Heatwave Coolers ~ The summer recipes I'm currently loving

It’s been so hot lately. Perhaps you know the feeling… days where the air feels so thick and weighty and humid, where just walking down the street somehow manages to stir up a sticky sweat. The sun is beating down, intense and unrelenting and so bright it makes you squint and it’s all beautiful and unbearable at the same time. Days where after being out and about, you plop down in a feverish, sweat-drenched, frizzy-haired state and realise you just don’t want to move.

The heat of a NYC summer I shall never forget!

Needless to say, eating watery fruits and veggies for dinner has become a frequent occurrence for me these days. I’ve definitely had my share of watermelon-for-dinner nights 🙂 I’ve been making a few cooling summer recipes that have really been helping me with the heat and wanted to share the love over here! If you’re craving something cool, refreshing, healthy, and totally simple to create, read on for 3 of my current faves.

Peach Lemonade with Coconut Sugar

This is a little bit of a twist on standard lemonade. With peaches in season for only about 2 months, I couldn’t resist adding them in! Such a treat ♥

The coconut sugar lends a subtle maple flavor and sparkling water gives a nice finishing kick. The result is a thirst quencher bright and bursting with flavour, full of nutrients and made with looooove. This lemonade reminded me of a peach bellini and I can totally see it working with some sparkling wine in place of the water 🙂 🙂 Way healthier than your standard peach bellini too!

Ingredients:

2 very ripe peaches, peeled
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 6-8 lemons)
1/4 cup coconut sugar (use more if not sweet enough for you)
2 cups room temperature water
2 cups sparkling water
Crushed ice

1. In a pitcher, stir coconut sugar into 2 cups of water. Make sure the water is room temperature, as the sugar will not dissolve otherwise.

2. Stir in your lemon juice. Then peel your peaches and remove the pit. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until combined.

3. Return lemonade to pitcher and add 2 cups of sparkling water.

4. Serve in glasses with crushed ice and enjoy!

This makes a pitcher full of lemonade, enough to last for several days.

Watermelon Slushie

This could not be simpler to make. It’s made of just two ingredients – watermelon and ice – and yet it’s become my favourite summer drink when I need to cool off. It’s so incredibly hydrating and refreshing.

The key to a great slushie is in the ice — you’ll want to have a blender that will be able to crush ice cubes into small delicious, crunchy pieces. My very old $50 blender was able to do this if I put in a few ice cubes at a time so you definitely don’t need any fancy machinery for this.

Ingredients:

About half of a small watermelon, cubed
Crushed ice

1. Fill your glass with crushed ice (almost enough ice to reach the top). Blend the watermelon cubes and pour over the ice.

2. Try to hold it together when you taste how amazing this is 🙂

Greek Yoghurt Blueberry Popsicles

I have yet to find a store-bought popsicle that isn’t packed with white sugar or preservatives. So I decided to make my own summer pops with ingredients that I love! This is so addicting… I’m not such a huge yoghurt fan but when it comes to frozen yoghurt it’s a completely different story. Frozen yoghurt is like ice cream with the added benefit of probiotics… and ice cream is just the best!!!

With a simple popsicle mold, you can make your own icy yoghurt treats that are way healthier, creative, and beautiful. Feel free to swap out the blueberries for your fruit of choice. And for those who are dairy-free, this recipe would work with coconut yoghurt.

My new favourite summer breakfast in a bar. Milky, creamy, cooling, divine… LOVE summer!

Ingredients:

2 cups greek yoghurt (I used a raw grass-fed greek yoghurt)
2 cups blueberries – (works best with fresh berries. If using frozen berries, make sure they are completely thawed)
milk of choice – for thinning out the yoghurt enough to make it pourable into the mold. (Only needed if you have very thick greek yoghurt)
2 tbsp maple syrup
dash of sea salt

**Note that depending on the size of your popsicle mold, the ingredient amounts may vary a bit.**

1. Blend your blueberries in a food processor or blender. I left my blueberry mix just a tiny bit chunky.

2. Stir the maple syrup and dash of sea salt into the blueberry mix.

3. In a large bowl, add the greek yoghurt. If the yoghurt consistency is very thick, you may need to thin it out a bit by adding some milk in. I did not need to thin out my batch so I skipped this part. (A good rule of thumb – if the yoghurt sticks to a spoon when you turn it upside down, it’s too thick and you won’t be able to get it into the popsicle molds unless it’s thinned out).

3. In a large bowl, add the greek yoghurt and blueberries. Lightly stir only a couple times so the yoghurt has swirls of blueberries but is not completely blended together.

4. Spoon into popsicle molds and place in the freezer for a few hours or overnight to set.