Summer is great but sometimes you can get too hot for comfort, especially if you’re pregnant or racing around with your baby in tow. It can be nice to take a bit of time out for you and treat yourself to a lovely long cool summer fruit cocktail.

Fruit cocktails are delightfully simple. You just make the most of the summer fruits by throwing the ingredients into a blender with some ice. Whiz them up and try a bit – if it’s not exactly to your liking just throw in a bit more of your favourite fruit and adjust them to your taste. Here are some ideas of fruits and juices that work well together:

• Banana, strawberries and apple juice
• Pawpaw, blueberries and chilled green tea
• Strawberries and peaches
• Pineapple, raspberries, apple, lime juice and ginger
• Strawberries, watermelon, orange juice and a dash of lime juice
• Pawpaw, pear, nectarine and banana
• Orange, banana, pineapple and a splash of lemon juice.

If you like your fruit cocktails a bit sweeter add some honey. If you like them slightly thicker and creamier try adding some ground almonds. You can also substitute ingredients, for example use peaches instead of nectarines, frozen berries instead of fresh or if you get caught out substitute canned fruit in juice for fresh fruit.

Some people prefer smoothies and these can be refreshing when whizzed up with some ice cubes to chill them down. Smoothies introduce dairy products like milk and yoghurt to make an extra creamy fruit drink. This gives your calcium intake a great boost and the extra protein can help sustain you through the morning if you’re not one for breakfast. Try to choose live yoghurts (sometimes called ‘cultured’ or ‘fermented’) if possible, as these ‘good’ bacteria have a positive effect on bacteria found in your intestine and digestive system. 

One of the simplest smoothies is made by blending a cup of milk, a banana and a few drops of vanilla essence together. You can get more adventurous with fruit combinations like banana, strawberries, peach and mango blended with yoghurt and milk.

The great thing about fruit cocktails and smoothies is that they’re packed with nutrients. They contain all those wonderful vitamins and antioxidants, as well as a decent helping of fibre. For example, blueberries are frequently talked about because of their high antioxidant levels. Berries and citrus fruits provide super levels of Vitamin C. Bananas are a great source of potassium and apricots, mango and paw paw provide beta-carotene.

So bring out the blender and impress your friends and family by whipping up a delicious taste of summer.

Endorsed by our New World Nutritionist  ||   Proudly Partnering with Parents Centre

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