When I was a kid, one of my favorite pastimes was to get a bunch of my friends together, load up on as many sugary foods and drinks as we could buy at the store and head back to my house to generally act insane. It was all under the guise of a “sleepover.” My poor parents. Our favorite crazy fuel? Pixie Stix, Laffy Taffy, Faygo soda pop, and if we were lucky, one of those big frosty, radioactive-hued 7-11 specials. Oh yes… The Slurpee.

I don’t think I need to research and list the ingredients in a typical Slurpee for you all to know how bad it is. They don’t really try to hide it. Those fruity drinks are basically a bucketful of sugar (probably high fructose corn syrup), artificial flavors, carbonation, and colors that you can’t find in the natural world. I decided it might be fun to give one of my childhood favorites a healthy makeover. This super simple Slurpee knock-off is:

• Flavored with fruit
• Naturally hued
• Icy cold
• loaded with vitamins and antioxidants galore
• and has a Probiotic boost!

The trick to making a frosty, fruity drink that will conjure up memories of summer days gone by, is the carbonation. To me, that’s the difference between a slushy and a Slurpee. For a healthy, natural shot of carbonation, I used flavored kombucha. Using kombucha will also give you a nice dose of happy belly probiotics. Also key in slurpee reproduction: blending the ice and frozen fruit really well for a fine frosty texture, instead of a chunky-icy texture. Feel free to use other frozen fruits and flavored kombucha.

What are you waiting for? Celebrate these last weeks of summer with a fun frozen beverage that’s actually good for you!

Gorgeous Grape “Slurpee”(antioxidant-packed for healthy skin)

2 cups of frozen grapes (I used 1 cup of red and 1 cup of black seedless grapes)

1 cup of flavored kombucha (I used pomegranate flavor*)

1-2 cups of ice

Perky Pineapple “Slurpee” (anti-inflammatory & good for digestion)

2 cups frozen, ripe, golden pineapple chunks

1 cup flavored kombucha (I used ginger flavor*)

1-2 cups of ice

optional: 1/4 tsp turmeric powder or 1 tsp fresh grated turmeric root

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a good, powerful blender. Top off the glass with an extra splash of kombucha. Makes about 2 servings.

Notes:

* Feel free to try other flavor combinations! I couldn’t find grape kombucha at my health food store, but I know it exists! This pineapple coconut flavor would be delicious with the frozen pineapple, for a virgin pina colada slurpee.

If you don’t want to use kombucha, try a naturally flavored sparkling water instead (such as La Croix). Or try a naturally sweetened soda pop alternative, like Steaz sparkling green tea soda, Zevia, Blue Sky (ginger ale)

 

What other fruit and flavor combinations can you come up with??