one of the best things about mexico for me was their fresh waters, or aguas frescas. every single meal we had out we ordered a few of these for the table to share, to hydrate after heating up in the sun. and the mexico sun in june is hot. simply put, they are fruit blended waters and they are so good. and these are not your typical pressed juices or fruit blended smoothies. they’re light, not too juice-y and overtly sweet, but fresh and so easy to gulp down.

i know, it’s torturous reading about this while some of you my dears are fasting, but i’m telling you - whip up a batch today and enjoy it tonight after or with your iftaar. it’s a fun way to get in that water our bodies so desperately need this month.

at the restaurants and on the street they come in so many different flavours - watermelon, lemon, apple, pear, and one of my favourites, tamarindo! yes, that’s tamarind aka ambli! trust me it’s so good!

when i came home at the end of last week i was a feeling a little trip-sick, yearning for the sights, sounds and tastes of mexico that i made a whole bunch of different flavours to stock in our fridge. i made watermelon, strawberry, apple and mango with what i had. i added some mint leaves and lime to amp up the flavours and chia seeds to give them an energy boost. i really love what happens to the chia seeds when in liquid. they form this slime-like coating around the seed and they are kind of like mini bubble tea bits! read up here on the benefits of adding in that chia. they are considered a superfood for a reason!

and we are not big juice people over here. i find the store-bought cartons and concentrates a little too sweet and i don’t want the girls getting hooked on that kind of sugar. so with these ready to go in the fridge, i feel good about giving them these juices. niyya downed a whole sippy of the mango this morning and daaniya, well, as you can see in these photos, she enjoys her an agua fresca too!

they are really simple to make too. follow along with this recipe below.

watermelon agua fresca

all you need is…

• 1/4 small watermelon, cut into chunks
• the leaves off a few sprigs of fresh mint
• juice of half a lime
• chia seeds, you can use as little or as much as you like. i just shake my bottle and sprinkle about a tbsp.
• 1/2 litre coconut water
• 1/4 litre water

and all you have to do is…

• add all the ingredients into a blender
• blend, taste and adjust flavours. i add in a bit more fruit or coconut water to taste. you may like it sweeter or less so.
• drink!

seriously, that’s it!

swap in and out the ingredients for a variety of flavours. when i made the apple flavour i added a bit of honey to sweeten it a bit, and the mango flavour was simply mango, coconut water and water. anything goes, really! but you’re looking for flavoured water here, not full-on juice. it’s like the hint of fruit that you’re going to want to go for here.

store in mason jars in the fridge and it will keep for a few days. they need a shake up every so often while you’re drinking them, so keep your lid handy or drink with a straw and stir.

so the next time you are in mexico make sure you get one, or two or three, of these. or blend a few up while the fruit is fresh this season.

besos.