With the warming weather, you’re more likely to increase your consumption of fluids. While this is great, it’s important to be careful about consuming drinks that are high in sugar, syrup, or additives. That's because sugary drinks contain many calories and almost no other necessary nutrients.
In the long-term, these drinks can cause:
- increased cholesterol levels,
- weight gain and increased risk of obesity,
- increased risk of diabetes
- increased risk of gout
Unfortunately, it’s become more common for these drinks to be consumed almost everywhere in the world. As an alternative, here are some healthy and nutritious cold drinks that you can try making in the summer.
Cucumber Water
Our first drink to start the day fresh is cucumber water!
- Half a cucumber, sliced
- 3-4 mint leaves
- ½ glass of sparkling water
- 1 glass of water
Add cucumber slices, mint leaves, and sparkling water for some foam to your glass of water in the evening. Save some for the next morning!
Iced Green Tea
Here’s a cold drink idea for the daytime. Try a simple iced green tea:
- 2 green tea bags
- ¾ cup boiling water
- 1 lemon slice
- Ice
Steep the green tea in hot water for 5 minutes, then add lemon slices and ice to serve. You can always get help from fresh fruits as a natural sweetener.
If you want, you can also steep green tea with the cold brew method. For this, keeping the green tea bags in iced water for 15-20 minutes is sufficient. This method also ensures that the phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in green tea are preserved. What’s not to like?
Green Juice
For another delicious drink, we need the color green and lots of antioxidants. Spinach, celery, lemon, apple, and ginger can do the trick! Here are the ingredients:
- 1 cup of water
- 2 medium apples
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 2 celery ribs
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ piece of ginger
Blend all ingredients together until smooth. If you want, you can also add ice.
Lavender Lemonade
Everyone knows lemonade, but why not add a lavender twist? This recipe will make you love lemonade even more.
- 1 small handful of fresh lavender flowers or 1 tablespoon of dried lavender flowers
- 2 – 3 tablespoons of honey
- 2 glasses of boiling water
- 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 glasses of cold water
- Ice
Add the lavender flowers to the water. After brewing for about 10 minutes, strain and leave to cool. Add honey after it cools, and mix until the honey melts. (Make sure to add the honey only after it cools.) After you add lemon juice, your lemonade is ready! Add a pinch of lavender and lemon slices to serve.
You can also try adding 2 tablespoons of mashed blueberries or raspberries to this drink to give it more of a twist.
Strawberry-Cucumber Juice
The rich variety of nutrients and high antioxidant content of this sugar-free drink will make a difference in your daily routine. Here are the ingredients:
- 6 fresh strawberries
- 1 large cucumber
- 1 large red apple
- 2 medium carrots
- ½ cup of water
Finely chop the strawberries, cucumbers, apples, and carrots, then blend with water until smooth. You can also add ice if you want.
Cool Lime
Although this drink might not be sweet, it is still quite delicious! Here are your ingredients:
- 1 lemon
- 1 green tea bag
- 200 mL of seltzer water
- ½ cup of water
- A pinch mint
- Ice
Steep green tea with water, then wait until it cools. Squeeze the lemon into the drink and add mineral water. Don't forget to add a pinch of mint to serve!
Fresh Watermelon Cucumber Seltzer
We all know that watermelon is a savior in hot weather. This list isn’t complete without a watermelon-based drink recipe. Here are your ingredients:
- 1/2 cup watermelon
- 1/2 cup cucumber
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of honey
- 3 cups of seltzer water
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
Finely chop the watermelon and cucumber, and blend together with the other ingredients until smooth. Add ice to top it off if you want.
