Watermelon Refresher | Michaela Cooks

The UK has recently experienced the warmest weather I can remember in my 22 years here. This, of course, calls for a refreshing treat to share with your friends as you complain about how hot and clammy it is (right?)! If you learn anything about me from my blog posts, it will be that I love mint in my drinks. I put it in juices, smoothies and cocktails; my life is permanently inspired by a mojito hahaha.

Serves: 3-4 people

Ingredients
1/2 of one medium watermelon
3 or 4 mint leaves
1 lime
150-200ml sparkling water

Method

1. Roughly chop your watermelon and set aside. Don't worry about picking the seeds out, you'd be there for days!

2. Roll the lime between your hand and the kitchen counter to loosen up the juices. Juice the lime and pour the juice into a blender. A nice, juicy lime should yield approx. 1/4 cup of juice.

3. Add 2 of the mint leaves to the blender and blitz with the lime juice. I pulse the blender for a few seconds at a time until the mint leaves are barely visible.

4. Add the watermelon chunks to the blender and blend until smooth.

5. To serve, half fill glasses with crushed ice and pour the watermelon juice over the top. Stop when your glass is around 2/3 full and top with the sparkling water. Give it a stir and enjoy your new favourite summer drink!

Change it up! If you like this drink, you'll love these ideas!
- Add a shot of gin to the glass before adding the watermelon juice and sparkling water, who said cocktails had to be awful for you?
- Pour the juice into ice lolly moulds and freeze for a few hours. Fresh fruit ice lollies are one of my favourite ways to cool down in summer!

Question time: What did you get up to in the heatwave? Were you out enjoying the sun or sitting in the shade wishing for cooler weather? Or did you spend the sunny days at work and have thunderstorms on your days off (I expect this is the case for most)?

Take care,