Recently the nice people at Cocozia offered to send me some of their original organic coconut water to try, and of course I said yes!
Disclaimer: While I received a complimentary case of Cocozia for review purposes, I was not compensated in any other way for writing this. All opinions are my own, and as always, I only publish reviews of products that I think my readers will actually enjoy!
To be honest, in the past I have not been a huge fan of coconut water. The first time I tried it was after one of my half marathons, and despite knowing how super-healthy it was and how much it would help in my recovery, I was put off by the sickly-sweet flavor and watery consistency.
Turns out I still do not love the taste of coconut water straight up. However, I came up with many other fun and delicious uses for my Cocozia!
The first, best, and most obvious use is in smoothies! You get all of the hydrating benefits of coconut water plus a boost of sweet coconut flavor. My favorite is this 3-Ingredient Pina Colada Smoothie.
Ingredients
1 cup Cocozia original organic coconut water
1 frozen banana
3/4 cup frozen pineapple chunks
Directions
Blend and serve!
Remember that when creating smoothies, you can add coconut water as-is (like in the recipe above), or you can freeze it in ice cube trays (a la Kathy Patalsky) so that it’ll be ready for you to drop in to any smoothie at any time.
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I have also had fantastic success replacing plain water with Cocozia in recipes!
For example, I tried out Isa’s Banana Flapjacks (from Vegan Brunch) using Cocozia and ended up with the fluffiest, most delicious batch of pancakes I’ve probably ever made.
H and I were amazed by how awesome these came out. If we really tried, we could detect the slightest hint of coconut flavor, but the main thing about these was the texture. I may never make them with regular water again!
I also subbed Cocozia for regular water in a batch of muffins I made out of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread mix (which I have veganized many a time), also with fantastic, moist, fluffy results!
To this particular batch I also chose to add some fun stuff (dark chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and chopped walnuts) to boost their nutritional and caloric value a bit (because, you know, breastfeeding). [And as a side note, these are very special muffins! They are the first thing (at 15 days post-partum) I have been in the kitchen to bake or cook since Baby H was born. It made me feel a bit like myself again.]
I definitely recommend Cocozia as a way to boost the nutrition and flavor of smoothies and baked goods, or just to enjoy as a post-workout or anytime drink (if, of course, you are someone who enjoys the taste of plain coconut water)!
A.Cook in the Making 