Food: Mango Shake

Rainy days provide inspiration for bright-coloured shoots and even though it's April, we experienced a weekend of non-stop freezing rain and icy conditions so these mango shakes are adding a bit of brightness. 

This is a very simple recipe. It only involves mangoes and milk and they're blended until smooth. The milk is optional and if you choose to leave it out, you'd have a mango smoothie which is just as good.

Food: Summer Drinks

With the weather finally warming up, I've been experimenting with different combinations of fruits, juices and our trusty Soda Stream. 

It all started a few summers ago when we were hosting a barbeque. I didn't want to buy carbonated sugary drinks so I decided to try making big batches of healthier drinks. Here are the different ways I tried:

For large parties

I mixed store-bought juice with club soda which dilutes the amount of sugar per cup. Using frozen fruit (eg. berries) instead of ice is great for chilling without watering the batch down.

For 1-2 people

This way is better for making small amounts. Use a Soda Stream machine and instead of their pre-made drink mixes, I put pieces of fruit like fresh ripe mango and add a splash of juice (bought or freshly-squeezed) to make my own flavoured carbonated water.

For small parties

For a smoothie, I blended up fresh fruit like watermelon as the drink's base then added frozen fruit. 

I hope these ideas will help you make some of your own concoctions. Let me know if you try any of these!