Off and running first thing this morning. I’m so glad we’ve had a slight reprieve from the chilly mornings and I can run in shorts for a little while longer still.

I left my iPod at home today, wanting to just run and be completely present in the moment, focusing on what I was doing. My breathing and the sound of my feet hitting the pavement were the soundtrack for this morning’s run.

I had enough time this morning to go a bit longer and did 5.76 miles in about 47 minutes. My run definitely felt longer today without something to distract me, but it was welcome.

So who knows what time it is?

I don’t see young coconuts at the store regularly but when I do I always throw one in the cart! Especially when they are funded and sponsored by returned Sigg bottles.

There are many That’s What She Said opportunities in this post. How many do you count? There are so many I feel like my head might explode.

Zak came into the kitchen when he heard me pounding away on the knife with the rubber mallet. He suggested I take my operation outside and whack my nut on the large rocks at the bottom of the deck steps. My physics loving husband explained that the counter is absorbing most of the force of the blow and a lot of my energy was being wasted.

So that’s exactly what I did. I took my nut outside for a good whacking.

Shhhh… observe the young coconut in it’s natural habitat!

OK, not exactly.

I wonder what the hell my neighbors must think. I’m sure they see me running and riding and schlepping these kids all over creation. Don’t mind me, just gotta quick pound on this young coconut with a butcher knife and mallet at 7am on a Thursday morning. Carry on!

I am getting pretty good at the nut pounding though, I must say.

Zak came out to inspect my work to see how I was making out with his suggestion. He brought me a straw so I could suck the fresh juice straight out of the nut.

This is probably my 5th (or 6th??) young coconut and it has by far been the best one yet. The water had the perfect amount of coconut flavor. I’ve been asked about the flavor of fresh coconut water versus the packaged coconut water. I’ve only had one box of young coconut water and it did not impress me. Like most things, fresh is better than packaged and this has definitely been my experience with coconut water.

The meat from this coconut peeled easily off the inside, normally I’ve got to dig in hard and scrape it out with a spoon. It was so thick and meaty I couldn’t help but sink my teeth right into it.

After I slurped my nutty water and I put the meat in the fridge I went about my day with tasks around the house and helping get the man off on his way to work. When I felt hungry for breakfast I knew I had to incorporate that thick slab of nut meat.

I pulled out the mini chopper to give the coconut meat a thorough lashing.

I diced up a banana, stirred in my chopped meat, threw in some chia seeds, a handful of crushed walnuts and a good pour of hemp milk.

Holly girl asked the other day if Hemp milk is raw and I didn’t know the answer to that. I poked around on the Living Harvest website and can’t find anything that says it is so I’m assuming that it’s not. It’s also worth nothing that I pay HALF of what they are charging on the website for a box at Wegmans!

Now that I’ve completely exceeded my recommended daily allowance for both potassium and That’s What She Said jokes, I better sign off before this post gets any longer. Or harder.