9 Super Healthy Drinks to Beat the Summer Heat

Healthy drinks are always a better alternative to sugary beverages and carbonated soft drinks.

It is also extremely important to stay hydrated in the summer to prevent problems like sunburn and heatstroke. The hot weather calls for some refreshingly healthy drinks to quench our thirst. What’s summer without all those picnics on the beach and fruity frozen drinks? Nothing right?

Don’t worry if you are not a pro at creating those homemade, refreshing summer drinks. In this article, we’ll share with you some of the best and easiest recipes for healthy drinks to try this summer. So if you want to stay healthy and survive the summer heatwave keep reading.

The Importance of Healthy Drinks

But why try healthy drinks when you can just casually slurp a can of chilled cola? Right? The latest research on the subject of healthy drinks vs. traditional sugary drinks tends to disagree.

According to Harvard, sugary drinks should be avoided. A standard can of soda contains at least 150 calories and they provide your body no other nutrient but sugar. Hence they are extremely unhealthy and may lead to obesity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sugary drinks offer little nutritional value and cannot be used as a substitute for water and healthier drinks. Moreover, people who drink sugar-free beverages should note that these drinks contain high-intensity sweeteners as a replacement for regular sugar. It still remains to be seen how effective they can be in the long run when it comes to staying healthy and preventing the risk of obesity.

Top 9 Healthy Drinks to Beat the Summer Heat

Here is a list of the top 9 healthy drinks that you must try!

1. Watermelon limeade

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh lime juice
• a big seedless watermelon
• ginger ale (for serving)

Directions:

1. Blitz your watermelon in the blender until it turns into a puree.
2. Now add your lime juice to it and give it a good mix.
3. While serving, pour your lemonade over ice.
4. Now to take your lemonade to a whole new level, top it up with a splash of ginger ale.
5. Now enjoy.

2. Citrus cooler

Ingredients:

• 4 tsp sugar
• ½ cup lemon juice
• ½ cup lime juice
• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 4 cup soda
• Lemon and lime slices for serving

Directions:

1. In a pitcher combine your lemon, lime and orange juice.
2. Now stir in your sugar. You can skip adding sugar if you want to keep this drink on the healthier side of the menu.
3. When serving, fill your glasses half way up with ice and club soda then pour your juice mix over it.
4. Now for the sake of being fancy, drop your lemon and lime slices into the glasses and enjoy.

3. The fluffy lemonade

Ingredients:

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups chilled water
• 4 cup vanilla ice cream
• Lemon slices for garnishing

Directions:

1. Prepare your lemonade by combining sugar, and lemon juice in a pitcher.
2. Add water to dilute it and then chill.
3. Now into a blender blitz your vanilla ice cream with chilled lemonade.
4. Divide it into 2 tall glasses and garnish with lemon slices and serve.

Your old-school lemonade with a fluffy vibe is ready to make you the star of the night.

4. Mango strawberry lemonade with a twist

Ingredients:

• 4 cups lemonade
• 4 cups lime or lemon soda
• 1 cup cubed mangoes
• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• 3 strawberry popsicles
• 3 mango popsicles

Directions:

1. First prepare your lemonade by combining 1 cup lemon juice, ½ cup sugar and 3 cups chilled water.
2. Now in a pitcher pour your lemonade and soda.
3. Add sliced strawberries and cubed mangoes to the same pitcher.
4. Now pour your drink into your favourite glasses and serve by placing a popsicle as garnish.

Don’t look for the twist here and there, the popsicle as a garnish was the twist here, after all, what’s better than a popsicle in a glass full of yummy lemonade.

5. The old school sangria

Ingredients:

• 1 cup orange juice
• 3 cups grape juice
• ¼ cup + ¾ cup blueberries
• 2 bananas chopped
• 2 peaches chopped
• 2 oranges chopped
• Juice from 1 lime

Directions:

1. Start by blending grape juice with 1/4 cup of blueberries, pour this mixture into a jar.
2. Now add your orange and lime juice to the jar and give it a good mix.
3. Add all your chopped fruits and ¾ cup of blueberries in a pitcher.
4. Add as much ice as you like in the same pitcher and top it up with your pre blended grape and blueberry juice.
5. Don’t let your thirst get in the way and let your sangria chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

6. Honeydew slush

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized honeydew melons
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• Few fresh mint leaves
• Sugar syrup
• Soda for serving

Directions:

1. Remove the skin and seeds from your melon and cut them into 2-inch pieces.
2. For sugar syrup combine ¼ cup water with 2 tbsp sugar and ¼ tsp salt. Boil it in a pan and let it simmer until sugar is dissolved.
3. Now in a blender blitz one honeydew melon with sugar syrup until smooth.
4. Pour it out in a square pan and freeze it for 8 hours straight.
5. For serving, use a fork to scrape the melon ice and create flakes.
6. Put these melon flakes into glasses.
7. Top with soda and don’t forget to add chopped melon cubes.

Your honeydew slush is ready to rescue you from the scorching heat.

7. Roasted strawberry and peach fizz

Ingredients:

• 4 peaches
• 500 grams strawberries
• 1 cup apple juice (bottles or fresh)
• 1 cup chilled water
• Loads of crushed ice

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 175°C.
2. Cut your strawberries in half.
3. Cut your peaches in half and remove their pit.
4. Now place peaches and strawberries on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and roast them for a good 20 to 25 minutes in the oven.
5. Remove the tray from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes at least.
6. Now remove the skin from the peaches and blend them with apple juice in a blender until it is smooth.
7. Blend your strawberries separately.
8. To serve, pour the gorgeous strawberry puree, top it up with crushed ice and then add your peach and apple juice blend.

Enjoy your roasted strawberry and peach fizz.

8. Frosty pina colada

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut water
• 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• ½ cup pineapple juice
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• 1 can coconut milk
• ½ cup coconut cream
• Cherries for garnish
• Mint leaves for garnish

Directions:

1. Pour coconut water into an ice cube mould and freeze the night before.
2. Add frozen pineapple, coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut water ice cubes and lime juice in a blender and let it blend until smooth.
3. Pour it into your favourite jars or glasses.
4. Garnish with fresh cherries or mint leaves and serve.
5. To take this frosty pina colada to another level, serve it in your empty pineapple shell.

9. Sparkling red tea:

Ingredients:

• 2 red tea bags
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 can Soda water
• Sliced lime for garnishing

Directions:

1. Brew your red tea according to the instructions on the label.
2. Stir honey in the tea and let it cool down.
3. Now in a pitcher add your tea and lime juice.
4. Top it up with soda water.

Believe us when we say this sparkling red tea is the perfect patio sipping material.

Conclusion

Try these healthy drinks on a hot summer day to beat the heat. Make it a habit to add healthy drinks to your diet and refrain from drinking unhealthy beverages. To find out more about what drinks can be beneficial for your health, you should consult an expert nutritionist or dietitian. To book your appointment be sure to use oladoc.com as we connect you with the best dietitians in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad. You can also call 04238900939 to confirm your appointment.