I think this is going to be my signature drink all summer, it's icy cool, and has the added bonus of antioxidant rich green tea.

So simple using ingredients you probably have on hand such as green tea, fresh limes, fresh mint leaves (growing wild in my garden at the moment), baby arugula, and raw sugar (you could use agave or stevia to keep it sugar-free).

Multiply the recipe and make a pitcher for a party, or make them by the glass for a more intimate gathering. I originally saw this on the Kitchn, and tweaked it a bit by adding arugula, an idea I got from a cocktail I had at the Dole Summit.

And for those of you who don't drink alcohol, leave out the rum for a refreshing mocktail.

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Skinnytaste Citrus Margarita Spritzer

A lighter fresh take on a margarita! Fresh squeezed citrus juice and a splash of seltzer makes this fresh and lighter, with no added sugars! So go ahead, enjoy your margarita (or two) this Cinco de Mayo!!

To make a simple lime salt for the rim of the glass, grate a little lime zest and combine it with a coarse salt. Then use a lime wedge to wet the rim of the glass, then dip it in the salt. This is completely optional!

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Celery Cilantro Cocktail

Fresh squeezed lime juice, celery, cilantro and vodka are muddled together with a simple syrup. (I cheated and combined one tablespoon of agave syrup with one tablespoon of water in place of simple syrup)

Lots of you are requesting more cockails so I will be adding a few each month. You my be thinking I lost my mind with this concotion, but I must say, I loved the combination of fresh ingredients in this drink, perfect now that the weather is getting warmer!

I took a food styling/photography class a few weeks ago at the Sweet Paul workshop, what a gift Paul has for making food styling look effortless! Since taking his class I've been following his blog and came accros this cocktail which intrigued me. Today I finally got around to trying it and I loved it! I made some slight adaptions from Paul's original recipe. Enjoy your weekend!

p.s – to make this a mocktail, leave out the vodka and add more seltzer for a total of 2 points plus.


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Watermelon Martinis

Fresh watermelon makes these martinis a perfect summer cocktail! Enjoy them at your next back yard party but be careful drink too many!! **wink wink**

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Salpicón

Salpicón is a fresh homemade Colombian fruit beverage. It's served cold and loaded with chopped fruit such as watermelon, papaya, strawberries, pineapple, oranges, apples, bananas and carbonated soda. Serve it with a spoon to eat the fruit then drink the juice when the fruit is all gone. Thirst quenching on a hot summer day and perfect as an afternoon snack or dessert.

It's been years since I walk the busy cobblestone streets of Colombia filled with street vendors in the center of town. A tropical country with a warm climate and an abundance of fresh fruit year round. How I loved to sample all the wonderful assortment of tropical fruits, delicious street food and beverages unique to that country. Salpicón was one of those treats I never forgot. I actually searched for the recipe I while back but couldn't find one, then just last week I found out my aunt makes this all the time! So thanks to my aunt, you too can try this delicious fresh homemade fruit punch too.

This makes a large amount and would fill a large punch bowl; great for back yard parties. Although it's usually made with champagne kola, I made this with Sprite Zero instead and thought it tasted just as good. You could really use any sparkling soda you desire, we even played around with a fresh watermelon juice/seltzer combo to give you healthier options.

As for the fruit, watermelon and fresh pineapple is a must as it gives you lots of juice; you could substitute whatever fruit is in season near you. Mango and peaches would be great too and you could certainly make half the amount.

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Freshly Brewed Ice Tea with Fresh Mint

What can be more thirst quenching on a hot summer day than a tall glass of fresh brewed iced tea over ice with lemon and fresh mint leaves...

Spearmint is always the first thing to bloom in my garden every spring. As it sprouts each Spring, it always brings back memories of my childhood as Mom would always put fresh mint in our iced tea. Funny how smells can take you back in time, I just can't walk past my mint without pleasant thoughts of iced tea.

Making home brewed tea is very simple. You can use orange pekoe or black tea for traditional iced tea or experiment with fruit flavors like passion fruit, peach, mango, pomegranate which are especially nice if you aren't using sugar. 

Brew your tea and discard the tea bags before refrigerating. Serve with fresh lemon slices or fresh fruit if you are using fruit tea. Add the lemon slices right before serving to avoid a bitter taste. For sweet tea add the sugar, agave, honey or Splenda with the boiled water so it dissolves (extra calories and points).

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Brown Rice Horchata

Horchata de arroz is a deliciously refreshing Mexican beverage made from rice, milk, sugar and cinnamon and served chilled over ice. Wonderful for those who are lactose intolerant if you substitute the milk for almond milk.

Similar to my Avena recipe, which is made with cooked oatmeal instead, this is a great raw alternative and naturally gluten-free. It's usually made with white rice but I experimented with brown rice and raw sugar and the results were lovely. Sweeten to your taste or even experiment with stevia or Splenda for those of you on a restricted sugar diet.

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Pumpkin Smoothie

Breakfast on the go for the pumpkin obsessed. I've been getting tons of requests for more pumpkin recipes using pumpkin butter. Here's a quick low fat breakfast you can whip up in your blender. If you froze some of that pumpkin butter in ice cube trays, no ice is needed. Adjust the sweetness to your taste, if you want to leave the sugar out, you can use Stevia in it's place.

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Skinny Pumpkin Spiced Latte

For the pumpkin obsessed, a low fat, low calorie spiced latte you can make yourself. October is my birthday month and one of my favorite treats this time of year is Starbucks' Pumpkin Spiced Latte. What a great way to start your morning!

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Nojito

I love mojitos, but when I'm looking for a non-alcoholic beverage, this is great! With tons of mint in my garden, I love making these, especially on a hot day. A great alternative to fresh lemonade. I drank a lot of these when I was pregnant!

Nojito
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 1 • Serving Size: 1 tall glass • Points: 0 pts with Splenda, 1 pt with sugar
Calories: 58.5 • Fat: 0.1 g • Protein: 0.5 g • Carb: 15.2 g • Fiber: 0.9 g 

• 10-12 fresh small spearmint leaves
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 7 oz sprite zero or club soda
• 1 tbsp sugar or Splenda
• crushed ice

In a cool tall glass, muddle the mint, sugar or splenda and lime juice. Add crushed ice and soda and stir well. Garnish with a lime wedge and a few sprigs of mint. Serve with a straw.

Skinnygirl Margarita

 

If you're celebrating Cinco De Mayo with cocktails, here's a lighter margarita recipe. It seems like everyone on TV is making a Skinny Cookbook these days. The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Teresa Giudice just came out with a new cookbook called Skinny Italian. Bethanny Frankel, from the Real Housewives of New York has a cookbook called the Skinnygirl Dish and is the creator of the much hyped Skinnygirl Maragarita.

I'm not sure how many points a regular margarita is but if this is considered a skinny margarita at 4 points, I'd hate to know! Here's the Skinnygirl Margarita recipe. Serve this on the rocks, Olé!

Skinnygirl Margarita
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 1 • Serving Size: 1 drink • Points: 4 ww pts
Calories: 185.5 • Fat: 0.0 g • Protein: 0.2 g • Carb: 6.4 g • Fiber: 0.2 g 

• 2 oz of Clear Premium Tequila
• .5 oz Orange Liquor
• Juice of 1 Fresh Lime
• Ice

Combine all ingredients over a glass of ice and garnish with a lime wedge.

Mango Peach Smoothie

Just peachy! Mango peach smoothie, perfect way to use those ripe Spring peaches – I can't think of a better way to start your day than with a smoothie!! It's smoothie week here at Skinny Taste and today's smoothie is Mango Peach. Not all fruit smoothies are low in calories so be careful and make sure you know what you are getting when you order one out. Best guarantee to knowing what you're eating is to make it yourself!!

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Triple Berry Smoothie

For a healthy breakfast to go, made with clean, wholesome ingredients, try this berry smoothie made with strawberries, raspberries AND blackberries blended with yogurt and ice. I'm a berry lover, so the fact that they are good for you is an added bonus.

Freeze it in the summer for an awesome frozen berry pop your kids will love!

Low in calories, rich in vitamin C and loaded with cancer preventing flavonoids and phytochemicals. Drink up!!


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Very Blueberry Smoothie

As the summer gets closer I had a request to make some low point fruit smoothies. This will be smoothie week!! A great way to get your recommended daily fruit intake. Blueberries are rich in antioxidants, fiber and high in vitamin C. Enjoy!

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Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie

 

This simple low calorie smoothie combines exotic kiwis with strawberries and yogurt. A delicious combination and a great high fiber breakfast on the go, loaded with vitamin C!
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Pomegranate Martini

Pomegranate Martinis are the new black. Cosmos are so last year! If you are looking to try a new cocktail that is dee-licious and fun to serve at a party, give this a shot (no pun intended)! But be careful... one is never enough!

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Skinny Eggnog Latte

There is something about grabbing a Starbucks Eggnog Latte before venturing out to do my Christmas shopping that puts me in the Holiday spirit. Well now you can make one in the convenience of your own cozy home at a fraction of the price and without all those added calories. This is so easy to make. If you have an espresso machine, make espresso with good strong coffee and steam your eggnog with a little milk to make it frothy and hot. Top with a dash of nutmeg and even some fat free whipped topping if you wish. If you don't have an espresso machine, no worries. Make your coffee a little stronger and heat your eggnog over the stove or in the microwave, then whip it in the blender.


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