Everyday Systems

Today finally feels like summer might actually be coming. I just spent the morning outside at a school event in the intense sun, and it got me to thinking it would be nice to get a list of ideas of cool, refreshing beverages that are N-day friendly for the warmer months.

So far I figure:

Good old ice water (a classic)
Iced Tea made with Good Earth Sweet and Spicy Tea

And that is as creative as I can get at the moment. I am looking forward to more ideas.

I saw this on the Today Show this morning: Peach Raspberry Iced Tea. I also like iced coffee.

Thanks so much for the link, wosnes! I will have to try the fruity iced tea.

I am a coffee drinker, but I always seem to forget about iced coffee - another good suggestion.

I'm checking out my tea collection to see what else would work. I have some licorice spice tea that tastes pretty decent cold. Iced chai would work well too.

I found this just now - Refrigerator Iced Tea

http://www.theyummylife.com/Cinnamon_an ... r_Iced_Tea

I like the idea of not having to boil water in the heat of the summer months. (My little house heats up so easily in the summer, and so do I.)

Flavored club soda

Fruity herbal tea bags (celestial seasonings) steeped in water overnight. I like peach passion and raspberry zinger.

harmony wrote:I found this just now - Refrigerator Iced Tea

http://www.theyummylife.com/Cinnamon_an ... r_Iced_Tea

I like the idea of not having to boil water in the heat of the summer months. (My little house heats up so easily in the summer, and so do I.)

I've made tea like that for years. Another way is to put the tea bags in the water and set the container in the sun. It steeps for 3-5 hours. You can also make cold brewed iced coffee.

The tea was a success. I really like it, so I am getting excited about all of the other possibilities here. The process is slow and will take some getting used to, but it is incredibly easy. I made 1/2 Good Earth and 1/2 decaf green tea for one, and 1/2 licorice spice and 1/2 decaf green tea for the other. I have a ton of other potential combinations floating around in my mind right now. Fun stuff.

wosnes, I am definitely trying cold brewed coffee. I just need to see if I have a strainer that would work. If not, I have a ton of coffee filters that may be helpful.

My mom is fan of sun tea. I haven't tried it myself... yet.

ABooth - I have raspberry zinger in my cupboard right now! I will definitely have to try it cold.

For the coffee, I set the strainer on top of a measuring cup. I've also used the filter holder from a coffee maker with a filter. I set it on top of the pot then pour the concentrate into a jar to store. I usually make a triple batch.

I have rediscovered Gatorade. I know...The G2 is not calorie free, but, has only 45 calories per twenty ounces. Yes, I am a dork.

I'm a big fan of lightly sparkling mineral water with ice and something for flavour, eg:
- A slice of fresh lime (or lemon) from our tree.
- Sprigs of mint
- A spiral of apple peel

The flavour combinations are up to you!

I just had a nice glas of ice-cold water with cucumber- and lemon-slices.

So refreshing, so healthy!

Sometimes, Zevia. It's a soda made from stevia. Once you get used to it, it's really good and it comes in different flavors like cola, lemon/lime, and Grape.

Awesome ideas! Thank you for posting them.

I don't know if you have them, in France we have diet syrups, with stevia in them (but I've read that not as much stevia as they claim, the rest being other artificial sweeteners), and you can use as much or as little as you wish to make a drink. For me the main point is they're not sparkling, I can't stand sparkling drinks. I make big bottles with very little of the stuff in them, just enough to flavor the water, and it helps me drink throughout the day (I find it too difficult to drink pure water !). I guess you could do the same thing with any diet drink, use only a fraction of it in a big bottle of water.

I'm all for what ironchef said. I put cucumbers/mint/oranges/a bit of everything in my water. It makes it fresh and lovely.

The cucumber in the water intrigues me. I would never have thought of that. It is officially on my to-try list. (I'll try it first with a meal, because I would probably eat the cucumber. lol.)

I haven't officially tried Stevia yet, but I would probably like it. I hear it has an anise/licorice taste to it - one of my favorite flavors.

Slushy drinks!

First, you need a good blender-- the Oster insulated drink cups or Magic Bullet, etc make it even easier. Tip-- if you have an Oster blender, Mason jars fit into the base for a portion size blending container you can drink out of.

I'm not talking smoothie here, this is much more diluted-- we fill the blender container with ice, pour in juice and blend until slushy. After you do this a few times you'll get it right off the bat more often than not. First few times, it might not be liquid enough or it might not be slushy enough--depends on juice/ice/ratios. Just open up and add more of what you need. I dilute mine even further with water. Juices are so sweet that a little goes a long way. We especially like strong tasting juices like grape and cranberry and blends of those, and my kids sip apple juice slushies when they have upset tummies.

Something about the coldness and slushiness that makes these very cooling and satisfying.

I actually prefer our homemade frozen coffee drink to it's famous coffee chain counterpart (way too sweet and rich, too many unknown additives).. I pour a juice glass worth of whole milk over ice in my blender cup, add another juice glass full of cold strong coffee and/or, add instant coffee or Via to taste, sweeten with a stevia/sugar blend. Can be flavored with vanilla, almond, caramel extracts, etc, or add cocoa or use chocolate milk instead if you have it. I blend what coffee products I have to get desired intensity of flavor/ caffeine. You just have to tweak your proportions to get the level of "frostiness" you desire-- eg leave room in the cup to add ice if needed . An optional secret ingredient is a tiny amount of Xanthan gum, like 1/8th tsp--helps emulsify all ingredients and keep tiny ice particles from separating.

The whole milk in this coffee drink really tides me over, and there's nothing like an icy caffeine beverage on a hot, sleepy afternoon! Takes a long time to sip, too.

Uschi, I love the idea of slushy drinks! I like how they last longer than the ones with regular ice cubes in them - I have to drink them slower. Those frozen coffee drinks are one of my favorites. It would be fun to try to make one at home.

I do need a good blender though. My old one was dropped and was broken, and I haven't replaced it yet (It wasn't all that great anyway). I will have to check out your recommendations.