Healthy Muddled Blackberry Pina Coladas

Healthy Muddled Blackberry Pina Coladas for #DrinkTheSummer via Nutritionist in the Kitch

Earlier this summer I was visiting some family who live right on a beautiful lake. It was a gorgeous weekend and we all decided to pull out the ol’ margarita blender and whip up some tasty drinks. One of the drinks we made was a delicious, cold, sweet, and smooth Piña Colada. 

My fave.

Healthy Muddled Blackberry Pina Coladas for #DrinkTheSummer via Nutritionist in the Kitch

There’s something about the combination of coconut, pineapple, and a little bit of rum that does it for me. It’s just a great mix and always transports me to tropical destinations.

It’s not uncommon knowledge that blended cocktails can be sugar bombs, especially when they have added refined sugar in the form of simple syrup or juices that contain added sugars, Piña Coladas are no exception, as they traditionally contain a coconut cream that has added sugars along with the sweetened pineapple juice. 

So, when the lovely Sherrie of With Food and Love invited me to partake in her #DRINKTHESUMMER party, I KNEW I’d be making a Piña Colada… with a little bit of NITK LOVE. 

Healthy Muddled Blackberry Pina Coladas for #DrinkTheSummer via Nutritionist in the Kitch

The end of summer is nearing (cue sad violin music) so I wanted to take full advantage of the beautiful seasonal berries we still have available and add some tasty, juicy blackberries to my Piña Colada. 

An odd combination? It may seem so, but trust me, these flavours go fantastic together and the muddled blackberries bring in a dose of antioxidants to this more indulgent drink. I searched the grocery stores to find an all natural pineapple juice with NO added sugars and then went with organic full fat (unsweetened) coconut milk to bring in the delicious creamy, coconut touch to these Piña Coladas. 

Healthy Muddled Blackberry Pina Coladas for #DrinkTheSummer via Nutritionist in the Kitch

Most traditional Piña Coladas contain quite a bit of sweetened coconut cream, so for my version I used plain coconut milk and scraped some of the coconut cream from the top of the can, then combined it with 1/4 of the liquid from the can. This cut down on the sugar content as well as the fat content by lowering the overall amount of coconut cream in the recipe. 

To keep the frosty blended texture, I chose to freeze my pineapple juice in an ice cube tray. That’s what really gives the drink it’s great consistency. A little pour of rum (which is totally optional if you want a virgin drink instead!) and voila! a Healthy Piña Colada! 

These delicious Tepache de Piña drink by Nourished Kitchen would also be a delicious drink option for summer, similar to a Pina colada, but infused with cinnamon, star anise, and fermented! 

Healthy Muddled Blackberry Pina Coladas for #DrinkTheSummer via Nutritionist in the Kitch

These are an easy, delicious, and mostly healthy way to really “Drink the Summer”!

Check out this great list below to see how a bunch of other fantastic bloggers are doing their #drinkthesummer this year!

BOOZY:
 
With Food + Love | Basil Fig Vodka Smash
A Little Saffron | Beach Bum’s Rum
A Thought For Food | Tarragon Tequlia Swizzle
Heart of a Baker | Green Tea Mint Cooler
Hungry Girl por Vida | Whisky Peach Alexander
 
 
Appeasing a Food Geek | Basil and Black Pepper Gin Sour
Vegetarian Ventures | Garden Tonic Punch
The Foodie Nurse | Husk Cherry Margarita
Wicked Spatula | Coconut Gin and Tonic
Nutritionist in the Kitch | Healthy Muddled Blackberry Pina Coladas
Chocolate + Marrow | Pequito Verdecito
The Solstice Table | Jalapeno Watermelon Cooler
Seasonal Cravings | Strawberry Lime Gin Rickey
Dessert for Two | Salty Melon Slush
 
NOT BOOZY:
 
Heartbeet Kitchen | Salty Watermelon Shrub Elixir
My Heart Beets | Spiced Pistachio Shake
rooting the sun | Strawberry Fennel Soda
The Modern Proper | Vanilla Bean Plum Shrub
Gourmande in the Kitchen | Stone Fruit Thyme Shrub Soda
I am a Food Blog | Cherry Vanilla Sodas
Well and Full | Peach Bubble Tea
 

Healthy Muddled Blackberry Pina Coladas
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 2 cups pure pineapple juice (no sugar added)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut cream (from canned full fat coconut milk)
  • ¼ cup coconut liquid (from canned full fat coconut milk)
  • ½ cup fresh blackberries
  • 1 teaspoon raw honey
  • 2 oz white rum (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted (optional)
Instructions
  1. Freeze the pineapple juice in a 16 cube ice-cube try (16 oz total).
  2. Once frozen, you are ready to make the drinks!
  3. Place the blackberries in a small bowl and add in the honey then muddle together until the honey is dissolved and you have a muddled blackberry mixture.
  4. Divide the blackberry mixture between two glasses.
  5. Add the frozen pineapple "ice cubes" to a blender along with the coconut cream, coconut liquid, and rum (if using).
  6. Blend until smooth.
  7. Divide the pineapple coconut mixture between the two glasses to layer over the muddled blackberry mixture.
  8. Garnish with a couple fresh blackberries and some 1 tablespoon each of toasted coconut (optional, but tastes amazing!).
  9. Enjoy immediately!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this recipe and you’re able to discover a few more ways to #DRINKTHESUMMER!

Christal

Nutritionist in the Kitch

Author: Christal Sczebel

Christal is the creator of Nutrition in the Kitch. She's a Certified Nutritional Consultant, twice published author, gluten and dairy free recipe developer, food photographer, speaker, wife, and mama. Christal loves good food, all things wellness, and loves to travel. Her wellness philosophy is centred around balance and sustainable health, life's way too short for boring diets and restriction!

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