Six Refreshing Beverages for Summer

Spring and summer blend together, and during these seasons heat comes knocking on our doors.  The only remedy for shaking off the sun’s rays, that remain stored in the Earth below our feet, is liquids.  That’s why right now we have a collection of drinks recipes to give you to help keep you in shape.  Some drinks use fruit juices, which provide vitamins and minerals, and others, like coconut, provide solutes, as if they were specially prepared rehydrating beverages.  I hope you enjoy this selection, and also remember that each of these drinks can be turned into delicious popsicles as well.

Pink Lemonade

Ingredients

• 2 lemons
• 1 orange
• 300 grams raspberries
• 1 liter water
• 50 grams chia seeds
• 300 grams sugar, or a sweetener of your choice

Directions

1. Add the raspberries, juice from the two lemons, the orange juice and the sugar in a pot, and heat on low heat for 10 minutes with 100 mL of water.  Once finished, allow to cool at room temperature.
2. Strain while stirring to extract as much pulp as possible.  Mix with the remaining water and sugar.
3. Add the chia seeds and ice, mix well and serve.

Tomato Juice with Pepper

Ingredients

• 2 tomatoes
• ½ red pepper
• 1 stalk of celery
• ½ c. water
• 1 pinch pepper
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. tabasco sauce

Directions

1. Dice the tomatoes, pepper and celery in big chunks.  Blend with half a cup of water.
2. Add the pepper, salt and tabasco sauce to the mixture.
3. Serve with ice, or blend the ice with the mixture to create something similar to a frappe.

Fresh Guava Flavored Horchata

Ingredients

• 1 c. rice
• 375 mL evaporated milk
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. powdered cinnamon
• 2 liters water
• 15 guavas
• ¼ c. sugar

Directions

1. Soak the rice in water for at least an hour.
2. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, and evaporated milk into the rice and blend until creating a fine, sandy layer underneath the water.  Once finished, strain the mixture and clean the blender for future use.
3. Blend the guava with some of the water, just enough so that it doesn’t spill over, but enough to create a liquid for adding the rest of the ingredients.
4. Mix the guava in the blender with the rice mixture.  Add the sugar.  You can add more if you would like.  Refrigerate before serving, or serve immediately on ice.
5. You can also use other fruits to add a twist to the recipe, like strawberries.  Or you could add coconut and coconut water to make this even more special.

Pineapple Banana Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 previously frozen banana
• 1 pineapple
• 1 c. grapefruit juice
• 3 Tbsp. poppy seeds
• 1 ½ c. coconut water
• 2 Tbsp. honey

Directions

Make ice cubes out of the coconut water before starting this recipe.

1. Mix the pineapple and grapefruit juice in a blender with the frozen banana, diced.  Blend with ¾ of the frozen coconut water ice cubes.
2. Add the pineapple, honey and remaining ice.  Blend into a smooth consistency, serve immediately decorated with the poppy seeds.
3. You could also add other fruit, like kiwi, to the mixture, or chia seeds rather than poppy seeds.

Blackberry and Raspberry Malt

Ingredients

• 2 c. low fat vanilla ice cream
• 1 c. blackberries
• ½ c. raspberries
• ½ c. low fat milk
• ½ c. diced walnuts

Directions

1. Add the low fat milk in a blender and process with the blackberries and raspberries.
2. Add the vanilla ice cream and the diced walnuts.  Mix into a uniform a smooth mixture, serve immediately.
3. You could also add other fruits, like strawberries, and substitute them for half a cup of blackberries.

Cucumber, Pineapple and Aloe Water

Ingredients

• ½ c pineapple
• ¼ c. diced aloe
• 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
• 2 lemons
• 3 c. water
• Honey to taste

Directions

1. Blend the aloe, pineapple and the cup of water until everything is well blended.
2. Add half of the cucumber, the honey to taste, and squeeze the two lemons into the mixture.  Blend again until well mixed.
3. Add the remaining diced cucumber, serve cold or immediately with ice.

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