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Mocktail Recipes

Home > London > Recipes | Food and Wine
Published February 23rd 2011
As summer turns on the heat, it's time for some cooling drinks. But a recent study suggests that more people gain weight during summers by drinking artificially flavoured beverages, aerated drinks and needless to say, beer.

So this summer, try to incorporate a fresh drink in your day with fresh fruits, juices and natural flavours.

Though some fruits like mango, banana and lychee have high calorific values, their goodness and nutrients surpass their one drawback. Hence, unless you're on a rigorous diet, you can easily add these wonder fruits to your glassful of refreshment. If you're vegan or have lactose intolerance, you can substitute diary products with things like soy or coconut milk and vegan yoghurt (made with soy/nut milk/coconut/arrowroot).

Quench your thirst with a glowing glass of these non-alcoholic, fruity concoctions.

Golden Frenzy

A beautifully bright yellow drink packed with vitamins and freshness.
4 large kiwis, peeled
2 large mangos, peeled
1 pint orange juice
Using a blender, puree the kiwis, mangos and orange juice. Pour into a pitcher, add 3 cups cold water and stir. Serve.

Tiger's Milk
No, this is not a liquefied version of the popular American nutrition bar; it is indeed a healthy and refreshing drink for a hot summer day.
cup yoghurt
cup lime juice
1 banana
2 strawberries, hulled
5 tbsp wheat germ
3 tsp blackstrap molasses
Pour yoghurt and sweet lime juice into a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the banana and strawberries. Process for a few seconds. Add the wheat germ and molasses. Blend till the ingredients are well combined. Serve.

Banana Colada
A delightfully creamy yet light drink.
1 ripe banana
1 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup coconut cream (available in Tetra Pak and tins at any supermarket)
1 cup crushed ice
Roughly chop the banana and add to a blender. Add the pineapple juice, coconut cream and crushed ice. Blend well. Pour into a Collins glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and a pineapple wedge. Serve.

Tropical Tang
A fresh and fruity version of good ol' Tang.
6 strawberries
½ mango
1 banana
11/2 cup sweet lime juice
½ tsp lime juice
1 tbsp honey
A few mint leaves, chopped
Mix the strawberries, mango, banana and sweet lime juice in a blender. Process until the mixture is of a smooth consistency. Add lime juice and mint and process once more. Serve.

Black Cherry Smoothie

A deliciously smooth and filling drink.
4 oz cherry yogurt
1 cup sliced and stoned fresh cherries
1 cup cold milk
1/2 cup crushed ice or ice cream
Honey to taste
Mix the yoghurt, fresh cherries and milk using a cocktail shaker or a blender. Check sweetness; add honey if required. Pour into a tall glass. Top with crushed ice/ ice cream and serve.

Chilled Chai Pick-me-up
A zesty blend of iced tea, creamy yoghurt and a dash of subtle spices.
1/4 cup honey
2 cinnamon sticks or cloves or both
One 1-inch piece ginger, finely chopped
7 bags black tea
1 pint vanilla frozen yogurt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cardamom
3 cups ice cubes
In a saucepan, combine 1 cup water, the honey, cinnamon sticks, cloves and ginger over low heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags and let sit for 5 minutes. Strain and then let the tea cool. Using a blender, combine the tea, frozen yogurt, nutmeg and cardamom. Add the ice cubes and blend until smooth. Serve.

Frozen Fruit Punch
A fantastic combination of fruits and fruit juices. A tonic for sweltering summers.
1 tin orange juice
1/2 tin pineapple juice
Juice of 11/2 lemons
500 gm strawberries
4 bananas
1 bottle ginger ale
Honey or maple syrup to taste
Mash the fruits and place in a freezer-safe container to freeze. In a jug, mix the fruits with the juices and honey. Add a bottle of ginger ale. Serve in frosted glasses.

Banana Smoothie
A classic smoothie packed with energy.
11/2 bananas
1 cup yoghurt
½ cup strawberry juice
1 tbsp honey
½ tsp vanilla essence
Put the bananas, yoghurt and fruit juice into a blender or food processor. Blend until combined. Add honey and vanilla and process again until smooth. Serve.

Iced Tea Punch

Don't reach for a readymade iced tea off a drinks counter; try this simple concoction at home.
A few tea bags
½ cup orange squash or orange juice
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp ginger juice
4 bottles of lemonade
Honey to taste
Make 2 cups of black tea. Pour into a bowl, add honey and chill. Now add the orange squash, ginger juice and lemon juice. Put crushed ice in a glass, then ¼ cup of the tea punch, then the lemonade. Serve chilled, garnished with a few mint leaves.

Aam Panna
This age-old Indian recipe against heat stroke is a wonderfully tangy tonic during summer.
4 medium-sized green mangoes
½ cup powdered sugar
2 tblsp rock salt
1 tsp roasted cumin seeds (whole or powdered)
A handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped
Cut mangoes into 3-4 slices and pressure cook with one cup water. Turn off heat after first whistle and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Open the lid and let cool. When cool, squeeze the pulp into a blender using hands. Discard seeds and skin. Blend until smooth. Add sugar, cumin, rock salt and mint. Blend again to dissolve sugar. Refrigerate the concentrate in a clean container. To serve, add 5-6 tblsp to a glass of chilled water.

Shirley Temple

Or Grenadine Lemonade is no 'kiddy cocktail'; it's a refreshing drink for anyone, anytime.
4 oz ginger ale
½ oz grenadine syrup
Some lemon peel
A thin slice of orange
2 or 3 ice cubes
Add ginger ale, grenadine syrup and lemon peel in a blender or cocktail shaker. Mix well. Top the edge of a tall glass with an orange slice and add a few ice cubes. Gently pour the drink in the glasses and serve.

Guava Punch
This is set to blow your mind away. The dash of Tabasco gives it an unusual kick.
11/2 cup guava juice
¾ cup lemon juice or lemonade
3-4 tsp brown sugar
8 drops Tabasco sauce
Mix the guava juice and sugar. Add lots of ice to this mixture and top it with lemon juice or lemonade. Add about 8 drops of Tabasco sauce to make it a little spicy and boost the colour. Garnish with mint and serve.

Melon Sorbet

A melt-in-your-mouth sorbet with a gingery aftertaste.
11/2 cup melon pulp
10 tbsp ordinary sugar
½ cup water
2 tbsp ginger juice
2 tbsp candied ginger, chopped
½ cup white wine or plain soda
Make syrup with sugar and water. Cool. Put it together with all the other ingredients and blend till smooth. Freeze, whisking it from time to time until fluffy. Serve chilled in a goblet or a melon case. Serve.

Lemon, Lime & Bitters
An Australian staple. Good for any time of the day.
1.25 ltr lemonade, chilled
1/2 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon Angostura Bitters (available in bottle shops)
1 cup ice cubes
Angostura Bitters and lemon slices, to serve
Combine lemonade, lime juice and bitters in a pitcher. Divide ice between the glasses. Shake a few drops of bitters into each glass. Top with lemonade mixture. Serve with lemon slices.
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Why? For a refreshing homemade drink
When: Anytime
Where: At home
Cost: Cost of the ingredients
Comments
I can't go along with the Tiger's Milk recipe, but the rest of them sound really amazing. I don't care how old I get either I will always love Shirley Temples. I ended up getting one at a wedding recently and people were joking with me about it until they tried it -- there were several ordered by many people the rest of the night.
By L.R. - senior writer
Saturday, 21st of May @ 05:34 am
I understand your scepticism re Tiger’s Milk recipe but I quite like it. One of my relatives, battling a chronic disease, was recommended by the doctor to have wheat germ everyday for over six months. They figured out this recipe (though I can’t guarantee if its their original) to consume wheat germ without fouling the palate.
And Shirley Temple is one of the most underestimated-by-adults concoction. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of it.
By A Behl - senior writer
Wednesday, 29th of June @ 07:14 am
YUM! We're smack bang in the middle of Winter at the moment in Australia, so these mocktails are sounding like a far off cry, but I'm bookmarking them for when Summer rolls around the corner.

I will admit that I love a good cocktail, but I also find that I'm so often searching for a really tasty non-alcoholic drink. I'll definitely be trying these recipes to sip while I spend my summer poolside. I can't really decide on a favourite from this list, but I'm tempted to try the Tigers Milk and the Golden Frenzy just sounds so refreshing.

Thanks for the recipes! I can't wait until Summer is finally here, I can taste these already.
By Natasha Stewart - senior reviewer
Thursday, 14th of July @ 09:19 am
Will definitely be trying these when Summer comes around. I love Lemon Lime Bitters, Schweppes has a really good bottle one, however with this recipe now I can make it at home! Also the Banana Smoothie recipe sounds delicious.
By Emily Pong - senior reviewer
Tuesday, 19th of July @ 09:14 am
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