It's HOT! What are you drinking?

These are my fixes in the heat:

Mint iced tea= 6 regular teabags plus two mint tea bags in about a quart of water boiled in the microwave. Steep for about 5 minutes then pour in a one gallon jar. Add cold water and ice. = 1 gallon of refreshing tea

Excellent lemonade= Put one package of sugar free lemonade mix into a 2 qt. container with about a cup of very hot tap water (to disolve it faster). Swish a bit till it's disolved, add cold water and ice PLUS two capfuls of real lemon juice from the bottle. Garnish with fresh mint leaves if you have them in the garden.

Sugar free 'juice' drinks = Make your favorite crystal light or kool aid and add about a 1/2 cup of real apple or orange juice to the pitcher. I also use the juice from a can of pineapple. This really boosts the flavor of these sugar free drinks without making them high calorie. I've also found that in some brands the fruit drink is so intense that I can 1/2 fill a glass and top it with ice water and it's just right for me.

Iced coffee= I take the remainder of the morning's pot and put in my dash of hazelnut creamer along with my usual creamer and splenda. Mix it up and put it in a pitcher in the fridge. Great when you want a caffeine fix but don't want hot coffee.

They're all really good and refreshing.  And remember that any flavor tea makes a good iced tea.  For a completely different drink, you can also blend a cup of plain yogurt, half a cup of water (less or more to your taste), mint leaves (fresh or dried) and some salt.  Use the blender, really, so it's mixed well.  Serve this very cold straight or on ice with extra fresh mint leaves.  This can be drunk alone or with a meal in the summer.  It keeps in the refrigerator but should be shaken well before pouring.  It's also good for stomach ailments.

Lanie 

I LOVE crystal light to go BUT there is soooooo much evidence that aspartame and similar sugar subsititutes can cause you to actually GAIN WEIGHT that Im very sparing in how much I use them.  Don't get me wrong, I USE sugar subsititutes, its far better than the alternative, but I really try to limit how much of the stuff I take in on a daily basis!  This is NOT MENT TO START A DEBATE ON SUGAR SUBSTITUTES; simply to say, if you have a weight problem, watch how much of them you take in on a daily basis.

 Warren

LOLOLOL  Water and Crystal Light!!   Just not gallons of it allthough I LOVE it!!  And like Jeannie...Iced coffee...specifically 3-4 shots of espresso over ice with splenda!   I just passed on the precaution as I saw two of my friends really blow up weight wise on "diet coke" and then researched the aspartame link.  Do I like Diet coke....yes...do I drink a lot of it?  No!  I guess my warning was more "anything in moderation" and be careful how many gallons of aspartame you drink in the summer as it really can put on the weight when you abuse it!

 Warren