Chiller Treats to Beat the Heat

​This summer we have been hit with several heatwaves.  Despite being a summer baby, it’s not my favorite season and I know that I’m going to get some angry looks when I say, I look forward to falling.  Don’t get me wrong, I like summer, just not when it is humid and I can feel my clothes clinging to my skin and sweat dripping down my back.

Anyhow, I digress.  Summer means beaches and playing in the water, no school, and legitimate reasons to enjoy freezies and ice cream galore, although if you ask me, it is perfectly alright to have ice cream all year round.  My girls do enjoy these sweet treats but they are also sugar-laden, so as a parent, I also try to balance this with healthy and hydrating treats to beat the heat.

Smoothies are a great way to pack a ton of nutrition in and with summer, there is an abundance of fruit to draw your inspiration from. If berry picking is an activity that you do as a family and end up with too much, freeze it and you can use it for smoothies another day. It’s a great activity to do with your kids and by having them take part in making the smoothie, they can choose what ingredients to put in it, blend it all up, and they are more likely to drink it.  My girls’ favorite part is the “taste test” and putting their seal of approval on it.  If we aren’t drinking it right away, I put it into a mason jar, tumblers, or reusable pouches and it’s perfect to drink when on the go.

Here’s what generally goes into our family smoothies:

– bananas for thickness
– some combination of fruit (mangos, pineapples, peach, strawberries, and blueberries) either fresh or frozen
– juice (usually orange, but sometimes I have mango nectar lying around)
– yogurt (if using Greek yogurt which is pretty thick then I won’t use the banana)
– sweetener (usually honey and if all my ingredients are sweet, I’ll do a taste test and only add if needed, we’ve also used agave)

For some ideas on summer smoothie combinations,  check out some recipes from Daily Burn. Here they do add protein powder to the smoothies, feel free to substitute it with vanilla yogurt or any other flavored yogurt.

Super Healthy Kids also has some healthy summer smoothie recipes that they say every kid will love. Definitely, something to put to the test and please let me know if you do try them out!

Lemonade or limeade is always a summer favorite as a thirst quencher.  A little sweet, and a little tart, this drink is high in vitamin C and super easy to make.  When I make it, I use a 1:2 ratio of my sugar to lemon juice and make my simple syrup first before adding my lemon juice and the rest of the water.

Want a little bit of different variation without too much additional work?  Try adding frozen fruits to your lemonade.  It’s a great way to double as ice cubes to keep your lemonade cooler longer and as the fruit thaws, it will change up the look of your lemonade so it looks like you are having a different drink altogether.  K loved watching her lemonade transform with her iced blueberries.

Willing to do a little more?  You can also add a twist to the traditional lemonade drink by blending additional fruits such as peach, mango, or berries, or consider adding herbs like mint and basil.

If you are looking to add some variation to the classic lemonade, check out these options with Serious Eats.

​Let’s face it. Drinking water is the best way to stay hydrated, especially in the summer. Let’s be honest, water’s not the most exciting drink especially when there are so many fruity, sugary, and cold options out there. Hope’s not lost. For those who just are not into the taste of plain water, there are flavor drops and ways to make your water carbonated.

Also, on-trend is fruit-infused water drinks.  Simply add some of your favorite fruits into your water container and you’ll get hints of it as you sip. To kick it up an extra notch, try infused ice cubes. Simply add whatever combination of fruits into an ice cube tray, fill it with water, and freeze.  To give it more flavor, gently bruise the fruit by squeezing a little juice before filling it up with water.  Your water stays nice and cold, it’s pretty to look at and as the ice melts, you get a party in your mouth!  If you are willing and have the time to spare, you can also blend up some fruit and pour that into ice cubes.

Another good fruit on a stick is pineapple. You can cut the pineapple lengthwise and get nice meaty sections or do a cross-sectional cut and put the skewer through the core. Use a bamboo skewer since they are thicker and can hold up under the weight of the pineapple.  If you want to be fancy about it, you can use a large cookie cutter to cut some fun shapes for your pineapple (A star, a heart, a flower…) and use the cut-offs in a fruit salad or chop them up into small chunks for fruit infused ice cubes.  You can also sprinkle some cinnamon

​If you are still craving the feel and texture of a frozen treat but want something healthier, there’s hope yet.  While these options do still have some decadent ingredients, you can control how much and exactly what you put in and take comfort in that.  Doing quality assurance is also fun too – either on your own or with your kids.

1.  Mock Ice Cream

​I make this one quite a bit with my kids since they are still willing to be tricked by me.  Start with some ripe bananas. Cut them into thin slices and lay them flat on a lined baking sheet and freeze it. Then place them into a food processor and blend.  As you blend, you’ll get a creamy texture similar to ice cream. Make variations by blending with peanut butter, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, or chopped strawberries. Once frozen, bring it out for about 5-10 minutes to thaw a little before trying to scoop some out!

2.  Yogurt Fruit Popsicles

​There are several methods of making these. Some recipes include a sweetener like honey or sugar. Some include juice or use half and half cream or full-fat yogurt. And some add granola or chia seeds to up the nutritional value.  If you don’t have a popsicle mold, small plastic cups and popsicle sticks also work well.

Simply, put your fruits into the mold/cup, fill with your yogurt base, put the stick in, and freeze until solid.  To release, put the mold/cup into warm water for a few seconds at a time until the popsicle is released.

​3.  Sorbets

Sorbets are basically frozen fruit juice or water, flavoring, and water.  Many years ago, hubby and I went to Disney and we discovered this pineapple float that was heavenly. It was so good that we at least had one a day for the time that we were there.  Thinking of that, I think that pineapple sorbet would be an awesome summer healthy sweet treat.

If you are worried about not having an ice cream maker, don’t worry.  The Idea Room has a pretty easy recipe that doesn’t need an ice cream maker and I look forward to giving it a try.  There’s also a peach sorbet and orange sorbet that I would be interested in testing out as well.

May you chill out for a well-hydrated summer!
Julie