When I was a kid, keeping hydrated often meant mixing a batch of orange Tang or my favorite Kool-Aid mix.
Life was superb when a purple Quench mix was available.
Am I sparking memories? Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s came with colourful and flavourful, convenient beverages. This leads me to the term, “when we know better, we do better.”
Boy, oh boy those powdered drinks were good. What was missing, however, was any form of food value.
In the summer, beverages seem to take the stage. Served outdoors on picnic tables, at lounge chairs at the beach or around a fire, we seem to crave their refreshment and presentation with some pure ingredients like fresh berries. Summer drinks are an important part of a daily menu when the weather gets warm.
Let’s start with the most important beverage.
Water is nature’s best hydrator. We can’t survive without it.
These days a trending term is keep hydrated and there is a formula for how much water we should drink to stay in optimal form.
Step 1: Your weight divided by two equals the number of ounces of water you need each day. For example, if you weigh 100 pounds, divide 100 by two and you’ll get 50 oz.
Step 2: Now divide the 50 oz. by eight to convert ounces to cups (one cup of water equals eight oz.). This equals 6.25 or about six cups (1.5 mL) of water each day. Source: the Kraft Nutrition Centre.
Enhanced water
I am often asked about water additives. Adding collagen powder is popular for skin and bone health and as time passes the taste and consistencies are getting much better.
After doing some taste testing and research, I found a product that you can serve with water and ice and it mixes into a nice warm-day beverage.
Smart Solutions Active Collagen in Organic Raspberry seems to be a hit. Available online and at many health food stores, it seems to make a difference. Drink only one a day. Serve with fresh berries as a garnish.
Many also have inquired about adding electrolyte powders to keep the system in balance. There are many brands available and my only advice is to read the labels and watch the sugar content. Try to avoid artificial sweeteners if possible. This mix can be very helpful if heat stroke has taken its toll. Available in grocery and health food stores as well as in pharmacies.
Fresh fruit beverages
Berry lemonade
Mix a pitcher of home-made or use store bought frozen concentrate, according to package instructions. Add about one cup (250 millilitres) of fresh sliced strawberries and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir, add ice to the glass and pour. You could substitute other berries such as raspberries or saskatoon berries.
If you have time, you could also make the lemonade from scratch.
Lemonade from scratch
- 1 1/2 c. sugar 375 mL
- 1 c. water, (cold) 250 mL plus 7 c./1.75 L to serve
- 1 1/2 c. lemon juice, (from 8 medium or 6 large lemons)
In a small saucepan, combine one cup of water with the sugar. Place over medium heat and bring just to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and let the syrup cool to room temperature. Transfer to a mason jar, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Squeeze the lemon juice. (This juice can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks until ready to make lemonade). Bring the lemons to room temperature before squeezing because this makes this job much easier.
To make the batch, pour the additional seven cups (1.75 L) of cold water into a pitcher, add the prepared lemon juice and the chilled sugar syrup and stir to combine. You can adjust the simple syrup and lemon juice to personal taste. Add ice to glasses, serve and enjoy. Makes eight glasses. Source:
Fresh strawberry chill
Strawberries right from the vine that are ripe and vibrant red are what we wait to taste all year long, so why not in our drinks?
- 1/2 c. light rum or vodka, (optional) or water 125 mL
- 1/2 c. lemon juice 125 mL
- 1/4 c. sugar 60 mL
- 4 c. fresh sliced strawberries 1 L
- about 12 ice cubes
In a blender, combine the rum, vodka or water, lemon juice and sugar. Blend to mix. Add strawberries and ice cubes and blend until well combined. Serve immediately. Serves four.
You can substitute other berries if desired and reduce the amount of added sugar to taste.
Sunrise slush
- 2 cans frozen orange juice concentrate
- 1 can frozen lemonade
- 6 c. pineapple juice 1.50 L
- 4 c. sugar (add more or less to personal taste) 1 L
- 6 c. water 1.50 L
- 2 bottles 7 up, Sprite, Ginger Ale, low sodium club soda or sparkling water 2 L
In a large pot, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat.
Add the frozen orange, juice concentrate, frozen lemonade and can of pineapple juice. Mix well. You can also add some small fruit pieces into the mix for more taste and colour.
In a large container (e.g. ice cream bucket), pour in the slush mixture. Freeze overnight, stirring occasionally.
When you are ready to serve the slush, take out of the freezer for a few minutes ahead of time so you can easily put one or two scoops into a glass.
Pour your soda choice or sparkling water to the top of the glass. Makes 24 servings. Source: Adapted from
Optional — add a small amount of grenadine, vodka and garnishes (oranges, pineapples, berries or cherries).
Fresh fruit smoothie
Kids just love this tasty cool drink.
- 2 c. fresh squeezed orange juice (you can use prepared orange juice but the taste is less intense) 500 mL
- 2 frozen or fresh bananas
- 2 c. fresh strawberries (or berries of your choice) 500 mL
Place all ingredients into a blender. Blend until liquefied and enjoy. Makes four glasses.
Fruit punch
My Aunt Alma makes a version of this delicious punch.
- 2 cans frozen orange juice concentrate 710 mL
- 1 can frozen lemonade concentrate 355 mL
- 6 c. cold water 1.5 L
- 2 1/2 c. chilled soda like ginger ale, Sprite, club soda or sparkling water 625 mL
- 1 1/4 c. fresh or frozen sliced strawberries 300 mL
Mix concentrates and water. Chill in a punch bowl. Just before serving, add the sparkling drink or soda and strawberries.
Carbonated wonders
Cracking open an ice-cold carbonated beverage on a hot summer day has a satisfaction to it.
I think it is the sound of the can and the feel of the fizz that gets us. But I am often asked if carbonated beverages are bad for us?
After reading the labels, I concluded the large amounts of added sugar, artificial sweeteners, sodium and caffeine wreak havoc in our bodies. An alternative is the popular sparkling fruit juices that are available. Simply watch that there is not too much added sugar by reading labels.
Often these alternatives have “made with real fruit juice” right on the front of the can or bottle. You can also make your own by combining low sodium club soda (check your labels, Presidents Choice offers a healthy product) or sparkling water such as San Pellegrino, with a dash of fruit juice to taste and a lot of crushed ice. My favourite juices are grapefruit, pomegranate and grape. Experiment with your favourites. Just make sure to use 100 percent juice with no sugar added.
The Classic drink
小蓝视频ern iced tea
It is always fun to make your own sweet tea without the powder.
- 8 c. water, divided 2 L
- 6 bags black tea
- 1/3 c. sugar, optional, adjust to taste
In a saucepan, bring half of the water to a boil. Remove from the heat and add tea bags. Allow the tea bags to steep for 10 minutes.
Remove the tea bags from the water. Note: If you prefer sweet tea, add the sugar or your preferred sweetener to the tea while it’s still hot and stir until dissolved.
Add the remaining water to the tea. Leave it refrigerated until fully chilled (about an hour). Serve with ice and lemon slices. Makes six glasses.
Head down to the malt shop
It would not be summer without homemade milkshakes. We always like to have them with burgers off the grill. The most popular flavours are strawberry and chocolate. The method is simple:
- 6 c. vanilla ice cream or chocolate ice cream 1.5 L
- 1/3 c. milk or cream, or more as needed, or use chocolate milk 75 mL
- 1/3 c. chocolate sauce 75 mL
- whipped cream, grated chocolate, a strawberry or cherry on top are optional toppings.
Combine ice cream, milk and chocolate sauce in a blender and blend until combined. I like my shakes really thick, but if you need to thin it, add a little more milk. Choose your toppings and enjoy.
To make a strawberry shake, take out the 1/3 cup of chocolate and substitute strawberries.
And last but not least…
Root beer float
I have such great childhood memories of making floats.
All you need is vanilla ice cream and root beer soda.
Spoon a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream into a tall glass. Slowly pour root beer into the glass, allowing the foam to rise and then recede before adding more root beer. Add in a straw and a spoon. You can substitute any kind of soda. Some would argue that an orange crush soda is the best. The jury is out.
Jodie Mirosovsky is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and a member of Team Resources. Contact: [email protected].
