Refreshments
Refreshments are drinks and small amounts of food that are provided, for example, during a meeting or a journey.
This summer, you can be guilt-free as you tip back a cold one because we’ve come up with few refreshing drinks that are not only delicious, but low-calorie and nutritious, too!
Here are few Refreshing Summer Drinks:
Sparkling Lime-Mint Quencher
Forget sodas! You’ll love this non-alcoholic drink that tastes almost like a Mojito and super refreshing. Sparkling drinks are a great alternative to alcohol and soda. They are light and refreshing, and provide that bubbly kick you love. Lime drinks are especially refreshing because of their slightly tart citrus taste. We love healthy drinks and drinks that allow you to meet your daily water requirements, even if you do not love the taste of water. Quencher drinks keeps you hydrated and help you cut back on sugar and calories.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, more to taste (stevia or agave nectar can be used as an alternative…you may prefer your drink a little sweeter as this recipe is slightly tart)
- 2 cups sparkling seltzer water (be sure it says Sparkling Seltzer Water and not club soda or tonic water…seltzer water contains only carbonated water)
- 1 cup ice
Directions
- Add the first 3 ingredients to a large glass, stir to combine. Add ice to 2 glasses, equally divide mixture between glasses and top each off with one cup sparkling seltzer water. Add a few half slices of lime to each glass, if desired.
Strawberry Lemonade
There’s nothing that beats homemade lemonade…except adding strawberries to the mix! We’ve recreated a childhood favorite, added fresh strawberries and just enough sweetness to make this our new favorite summer drink.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh strawberries
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 5 lemons
- 1/2 cup agave
- Chilled Water (we used distilled)
- 1 extra lemon, thinly sliced
Directions
- Slice tops from strawberries, discard. Add strawberries, agave and lemon juice to a blender and pulse until strawberries are liquid. Strain juice through a sieve if you prefer most of the pulp be removed.
- Pour juice into a 1/2 gallon pitcher, add slices of lemon, fill with chilled water. Don’t over fill pitcher with water, add just enough to make 1/2 gallon. Pour over ice and enjoy!
- Garnish sides of glasses with lemon slice and half of a strawberry. Also, try adding a few sliced strawberries to the pitcher. This is such a pretty drink!
The New Southern Style Sweet Tea
If you are a southerner or have ever lived in the south, you’re probably familiar with Sweet Tea. At SkinnyMs. we love reinventing traditional recipes, especially ones that aren’t so healthy. Regardless of whether or not sweet tea is on your menu, you’re in for a treat with our healthier version of this refreshing summer drink.
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon (8 cups) chilled water
- 6 (small) green tea bags
- 1/2 cup honey, optional maple syrup
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 8 fresh mint leaves, (add to pitcher or individual glasses)
Directions
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring 2 cups water to the point of steaming, remove from heat and add tea bags. Allow tea bags to steep for 8 minutes.
- Remove and discard tea bags, add honey, stir to combine. Add 6 cups chilled water to a half gallon pitcher, next add the tea and stir. Add sliced lemons along with fresh mint leaves. Sever over ice and enjoy!
- Note: Never boil tea bags as it makes the tea bitter. You may steep tea up to 12 minutes in steaming water as this allows more antioxidants to be released but will also make the tea stronger.
Sparkling Pomegranate Juice
Check out this healthy recipe which takes all of two minutes to prepare. Healthy juices are out there, but they are rarely found on store shelves. Making your own sparkling pomegranate juice is the healthy solution if you love the taste of juice,but prefer not to deal with the added unnatural ingredients found in many store-bought juices.
Pomegranate has recently become more popular among juice drinkers. It provides plenty of health benefits and its slightly tart flavor tastes great in juice. Mixing it with sparkling water helps you meet your water intake goals for the day and cuts the calories of the juice overall without cutting the flavor. Plus, the bubbly juice makes a great alternative to high calorie, sugar laden sodas. This juice is ideal for a special occasion. The next time you are hosting a party, instead of serving soda or a fruit punch made with processed juices, whip up a batch of this sparkling juice. You can even add slices of fresh fruit for a special touch.
Looking for other healthy beverage choices that are easy to make and loved by adults and kids? We can help. Give our grapefruit soda shot or this ginger ale alternative.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pomegranate juice, no sugar added (or any unsweetened juice of choice)
- 1/2 cup sparkling seltzer water
- squeeze of one lemon wedge
- ice
Directions
- Add ice to a glass, pour in pomegranate juice, seltzer water and lemon.
- Other juices to try:
- Dark Cherry; Tart Cherry; Welch’s Grape Juice; or any other juice without added sugar. Read the label as the juice should ideally contain the following: juice from concentrate and possibly water.
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