Plums, raspberries, figs, peaches, melons, nectarines and watermelons. Summer fruits are a great source of liquids and vitamins. And they’re lovely and light, as well as healthy. What more could you possibly ask for? And yet, sometimes, when we can’t be bothered, we often go for less healthy snacks between meals… So here are a couple of fresh ideas to get kids into fruit and keep grownups wanting more.
Natural ice lollies
Homemade ice lollies are quick and easy to make. All you need are some ice-cream moulds (sold in lots of shops) and a freezer. If you don’t have any moulds, you can always use glasses, but remember to add the stick after it’s been in the freezer for half an hour to make sure it doesn’t come out wonky. What shall we make them with? You can cut different kinds of fresh fruit into small pieces and mix with fresh orange juice or use just one flavour and add pieces of fruit in its own juice. The options are endless… You can also fill the moulds with natural fruit shakes—by whisking fruit and milk together in a blender—or mix pieces of fresh fruit with yogurt. Remember they’ll need at least 3–4 hours in the freezer, or 5 hours if you added milk or yogurt. Hold them under the water tap for a few seconds to help get them out of the mould.
Homemade smoothies
Another fresh alternative is to make homemade smoothies—supercold milkshakes. They usually (though not necessarily) include ice and some dairy product—milk or yogurt—to give them a creamy texture.
You can make a simple summer mint and melon smoothie. For four people you’ll need a melon, low-fat natural yogurt, half a glass of milk, some mint leaves and ice. Remove all the melon seeds and cut the flesh into pieces. Whisk all the ingredients in the blender or liquidiser a few seconds until you get a smooth mixture. Put in the fridge if you’re not going to drink it right away. Many recipes combine fruit and vegetables. You could easily add cucumber to this recipe—simply divine!
