Fruity Ice Cubes

I am excited to present this “looking forward to summer” post from Recipes to Nourish’s Emily Sunwell-Vidaurri!

Dress up your plain water with some extra special fruity ice cubes! 

Did you grow up drinking the non-alcohoic Shirley Temple or Roy Rogers? I did. If you’re not familiar with them, traditionally the Shirley Temple is made with ginger ale and the Roy Rogers is made with cola. Both have a splash of sugary grenadine syrup and maraschino cherries.  

As a kid I LOVED getting to the bottom of the drink so I could devour the maraschino cherries {more than one, because I always asked for extra}. Such a fun little extra special treat just waiting for you at the end of the drink. 
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Soda, maraschino cherries and food dyed sugary syrups are not for me anymore though. These are not things that I would feel comfortable serving my family. 
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Real food drinks can be fun too! 

​All you have to do is just make a few simple swaps and you’ll have a sophisticated + delicious drink! Want to know how? Make simple FRUITY ICE CUBES! 

They’re perfect for every day drinks and wonderful for special occasions like spring parties, Easter celebrations, birthdays, baby showers, weddings, dinner parties + more. Kids love them too!

The beauty about Fruity Ice Cubes is they’re so simple

you can really make them however you’d like. All you need is the basics – water {or herbal tea, coconut water, maple water, etc.}, fresh organic berries or other fruit, fresh herbs, and some fun ice cube trays. I love using these perfect square cube trays and these are large sphere cubes are fun too. 
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Recipe

You Will Need: Ice Cube Trays
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Ingredients:

• Fresh organic berries or other fruit  
• Fresh mint leaves, thyme, rosemary, basil, lemon verbena, etc.   
• Organic lemon – sliced into small pieces  
• Filtered water, chilled herbal iced tea, coconut water, maple water, etc. (see tips)  

Instructions:

1. Prep your fruit, herbs, lemon or whatever you’re using – give them a good wash and chop/dice if needed. Berries like blueberries and raspberries can be left whole. Strawberries, cherries, etc. can be diced into smaller pieces. Chop herbs if necessary. 
2. Place berries, small lemon slices and herbs in ice cube trays. Cover with water, chilled herbal tea, coconut water or maple water. 
3. Place in the freezer and allow to set.
4. Add the frozen ice cubes to your water and enjoy!   

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Tips:

• When using herbal tea, I prefer to use mild herbal tea blends. Some lovely choices are red raspberry leaf, chamomile, lemon balm, rose hip, hibiscus {note – hibiscus will make light pink colored ice cubes}, fennel seed, cinnamon, etc. My family loves when I make the ice cubes with this vitamin c tea. 
• The ice cubes can be used in plain water or any drink for extra flavor + fun. 
• After ice cubes are frozen, store in a freezer safe air tight container. Then make some more! They’re so nice to have on hand. 
• Serve in clear glass like mason jars to showcase these beautiful ice cubes.  

Emily Sunwell-Vidaurri, founder and author of Recipes to Nourish, is a holistic-minded, proud homebirth mommy of two amazing daughters. She can frequently be found in the kitchen cooking from scratch with the man of her dreams {her husband}, spending time with her girls and daydreaming about being an urban homesteader. She is passionate about nourishing REAL food, home cooked meals, holistic health, “green” living + essential oils. She drinks herbal tea infusions, craves kombucha and loves chocolate + homemade ice cream. Emily blogs at Recipes to Nourish, a gluten-free blog focusing on Real Food + Holistic Health. You can follow along and find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Periscope @Recipes2Nourish + grab her free eBook, “Holistic Tips to Keep Your Family Healthy.”