Fruit Slushy Drinks
A slushy drink is cooling and refreshing, but the shop-bought syrups are packed full of sugar and have no nutritional benefit. Make your own slushy drinks at home with fruit juice. Fill some ice cube trays up with fruit juice and freeze them. Make ice cubes from a variety of different fruit juices – try some orange juice, some pineapple juice, and some cranberry juice. When they are frozen, you can put whatever combination of ice cubes you like into your slushy maker or food processor. If you find the flavor too strong, simply add some plain water ice cubes to the mixture. To increase the fruit content, you can blend in some chopped ripe fruit too. These drinks will still be high in natural sugars so they should be restricted to just one per day, but they make great alternatives to syrup based frozen drinks. They will also encourage your children to explore different fruit flavors. A child who previously stayed away from exotic juices, may be very happy to try an orange and pineapple slushy drink.
Fruit Jello Cups
This treat needs to set overnight. Make it before bedtime, so it is ready to enjoy the next day.
Cut up some fruit into bite-size chunks. Strawberries and raspberries work well together, as do apples and grapes;
Sprinkle a handful into a cup;
Pour over some jello mixture;
Leave in the fridge overnight.
These can be eaten with a spoon, straight from the cup.
Fruit Smoothies
To make any fruit smoothie you simply need to blend some chopped, ripe fruit with some yogurt, and some milk. For each smoothie use two portions of fruit, for example, two bananas, or one banana and one kiwi. Then add around 60ml of yogurt and 120ml of milk. Everyone likes their smoothies a different way, so have fun experimenting with combinations of the essential ingredients. If you make a smoothie and you don’t like it, it’s easy to improve it:
Too thin? Add some more yogurt.
Too thick? Add some milk.
Not sweet enough? Stir in some honey.
Not enough flavor? Blend it again with some more fruit.
Some children find the texture of smoothies unpleasant, because they are neither a drink, or food. Try freezing some smoothie mixture in SillyPops molds, for a really nutritious ice cream treat.
Fruity Fizzy Drinks
Take some ripe fruit, peel it, chop it, then blend it with some fizzy water, and you have a fruity fizzy drink. To make pear and ginger fizz, blend six pears, with 100ml of sparkling water, a teaspoon of honey or sugar, and a teaspoon of finely grated root ginger (or a pinch of ginger spice powder). To make apple and cinnamon fizz, blend six apples, with 100ml of sparkling water, a teaspoon of honey or sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon powder. Both recipes make two drinks.
With adult assistance, your children will be able to help make these treats. Being involved in the preparation process makes it far more likely your children will eat the treats when they are ready. While the ingredients are being chopped, it is a great opportunity for them to try out some new fruits. Use this time together to talk about where the fruit comes from and why it is so healthy. You can get as much pleasure from making these icy treats as you do from eating them.