Delicious drinks to quench your thirst without bleeding you dry

Summer is the best of times and the worst of times for the frugal person living in Georgia. On the one hand, Georgia is the perfect place to frugally grow a kitchen garden and dry clothes outside on a line. The long growing season ensures a bountiful crop and the hot weather ensures that any clothes hung outside will dry in a couple of hours. Best of all, anything you can't grow yourself is available at any number of farm stands for a great price. The downside to the Georgia Summer is of course...The heat! Just this week it's been in the upper 90's and even over 100 degrees on a couple of days. The intense Summer heat makes for big energy bills, even when the house is kept at a frugal 78 degrees. The best way to stay cool in Summer is by drinking a lot of cooling beverages and by eating Popsicles. Here are some of our favorites!

Soothing Summer Smoothie
1C orange juice
1C soy milk, cows milk or almond milk
1 or 2 frozen bananas
1C pineapple
1-2 Tbsp maple syrup
Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and frothy. Pour into 2 or 3 glasses and drink up for a refreshing snack!

Mango Mania
2C soy milk, almond milk or cows milk
1 large mango
1-2 frozen bananas
1C sliced strawberries
1-2Tbsp maple syrup
Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve up a tasty Summer treat!

Playful Pudding
2C soy milk, almond milk or cows milk
1 large mango
1/2 Haas avocado
1C strawberries
1-2Tbsp maple syrup
Blend until smooth. This is still a smoothie, but the avocado gives it a pudding like texture that my kids think is funny. Avocado is really good for you as it contains a lot of healthy fats, potassium, vitamin E and other important nutrients.

Yummy yogurt
2C orange juice
1C pineapple
1C strawberries
1 frozen banana
1/2C plain or vanilla yogurt
1-2Tbsp maple syrup
Blend until smooth and enjoy!

All of these Summer smoothies can be frozen into pop molds and eaten that way as well, with the exception of the "Playful Pudding" smoothie. Avocado does better when not frozen, in my experience.