The Homemade Iced Slushie: The perfect afternoon treat for your kids
Make your own iced slushie- recipe included
Our recent taste of Italian shaved ice at the Gainesville Art Festival made me think of our own favorite homemade treat: The Slushie. My kids and I love Slushies, (also known as Slurpees, Icees, or even melted snow cones). In essence, it is merely crushed ice and any known flavor in the universe, from cola to cherry, lemon to orange. In fact, we often pop to our local for our fix of ice and flavor- perfect for a hot Florida day (lemonade is my personal favorite).
Then one day I stopped at the same chain, but in a city we were visiting and decided to treat everyone to a iced slush. I took a slurp of my iced lemonade and received a nice dose of lemonade and bleach- ugh! Don’t get me wrong, this eatery served it up exactly the same way as our own local, but city water is often treated heavily with chlorine for sanitation purposes, and being used to our own crystal spring water, it was certainly a nasty shock to the system.
Needless to say, I chucked the bleach flavored drink out and headed home, still hankering for an iced lemonade. So I decided to try and make one myself when we got home. And with my little chef at my side, I grabbed some ice, squeezed some lemons and stuck it in a blender with a bit of sugar and water- and voila, the homemade slushie was born.
That was well over a year ago and since then we have made countless of these iced creations. My kids have come up with their own favorites. My daughter even entered her concoction in a cooking contest! The kids love them as after school snacks or to chill out on a hot day. They are, by far a healthier and less expensive option than buying them! All you need is a blender, ice and any favorite juice.
Recipe:
2 cups ice
1 cup favorite juice of choice
Place in blender and mix until smooth. (You can adjust the ice: juice ratio to your taste.) Scoop into cups and be sure to add a straw for that full “special drink” effect.
Try some of our favorites:
- Cran-apple
- Cranberry + juice of 1 lemon
- Lemonade (you get to adjust your sugar to taste, or none at all)
- Apple
- Pineapple
- Strawberry + mint
You can add fresh fruit too, like watermelon or berries and then you are well on your way to making a smoothie! (Adults can add some kick with spiced rum or vodka for an adult-only evening beverage!) Enjoy!
More Adventures of Mom posts with recipes for you to enjoy:
Cooking with Kids: Intermediate
Cooking with Kids: The Master Chef