Christy CushingOn hot summer days I love to make this fresh and cool nickel free summer drink. My partner calls it the “drink of summer.” It’s really simple and only requires a blender, watermelon, water and lime.
The recipe:
- 1 large watermelon cut up into slices.
- 1 lime juiced.
- Fill ½ the blender with cold water
- Some ice cubes.
First I fill up the blender with watermelon. Next I add the lime juice. I like to zest the lime prior to when I juice it and include the lime zest from the peel. However some people don’t like the texture and exclude the zest.
If you don’t like lime, you can substitute ½ a peeled cucumber. I fill ½ of the blender with cold water and then add a couple ice cubes. Lastly I use the blender features of “chop,” “blend” and “puree,” to make sure that everything is mixed thoroughly.
I hope you enjoy this refreshing cool summer and nickel free drink!
Christy Cushing
4 comments
Hi Christy! My elderly mother was recently diagnosed with a nickel allergy. I am looking for a way to blend her smoothie for her. She uses plain kefir, fresh strawberries and a bit of vanilla extract. She had been using ice crushed by the metal blades of her blender. Do you have ideas on how she can still have a good smoothie texture without crushed ice or a brand of blender without metal blades? Thanks, Margie
Hi Margie,
Thanks for your comment. Strawberries with yogurt and ice doesn’t sound like it would cause problems. I too love to eat fruit smoothies, especially in the summer!
Unfortunately I’m not aware of a blender that doesn’t use some sort of metal blade. I don’t believe my blender causes me any issues. Researchers warn against using acidic foods on cookware you heat, as that combination has a tendency to leach nickel into one’s food more. It could be possibility, however I don’t imagine blending a smoothie, even with some acidic fruits, would cause a similar reaction. Whereas I think it’s more likely a lemon custard or curd blended for an extended period of time (10-20 minutes) to heat the egg and lemon, could be problematic.
You could always use a food journal the corresponds with your mother’s symptom to identify whether or not you think the blender is negatively impacting her nickel allergy.
Best of luck,
Christy
Christy,
I just realized I have a nickel-free allergy and am doing a really good job eliminating. However, I make coffee twice a day and use it to blend butter. I think the blades have nickel, because I do get slight reactions after having my coffee (but not as bad as veggies boiled in stainless steel or even worse, plantains fried on a stainless steel frying pan).
Please tell me if you use a special blender there, or if you even need to. It looks like you have a Black & Decker pro blend, so of course I’m going to try that, since you’re not reacting to it. However, I’m blending hot stuff, so the nickel would hypothetically leech more into my coffee than into your watermelon agua fresca.
Thank you! Thanks for making your blog. So many blogs about nickel allergies helped me realize how prevalent the issue was and how important it was to eliminate this to combat my many other sensitivities and allergies.
Hi Rob,
Thanks for your comment and appreciation for my blog! I am asked about nickel free blenders from time to time and I haven’t really seen any on the market.
When I’ve tried searching for products I usually will type “blender with titanium blades.” What’s tricky is often the blender body will be titanium, but the blades themselves are unfortunately still made from stainless steel. I’ve been okay using a chrome coated immersion blender, I don’t know if that would be an option for you. I searched amazon and found the Hurom HCB-001BW Handheld Juicer Blender Titanium Blade Mixer Chopper 22V. I’ve never used this product, but it could be worth reaching out to the manufacturer and ask your specific questions.
You’re probably correct that the heat from your hot coffee and the stainless steel blade results in more nickel leaching into your blended coffee drink, than a cold beverage. Also acidic foods when combined with heat, generally cause a similar reaction where they would probably be more nickel.
Best,
Christy