Summer’s well underway and with it always comes a few muggy humid days in the season, causing us to feel a little tired and overwhelmed at times. Therefore, it’s really important to stay hydrated. It is not necessary to be thirsty to drink fluids, as this is a sign that indicates the first onset of dehydration. It is advisable to drink between 2 – 2.5 litres of water per day depending on your physiological needs and the amount of physical exercise you do, and this can be achieved in multiple ways. So, we think you’ll love Spanish Summer Drinks: 5 Delicious Recipes to Keep You Hydrated!
1. Homemade Slushies
This is the perfect drink to quench your thirst during our warm months. They are like fruit frappe; made with crushed ice and juices, fruit, or fruit syrup. In this case, being homemade, they are a healthier alternative and we can also choose fruits which are at their optimum ripeness too.
To prepare, you only need to clean and chop the fruit and then freeze it. Later, you can simply crush the fruit and add ice cubes to obtain your deliciously cool beverage. In Spain, traditionally, the most typical is lemon slush. However, today multiple varieties are enjoyed, and you can use whichever fruits take your fancy; melon, mango, strawberry, kiwi, watermelon, peach etc.
2. Flavoured Water
Adding fruits and vegetables to water can add a lot of flavour to our drinks. Furthermore, most of these foods contain a large volume of water naturally. You can make drinks such as: watermelon water, coconut and lemon water, water with cucumber and lemon, mango water, etc. All a perfect contrast for hot, humid weather!
3. Ice Infusions
If you have trouble drinking water and want something that tastes like it, I present an alternative for your fridge.
You just have to heat the water and add some herbs that you like the most, (although there are also bags of cold infusions on the market, thus without the need to heat anything). Let it cool and add some crushed ice, fresh mint leaves and lime.
Some of the infusion blends that you’ll want to try are: green tea with lemon and mint; cold infusion of fennel; iced ginger licorice tea; ginseng and cinnamon, etc. Tastes incredible!
4. Smoothies
Although from a strictly nutritional standpoint, it’s preferable to consume whole fruits and vegetables, this option is also very good, not only for your hydration but also to increase your consumption of these foods. Overall, they make for very appetizing drinks.
Preparation is very simple, you can choose seasonal fruits and vegetables that you like most, clean and crush them in a blender to obtain a very nutritious shake full of vitamins and minerals.
Some refreshing recipe combos consist of: crushed ice with blackberries and pear; spinach, avocado and almond vegetable drink; mango and orange; beetroot, carrot, apple, ginger and lemon; apple, orange, carrot, pumpkin and lemon; banana, coconut milk, pineapple and orange. Ooh…Simply divine!
5. Cold Soups & Creams
With these, in addition to replenishing fluids, we can also increase the variety of nutrients in our diet. There are lots of varieties of soups and cold creams that you can enjoy, such as: gazpacho; vichyssoise; a cold soup of cucumber, celery, yogurt and mint; cold pumpkin and melon soup; cold gazpacho with mango and spicy prawns; cold zucchini soup; and beet or watermelon gazpacho.
Without a doubt, there are multiple ways to cool off this summer and throughout the rest of the year. I hope these recipes above will inspire you to bring a bit of Spanish sunshine magic into your summer, delighting your taste buds and refreshing those cultural hydration spots that other drinks just can’t reach! What are your favourite Spanish or Mediterranean thirst-busting summer drinks? Let us know in the comments below and join in the conversation on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!
Want to indulge more Spanish Tastes? Then check out more of Maria Sanchez’s Spanish food & drink articles!
