Filled with refreshing mint, lime and coconut, these flavours are lively and healthy.

You can make this smoothie anytime and like me, dream of enjoying it in the hot summer months!

I love the flavour of a classic mojito cocktail, especially the freshness that comes from the mint and lime. So I figured, why not put all of those fresh ingredients into a refreshing and delicious smoothie!

The coconut milk and apple adds creaminess to round out the flavours of this Mojito Smoothie. This smoothie is one of my favourites to make, especially in the Winter to freshen things up! Plus, I’ve added a cup of spinach for a hit of greens too!

Why you’ll love this mojito smoothie

• Whip up this Mojito Smoothie and enjoy sipping it while dreaming of sitting beachside!
• This is a quick & healthy smoothie to give you energy in the morning.
• Add a scoop of your favourite protein to give this a high-protein kick!

Ingredients needed for this green mojito smoothie

Granny smith apple: one granny smith apple is key to this recipe

Fresh mint: you’ll need 12 large fresh mint leaves to add freshness in the smoothie

Spinach: fresh spinach is a must in this recipe

Honey: a touch of honey balances the lively flavours in this mojito smoothie; alternatively you can use maple syrup

Shredded coconut: you can use sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut, whatever you have on hand!

Lime: you just need fresh lime juice from half a lime (no lime zest is needed)

Coconut milk: I like to use coconut milk from a carton but for a creamier smoothie, you can use canned coconut milk

How to make this easy smoothie

1. Add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender.
2. Then, simply blend on high until everything is incorporated. Sip & enjoy!

Expert tips

• Prep this smoothie ahead of time by packing the ingredients into a smoothie pack! I like to meal prep these smoothies by adding the chopped granny smith apple, fresh mint, spinach, shredded coconut and ice cubes in a freezer-safe bag of choice. When ready to blend, add the frozen ingredients to a high-speed blender with the honey, lime juice, coconut milk and protein powder (if using). Blend on high until it reaches your desired consistency. For best results, you may need to add a bit of extra water or coconut milk when blending from frozen.
• For a dose of protein in this mojito smoothie without protein powder, try adding a 1/4-1/2 cup of plain or vanilla skyr or Greek yogurt.
• You can use sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut, whatever you have on hand!

Common questions

How to store

This smoothie is best enjoyed as soon as it’s made.

More healthy smoothie recipes to love from the blog

• The Best Green Tropical Island Smoothie Recipe
• Tropical Blood Orange Smoothie
• Blueberry Bliss Smoothie

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Bright and Fresh Green Mojito Smoothie Recipe

While dreaming of the beach I created this Mojito Smoothie filled with mint, lime and coconut. These flavours are lively and refreshing; a quick and healthy sip to give you energy in the morning!

Course Breakfast, smoothie

Cuisine American

Keyword smoothie

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Author Jess

Ingredients

• 1 granny smith apple, cored and chopped into large pieces
• 12 large mint leaves
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/2 tsp honey or maple syrup
• 2 tbsp shredded coconut
• juice of half a lime
• 1 cup coconut milk (from a carton)
• 2 ice cubes
• Optional: add in your favourite protein powder

Instructions

• Add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender.
• Blend on high until everything is incorporated. Sip & enjoy!

Notes

• Add a scoop of your favourite protein to give this a high-protein kick!
• I like to use coconut milk from a carton but for a creamier smoothie, you can use canned coconut milk. I don’t recommend using coconut water.
• For a dose of protein in this mojito smoothie without protein powder, try adding a 1/4-1/2 cup of plain or vanilla skyr or Greek yogurt.

The post Bright and Fresh Green Mojito Smoothie Recipe appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

Cucumber and mint are refreshing flavours and they pair perfectly with gin.

And, taking a cue from one of my other favourite cocktails, the French 75, this Spritz is topped with prosecco for a sparkling touch!

I love to make cocktails that use seasonal and fresh ingredients so this Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz fits in perfectly. The last couple of week’s we’ve been enjoying local cucumbers from our YYC Growers Harvest Box. So, I knew as soon as we started to feel the beginnings of Spring it was the perfect opportunity to use the cucumbers in a cocktail to celebrate.

If you haven’t had mint and cucumber in a cocktail yet, you’re in for a treat! The two provide the most refreshing flavours when muddled together and combined with gin.

Then, this cocktail is topped with prosecco for a perfectly bubbly sip!

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Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz

Mint and cucumber combine with gin in this refreshing cocktail that is topped with prosecco for the perfect, sparkling spritz of the Spring season!

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword cocktail, spring cocktail

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 2 cocktails

Author Jess

Ingredients

• 6 slices cucumber
• 10 mint leaves
• 2 ounces gin
• 8-10 ounces prosecco or other white sparkling wine
• extra mint leaves and cucumber slices for garnish
• ice

Instructions

• Add mint leaves, cucumber slices and gin to a cocktail shaker or mason jar.
• Use a muddler or wooden spoon to crush and mix mint, cucumber and gin so the flavours get released and then let sit for 5 minutes.
• Strain into two champagne flutes (or glass of your choice) and pour 4-5 ounces of prosecco into each glass.
• Add some mint leaves and fresh slices of cucumber to garnish and 1-2 ice cubes and enjoy!

This Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz is wonderful for brunch, Easter or Mother’s day. And, even just sipping in the sunshine during the Spring or Summer!

This recipe is a lovely way for me to celebrate my 4th year of blogging here on Cooking in my Genes! I can hardly believe I’ve been creating and photographing recipes to share with you for four years; it’s gone by in a flash! I’ve enjoyed every minute of this experience so far. This blog is such a lovely way to connect with you, family and friends through the love of food. So THANK YOU for all of the love and support; I truly wouldn’t be doing this without you!

So, let’s grab one of these Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz’s and CHEERS to an amazing 4 years plus more to come!

And, if you need some more Spring cocktail inspiration, check out my Grapefruit Lavender Spring Blossom Cocktail.

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

I absolutely love this time of year because there is so much fresh produce to choose from to make salads with. When I’m jetting from work to appointments to photoshoots I love to bring easy, meal-prepped salads with me that burst with flavour and are easy to eat on the go.

So, that’s exactly where this Watermelon Mason Jar Salad fits in with a wonderful combination of flavours to brighten your lunchtime!

I absolutely love watermelon on its own as a snack but making it into a savoury dish to enjoy at other meals has been high on my list.

Did you know? Canadians love watermelon! Due to our short local season, we import most of it from the States.  Each year we buy over 300 million pounds of US watermelon! That’s A LOT of watermelon!

Once warmer temperatures appear we generally buy one watermelon per week in our house; my husband and I both LOVE it! We eat watermelon by the slice and now we’ve got this Mason Jar Watermelon Salad on repeat for lunches too.  The salad is very refreshing given that watermelon is 92% water and an excellent hydrator.

And, paired with a hearty grain like farro plus pea shoots and radishes for crunch, the mint and feta, I’m telllllling you this Watermelon Mason Jar Salad is a flavour bomb you don’t want to miss out on!

I like to meal-prep the salad ingredients on Sundays, make us a couple of mason jar salads and store them in the fridge for 2-3 days of lunches.

Don’t have a mason jar? That’s ok! You can easily make this salad in a to-go or meal-prep container, whatever works best for you.

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Watermelon Mason Jar Salad

Perfect to take on-the-go, this Watermelon Mason Jar Salad is filled with watermelon, farro, pea shoots and radishes for crunch, mint and feta, a divine flavour combination! This Watermelon Mason Jar Salad is a flavour bomb you don’t want to miss out on!

Course Lunch, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword mason jar salad, watermelon salad

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Jess

Ingredients

• 4 x 26 oz mason jars
• 1 cup uncooked farro
• 2 cups watermelon diced
• 1 1/3 cup radishes sliced in halves
• 3-4 cups pea shoots
• 1 cup feta cheese crumbled
• 1/4 cup mint chopped

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• pinch ground pepper

Instructions

• Bring a pot of water to boil and once boiling, add the farro and cook for 22-25 minutes until the farro is just done (almost a chewy texture). Drain the farro and set aside to cool. *Note the farro cooks just like you would cook pasta and will not absorb all the water like when you cook other grains*
• Next, prep your salad dressing by adding white balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, honey, salt and pepper into a small mason jar or bowl and shake or stir to combine.
• Then, prepare the salad ingredients: dice the watermelon into small cubes; slice the radishes; measure out the pea shoots; crumble the feta and chop the mint.
• To assemble the mason jar salads, divide the ingredients into 4 jars, starting with a 1/4 cup of dressing at the bottom of the jar. Then add in farro, diced watermelon, radishes, pea shoots, feta and top with mint.
• Store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
• When you’re ready to eat the salad, shake the mason jar to combine ingredients and then enjoy!

Notes

Want to use a different grain? Quinoa would also work really well with this recipe too.

You can easily halve this recipe for just two Mason Jar Watermelon Salads by dividing all the ingredient amounts in half.

Or, this recipe also makes a lovely summertime picnic or barbeque salad! Just combine all the ingredients together instead of separating them into 4 mason jars and toss with the dressing when you’re ready to serve.

Want more watermelon recipe inspiration? Check out watermelon.org for a plethora of ideas including how to use the entire watermelon for delicious kitchen creations including using the white of the rind in coleslaws or stirfry or pickle it for a zesty topping!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

Disclaimer: Thank you to the National Watermelon Promotion Board for sponsoring this post.  Thank you for supporting the brands that I support. All opinions are my own.

The post Watermelon Mason Jar Salad appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

I love to entertain in the summer and create fun cocktails for when we have company over. This sangria hits all the right notes as it’s easy to make for a party or group and has a ton of fresh flavours.

It’s fun to mix together different fruit combinations (and in this case vegetables) to come up with new and fresh sangria flavours.

It’s such an EASY cocktail to make for the summer months, especially when you’re entertaining and it would also be lovely for a wedding shower!

The cucumber and mint adds a refreshing twist for a summertime sangria, and the lime brightens up the entire drink.

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Minty Cucumber Lime Sangria

Kick off the summer with a fresh twist with this Minty Cucumber Lime Sangria, full of fresh flavours and easy to make for summer entertaining!

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword fruit sangria, sangria, summer sangria

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Author Jess

Equipment

• large pitcher

Ingredients

• 1/2 english cucumber, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced
• 1/3 cup mint leaves
• 1/2 cup gin
• 1 1/2 cups sparkling water
• 1 bottle Sauvignon Blanc
• mint leave & cucumber slices for garnish

Instructions

• To a pitcher add cucumber slices, sliced lime, mint leaves, gin and sparkling water. Using a wooden spoon, gently muddle the ingredients a few times and let sit for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, add the bottle of wine to the pitcher, stir and then serve over ice.
• Garnish with more mint leaves and cucumber slices if desired.

Notes

• Want a sweeter sangria? Try using a Moscato wine.
• Want a bubblier sangria? Try using a bottle of Prosecco.
• Want to make this a non-alcoholic drink? Swap the wine for more bubbly water.

 

The final piece to this summertime sangria is the Sauvignon Blanc wine which goes lovely with all of the other flavours and is wonderfully sparkly!

So, when you’re entertaining this summer whip up a batch of this Minty Cucumber Lime Sangria and enjoy whilst basking in the sunshine!

Love sangria!? Try this Berry Rhubarb Kombucha Sangria that’s made with rosé during the summer months too!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Minty Cucumber Lime Sangria appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.