Cantaloupe Agua Fresca

With this recipe for cantaloupe agua fresca recipe, you are only 4 ingredients away from a refreshing drink that both pleases the palette and nourishes the body.

Agua fresca literally translates to fresh water in Spanish, but really means a refreshing juice made from whole fruit. It’s a healthier alternative to soda or alcohol with your meal. Just adding water and other aromatic flavors instantly makes you chef-level-good in the kitchen. One simple step of blending the ingredients can complete your breakfast or lunch without a lot of work and without much clean up!

Even though summer has come to an end, cantaloupe can often be found fresh in season through early December. And something I love about agua fresca is it can be enjoyed ice cold, or closer to room temperature, and still be a refreshing treat no matter the season!

Is cantaloupe agua fresca good for you?

You can count on cantaloupe for the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals your body needs, such as vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K, along with minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, copper, iron, and zinc, and the antioxidant beta-carotene. Antioxidants are important to help protect the cells in your body from damaging free radicals. Cantaloupe is a win in our book for being refreshing and sweet on its own without added sugar, and for being a great source of fiber while also hydrating you.

This recipe provides Vitamins A, B, and C

This drink is rich in vitamin A, a good source of Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, and an excellent source of Vitamin C.

With its bright orange color, vitamin A is best known for helping keep our eyes in good shape, but it also helps boost our immune system. Did you know, vitamin A also plays a role in cell growth? These benefits from cantaloupe vitamin A are helpful for people with IBD who might experience weakened immune systems and tissue damage in their intestines.

Vitamin A has also been studied for how it activates your body’s natural process for absorbing iron, a common nutrient deficiency in people living with IBD.

Agua fresca’s health benefits for IBD

Agua fresca cantaloupe has great health benefits for IBD. All in one glass, you get fiber along with great hydration, which can help ease your digestion. Eating more fiber has been shown to help decrease the development of Crohn’s disease. Blended foods are also known to support calmer digestion.

If you are following the IBD Anti-Inflammatory Diet (IBD-AID), we’ve got good news! Cantaloupe (and other melons) is on the list of allowable foods in stage 2! But for this recipe, we would recommend swapping the maple syrup for honey, or skipping the sweetener altogether, to make it a better match for the IBD-AID Diet.

How do I pick the best melon?

It can be a guessing game to know if a cantaloupe is ripe and ready to be cut. Contrary to popular belief, the sweetness won’t change as you let it rest on the counter, but it will get softer.

Here are some tips to maximize your chances of choosing the best melon:

• Feel for a soft, but not too spongy, melon.
• If a cantaloupe is chilled, you won’t be able to smell its sweetness.
• Check the peel pattern. It’s best when it’s evenly distributed around the melon.
• Don’t worry about the bleached spot, that’s just where the melon rested on the ground as it grew.
• Once you’re home from the store, you can keep the whole melon on the counter for 2-4 days. You can refrigerate it a little longer if you need to.

How to make cantaloupe agua fresca

Wash your cantaloupe with soap and water to remove dirt and harmful bacteria from the rind, as cutting through the skin can transfer contaminants to the flesh. Cut open your cantaloupe, remove the seeds and peel or cut off the skin. Chop it up and throw it all in a blender with some water and fresh lime. For a dash of sweetness, add maple syrup and even some mint for an extra refreshing flavor. Simply blend until smooth and serve with or without ice. Cheers!

Have a specific dietary need?

Overall, this cantaloupe agua fresca recipe supports lots of dietary needs like the autoimmune protocol diet, low oxalate, nightshade free, kosher, paleo, pescatarian, unprocessed, vegan and vegetarian diets.

It’s also beef free, chicken free, seafood free and pork free. It’s a great dairy free, soy free, wheat free, grain free, gluten free, and nut free drink. And it’s a great addition to a coconut free, corn free, egg free, legumes free, rice free, tomato free meal!

Cantaloupe Agua Fresca

Renata Cauchon-Robles and Danielle Gaffen, MS, RDN, LD

Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveSaved!

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Course Drinks

Cuisine Latin

Servings 2 Servings

Calories 78 kcal

Equipment

• 1 Blender

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 medium cantaloupe peeled, deseeded, and chopped
• 1 medium lime juiced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Instructions

 

• Combine all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
• Pour into glasses and enjoy!

Notes

Leftovers Best enjoyed fresh. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to two days.

Serving Size One serving is equal to approximately 1 1/2 cups.

More Flavor Add mint.

Serving Option Serve with the ice if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 78kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 1gSodium: 24mgPotassium: 415mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 4678IUVitamin C: 57mgCalcium: 29mg

Keyword AIP Diet, Autoimmune Protocol Diet, beef-free, chicken-free, coconut-free, corn-free, dairy-free, drink, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, kosher, legume-free, low-oxalate, nightshade-free, nut-free, oil-free, Paleo, pescatarian, pork-free, rice-free, seafood-free, soy-free, tomato-free, unprocessed, vegan, vegetarian, wheat-free

Take Home Message

Cantaloupe Agua Fresca is a great choice for a refreshing drink to serve with any meal. You can count on it for fiber, hydration, and a rich source of vitamin A. Try including agua fresca like this cantaloupe recipe in your IBD-friendly diets; it’s so easy to make and never disappoints!

Learn More

• Try these other IBD-friendly smoothies and drinks
• Now that you’ve got the drinks covered, check out the 7-day meal plan for IBD
• Get your hands on the IBD Nutrient Deficiencies Chart for a quick reference sheet you can pin on your fridge!

References

1. Ali S, Rahman AU, Ali E, et al. Insights on the Nutritional Profiling of Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L.) via 1-Naphthalene Acetic Acid. Plants (Basel). 2023;12(16):2969. Published 2023 Aug 17. doi:10.3390/plants12162969
2. McDowell C, Farooq U, Haseeb M. Inflammatory Bowel Disease. [Updated 2023 Aug 4]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470312/
3. Gutowska K, Formanowicz D, Formanowicz P. Interrelations between Iron and Vitamin A-Studied Using Systems Approach. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(3):1189. Published 2022 Jan 21. doi:10.3390/ijms23031189
4. Campmans-Kuijpers MJE, Dijkstra G. Food and Food Groups in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): The Design of the Groningen Anti-Inflammatory Diet (GrAID). Nutrients. 2021;13(4):1067. Published 2021 Mar 25. doi:10.3390/nu13041067
5. Ananthakrishnan AN, Khalili H, Konijeti GG, et al. A prospective study of long-term intake of dietary fiber and risk of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Gastroenterology. 2013;145(5):970-977. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2013.07.050
6. University of Massachusetts Center for Applied Nutrition. IBD-AID ALLOWABLE FOODS LIST. Accessed September 20, 2024 www.umass.edu/nutrition
7. Haws, S. Fruit and Vegetable Guide Series: Cantaloupe. Utah State University Nutrition Extension. Published May 15, 2023. Accessed September 24, 2024. https://extension.usu.edu/nutrition/research/cantaloupe