Summery treats: Beat the heat with some refreshing and tantalising drinks

July 08, 2013 Tanveer Khadim

Ah, the scorching heat of summer is here. It may be hot and humid, but one can’t deny that it’s also the season of delicious, juicy fruits and vegetables. Watermelon, succulent mangoes, seedy falsa berries – you name it! All the healthy gifts of nature are here for you to avail.

During the summer, especially when the humidity rises, it is very important to stay hydrated in order to avoid a heatstroke or unnecessary exhaustion. A lot of sweating decreases the body’s water level resulting in summer ailments. Opting for home-made drinks over packaged and preserved beverages is the way to go!

Some of the well-loved classic desi summer drinks have been enjoyed for generations and are still superbly alluring. Made from fresh fruits, these coolers are loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C and B6, minerals, dietary fibre, potassium, phosphorus and many micro-nutrients.

Here, I am sharing some simple, healthy, as well as tantalising drinks that won’t take much effort to make but will refresh both  your body and spirit. These are dazzling – in looks and in taste.

I hope you will enjoy them fully to quench your summer thirst. Cheers!

1. Watermelon slush

You will need:

Seeded watermelon chunks 3 cups

Lime juice 1/3 cup

Black salt (Kaala namak ¼ tsp

Sugar 1 tsp or to taste

Roasted cumin seed powder ¼ tsp (optional)

Ice cubes

Blend all the above ingredients until smooth. Pour the mixture in a container and put it in freezer for 2-3 hours. After the mentioned time, blend the mixture again until it becomes slushy. Pour in glasses and serve immediately.

2. Mango lassi

You will need:

Yoghurt 1 cup

Milk ½ cup

Mango cubes 1 cup

Sugar 4 tsp or to taste

Cardamom powder ¼ tsp (optional)

Ice cubes

Blend all the above ingredients until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve chilled.

3. Sherbet-e-falsa

You will need:

Falsa 2 cups

Sugar ½ cups or to taste

Black salt ½ tsp

Water ½ cup

Ice cubes

Mix all the ingredients and blend them very well. You can add a little more water if you prefer a more dilute drink. After blending, sieve the mixture to discard all the seeds. Add more ice if required and serve chilled.

4. Pineapple shake

You will need:

Pineapple chunks 1 cup

Milk ½ cup

Tutti frutti ice cream 1-2 cups

Sugar 2-3 tsp or to taste

Grounded cinnamon ¼ tsp

In a blender, combine all the ingredients and blend them well to get smooth texture. Pour into glasses and enjoy.

5. Raw mango cooler

You will need:

Green mangoes (kairi) 2

Water 41/2 cups

Salt ½ tsp

Sugar 3-4 tbsp or to taste

Mint leaves 3 tbsp

Lemon wedges (optional)

Roasted cumin seed 1 tsp

Ice cubes

In a big pot, pour water enough for boiling mangoes (approximately for 10 minutes). Drain and peel the skin of the mangoes. Scoop out all the flesh. In a blender, add flesh and all the above mentioned ingredients except lemon wedges. In a glass, add some chopped mint leaves and lemon wedges and pour the mango blended mush. Decorate with lemon. Serve chilled.

Some tips:

Instead of sugar you can go for honey or jaggery (gurh).

You can add black pepper along with black salt.

Instead of tutti frutti ice cream, you can use vanilla flavour.

To avoid the breakage of your blender, put large ice pieces into a plastic bag and breakup them into small ones with the help of a roller pin or kitchen hammer.

Have fun staying fresh, hydrated and thus more focused this summer. Try out one of these drinks every day of the week!

PHOTOS: TANVEER KHADIM

Source: http://blogs.tribune.com.pk

SUMMER!!! Fruit-Watermelon

Some foods are fun to eat, and watermelon is definitely one of them.  That triangular wedge of bright red/white/green, sweet juiciness forbids us to take life too seriously and shouts, “SUMMER!!!” As if that weren’t enough, watermelon is packed full of nutrition, hydrates and is low-fat. While many of us think of watermelon as a great snack option, when you tally up its nutritive value, you might consider making this all-star a feature player in your cuisine.

Interesting Facts

Melon fruit contains a lot of water (about 95% of the fruit) also rich in vitamins and minerals, so it has many benefits for our health. From the side of water content, melons can give sense of cool and soothing effect, so it can relieve heartburn and cleanse the kidneys from the remnants of metabolism. Melons are low in calories, with just 64 calories in a 1-cup serving of honeydew balls and fewer calories in cantaloupe, casaba or watermelon balls. At the same time, melons are high in essential vitamins and minerals. They contain almost no fat or saturated fat, making them an excellent choice for snacks or a side dish.

Watermelons are an excellent source of several vitamins: vitamin A, which helps maintain eye health and is an antioxidant; vitamin C, which helps strengthen immunity, heal wounds, prevent cell damage, promote healthy teeth and gums; and vitamin B6, which helps brain function and helps convert protein to energy.

Tomatoes have been highly touted as a great source for lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that helps fight heart disease and several types of cancer — prostate cancer in particular.  Watermelon, however, has the highest concentrations of lycopene of any fresh fruit or vegetable.

If your little ones don’t dig into their swiss chard, lima beans or spinach — all great sources of potassium — consider offering them a serving of watermelon instead.  It is a great source of potassium, which helps muscle and nerve function, helps maintain the body’s proper electrolyte and acid-base balance, and helps lower the risk of high blood pressure.

Watermelon also contains the amino acids citrulline and arginine, which can help maintain arteries, blood flow and overall cardiovascular function.

Alone or in a fruit salad are the most common ways many of us eat watermelon. While eating the meat of the fruit is the best way to take advantage of all of its nutrients, this is one of my favorite bits of summer refreshment. I get a version of this from my local burrito truck. The key to making this great: don’t oversweeten it. With just a touch of sweetness, it’s heavenly.

Benefits of melon fruit itself has been tested to treat various types of diseases ranging from mild to chronic diseases. Melons are low in calories, with just 64 calories in a 1-cup serving of honeydew balls and fewer calories in cantaloupe, casaba or watermelon balls. At the same time, melons are high in essential vitamins and minerals. They contain almost no fat or saturated fat, making them an excellent choice for snacks or a side dish.

Melon Nutritional Values is 15.00 mg calcium; 25.00 mg phosphorus, 0.5 mg iron, 34 mg of Vitamin C; 640 mg IU Vitamin A, and 0.03 mg of Vitamin B1. Melon contains an anticoagulant called adenosine so it can stop the clotting of blood cells that can lead to stroke or heart diseases.

Melons are part of the gourd family that includes cucumbers and squashes with the difference that melons are consumed as fruits due to their much sweeter and juicy flavor. There are different types of Melons like:

• Watermelon (Tarbooz)
• Cantaloupe (Kharbooza)
• Honeydew Melon etc

Melon Health Benefits

1. Cancer Prevention

Melon fruit contains high carotenoid that this fruit can prevent cancer and reduce the risk of lung cancer. Melon fruit can prevent and kill cancer seeds that will invade our bodies. So try to eat melons, to avoid cancer.

2. Stroke and heart disease Prevention

Melon contains an anticoagulant called adenosine to stop clotting of blood cells which can lead to stroke or heart diseases. So the melons will help smooth the blood in the body so that a small risk of stroke or heart diseases incidence.

3. Good for digestion

Melons can launch a bowel movement, when we are experiencing digestive problems then eat melon to be easy and smooth bowel movement. Water content in the melon is very good for digestion. Mineral content is able to eliminate the acidity of the body need to be eliminated because it can interfere with digestion, particularly in the stomach organ.

4. Maintaining healthy skin

Melon contains collagen, the protein compounds that affect the integrity of the cell structure in all connective tissues such as skin. Collagen also serve For accelerates wound healing and maintain skin firmness. If you often eat melon means the skin will not be rough and dry.

5. Helps heal kidney disease and eczema.

Melon has a very good diuretic power so that it can help cure kidney disease and severe diseases and acute eczema. If combined with lemon, then a melon can cure gout. So a good idea to consume melons regularly once a day in the morning.

6. Boost of Energy

Most melons are contain B vitamins. B vitamins are responsible for a lot of your body's energy production (they are necessary for the body to process sugars and carbs). Hence, eating melons can give you substantial energy

7. For weight loss

Melons are ideal food for people who want to lose weight because they are low in sodium, fat-free, cholesterol free and low in calories (a whole cup of watermelon contains only 48 calories). They will also make you feel fuller because of the high water content. The natural sweetness found in melons will help you not to be tempted to grab those high calorie sweets.

Reference:

1.     USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Melons, honeydew, raw

2.     http://www.care2.com

3.     http://letsgohealthy.blogspot.com