3 Healthy Recipes To Cool You Down

Beat the heat with these gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar-free, vegan, raw and paleo recipes.

It’s that time of year again, the sweltering heat of August! With the temperatures soaring, it may be tempting to try and survive on ice creams, blended iced coffee drinks, and icy cold beers. Of course, this is not an ideal diet in terms of nutrition, so to help with this predicament, here are three cooling and refreshing recipes that get the healthy and nourishing tick of approval.

1. Cool Mint Green Smoothie

There are so many variations of green smoothies, but this one minimizes the fruit intake while still remaining delicious, cooling and chock full of green goodness. Serves two.

What You Need

• 2 cups leafy greens (e.g. spinach, kale, collard greens)
• 1 stick of celery
• 1 cucumber
• ½ an apple, cored
• ½ a lemon, juiced
• 330 milliliters coconut water
• 8 mint leaves (or to taste)
• Optional: 1 tablespoon flaxseed or coconut oil, nut butter, hemp seeds and/or ¼ avocado (this adds great healthy fats to the smoothie)

What to Do

Add all ingredients into a high-powered blender and mix until smooth. Best served immediately but can be kept for one day covered in the fridge.

2. Banana Nice Cream

This is commonly referred to as “nice cream,” which is either a combination of “nanas” and “ice cream” or “not” and “ice cream.” Either way, it is the simplest and healthiest ice cream alternative going around. Serves one.

What You Need

• 1 banana
• 1–2 tablespoons coconut milk, almond milk or water (to help with blending)
• Optional add ins: Macadamia nuts, flaked almonds, hazelnuts, almond butter, peanut butter, toasted coconut, chocolate chips or cacao nibs, etc. (the options are endless!)

What to Do

1. Peel banana, chop into inch-long pieces and place in a plastic container in the freezer overnight.
2. Add frozen banana and liquid to blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Be patient at this stage! It may take a little scraping down the sides of the blender to get it a smooth, creamy consistency. It will end up like a soft cream texture.
3. Once smooth, toss in the optional add-ins or just sprinkle on top. They are not necessary, but it can be fun to try different combinations!

3. Mango Chia Pops

A yummy creamy ice pop that the kids (and big kids) can enjoy while getting lots of vitamins, minerals, good fats, and fiber. Makes four.

What You Need

• ½ cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 cup mango chunks (fresh or frozen)
• 1 banana

What to Do

1. Place chia seeds, coconut milk and water in a jar and shake well. Pop into the fridge for two to three hours to let the chia seeds soak and expand.
2. Add soaked chia seed mixture, banana, and mango to a blender and whizz until smooth.
3. Pour the mixture into four ice pop molds and place in the freezer until set.

Do you have any healthy summer recipes you love to make to help cool down? Let us know in the comments or tag us on Instagram #SavvyTokyo.