We had a hard winter in Boston this year, I’ve been not so patiently waiting for summer!! It’s finally here!!!
[Tweet “Tweet: Cool off this #summer with some of these deliciously frosty homemade #treats.”]
On my Facbook page, I asked folks what summer foods they were looking forward to and I got a number of great answers.
Beating the heat has never been quite as delicious with these great (and healthy!) cool summer treats:
- Shaved Ice
Shaved ice has been a staple summer snack all around the world for almost a hundred years and with good reason! It’s delicious, easy to make, and cools you to the core right away. All you really need is some ice, something to crush it with, and a flavoring like fresh fruit juice to put on top. You can use homemade freezer ice cubes and a blender for some quick ice or find a shaved ice machine (usually sold seasonally) in big box stores or online. For an extra treat, make the ice cubes out of your flavoring to skip the watery flavor that comes with melting.
- Home Made Ice Cream
Nothing beats ice cream when it comes to cooling down. It’s sweet, cold, and comes in as many flavors as there are colors under the sun. When you make it at home you have complete control over everything that goes into it so you can make more health conscious substitutions for lower carb, calorie, and sugar content ice cream. A neat trick for an ice cream-like dessert is to freeze and mash bananas, the consistency is the same and the flavor is great! Yummy!!
- Popsicles
Another great homemade treat that doesn’t take much effort or many ingredients. Popsicles can be as simple or complicated as you want them to be, the easiest are made out of flavored juice (either a mix or pre-made will work, though store bought juices are usually loaded with sugar) and can be frozen in an ice cube tray with toothpicks. If you really want to go the extra mile and make your popsicles fancy, try adding fresh fruit! Pick up a popsicle mold from the store (the kind that come with reusable bases/sticks work best) and along with the juice add some fresh berries or fruit pieces as you pour. When your popsicles are frozen, pull them out to see your fruity additions suspended in the ice and enjoy some fresh fruit as you cool down.
Do you have other summer cool treats that you like’