I’ve always enjoyed coconut water. So-much-so that about 10 years ago, me and a friend decided that we needed a huge jug to sup at our leisure. So, off we went to a wholesaler to buy a dirty sack of coconuts, probably about 25 or so.
After we’d lugged the sack home, our next challenge was to open them one by one and extract the water. To do this we borrowed a blunt screwdriver and a hammer from my Dad’s shed – and hammered our way through the lot – ending up with a jug of coconut water with brown hairy bits in, and sore hands.
Thankfully, this will never happen again now that the world has gone crazy over the healthy little drink, and it is readily available in the supermarket fridge. It’s pretty expensive though, and my favorite is Vita Coco, which comes in at around £1.60 ish for a 330ml carton or £3.50 ish for a 1 litre .
Vita Coco uses 100% coconut water, as do Biona, Chi and Harmless Harvest. So, watch out because there are many cheaper brands that tamper with the water to create new flavors, or supplement the natural water for other ingredients, such as sugar, additives ect.
Also, now you can get whole coconuts full of fresh water delivered to your door – check out a website called cocoface for more information. So, what are the benefits? If, you cut through all the rubbish such as celebrity endorsements, Vita Coco – which I have right in front of me now – has:
per 100g
- 18 kcal
- 0g of fat
- 0g protein
- 5g of sugar
- 195 mg of potassium
The sugar content is quite high, but it’s all natural and unless you drink gallons on a daily basis, you’ll be fine (everything in moderation). The high levels of potassium are great for keeping the heart, brain and muscles ticking over too. Like I said at the beginning it can seem quite expensive, but I’d much rather drink coconut water than flood my body with fizzy drinks, and it’s nice to have an alternative to H20 every now and then.
sortofameatlessmind 