Watermelon Coconut Lime Ice Smoothies

From our food contributor, Shaina Olmanson.

This watermelon ice smoothie is thick, smooth, and refreshing. With its coconut water and a touch of lime, it’s reminiscent of Slurpees and Icees, except all natural at home.

I sat down back in May, an oversized paper calendar in front of me and five or six Sharpies at the ready.

Neatly I wrote down the activities for each day through the summer, color-coding by child, so I knew when each one needed to be where at what time.

It seemed like a worthwhile task to clear my Type-A brain from the clutter of keeping all the information piled together in one place.

At the end of the August page I even filled in school orientation nights that we’d already received reminders for, lest we forget summer’s length and imagine it stretching on forever.

I sat back and admired my handiwork.

There were the camps and the sports practices outline in a rainbow of color.

Family activities were marked in black.

I flipped back to June and rather than feeling better, I instead felt the dread of too much to do all summer long.

No one ever prepared me for the reality that comes with having children out of diapers.

It’s this idea that they are now little people with lives and activities and interests of their own.

Try as I might to keep our lives simple and our summers as low-stress and relaxing as possible, what ends up happening when you are outnumbered four to one is that activities get spread and spaced out.

A month in and several deep breaths later I can tell you the secrets to surviving summer.

Take it one day at a time.

Say yes (to beach days and trips to the park) as often as you say no.

Forget about scrubbing your floor (bare feet and clean floors do not go together).

Serve plenty of on-the-go snacks that keep you cool, hydrated, and are just plain fun to drink.

These watermelon smoothies are just what summer ordered with their hint of coconut and bit of lime.

Whether you’re carting one kid to soccer while picking another up from baseball or just relaxing in the backyard, they are the refreshing, invigorating, and full of summer flavor.

I’ve taken to freezing the leftover watermelon in batches, whenever there’s a bit leftover.

I scoop the last cup or so into a container, covering it and pretending all is well.

Rather than ending in the compost pile at the end of a meal, these leftover chunks become an intensely hydrating snack that boasts vitamin C and antioxidants.

It’s just what the summer heat ordered.