Beating the summer heat

There’s no denying it: summer is suddenly here!

Our family is doing everything we can to stay cool. The kids have started using the bathtub as a swimming pool, our ice cream machine* is back in business, we’ve been making all sorts of homemade popsicles, and we’ve been doing everything else that I’ve written about in my “How to beat the summer heat” series.

And what else? I’ve been drinking loads and loads of homemade lemonade.

We’re lucky enough to live in an area where lemons grow abundantly, so we have no shortage of organic local lemons. And, because vitamin C helps the body absorb iron, I’ve been ingesting lemon in every possible way to help my body in its very slow recovery from the extreme blood loss that led to a 4-night hospital stay last month. So besides squeezing lemon juice on every vegetable known to man, I’ve been drinking glass after glass of delicious homemade lemonade!

And besides its health benefits, how incredibly refreshing lemonade is on hot, humid summer days! You know, those days when you can barely move because of the suffocating heat? And I’ve also come up with a recipe without sugar so it’s a 100% guilt-free pleasure for the whole family!

I make up two or three batches of lemonade at a time so that we’re sure to always have plenty of it in the fridge. And it’s perfect for offering to guests or bringing to an outdoor summer party! Remember, fellow US peeps, July 4th is coming up, and this stuff is perfect for your holiday cookout!

So, are you ready to find out the secret to making this incredibly healthy, delicious and refreshing summer drink? Read on for the Cucicucicoo sugar-free lemonade recipe!

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In last week’s post on refreshing activities to do with kids inside the house in the summer, part of the Beating the Summer Heat series, I mentioned that I had another fun activity to do with kids. But even more fun is when you EAT it with kids. I’m talking about no-guilt, ice cold, healthy popsicles made to order right at home!

These are one of our absolute favorite things to do in the summer because you can get super creative with what you make them with, even mixing up ingredients for really unique flavors and textures. And the great thing is that, unlike store-bought popsicles, which are filled with artificial colors and flavors, not to mention way too much sugar, you know exactly what goes inside your pops, so they can be just as healthy as you want!

If you have any experience with homemade popsicles, you are probably wondering what I can fill a whole blog post about about them. Well, I actually am going to fill up TWO whole blog posts with the different ways we make popsicles!  In this first one, I’m going to show you different types of popsicle molds, including a non-plastic version, and give you some ideas on popsicle ingredients. In the next post, I’ll show three more fancy varieties that I like to make. So, want to make some healthy DIY popsicles? Let’s get started!

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