After a painfully hot and humid day of laying out in Central Park, my sister and I decided to give ourselves a break from the sun and find something cold to drink. We happened upon an adorable little cafe on Madison and asked the waiter for ice waters and a lemonade stat -with no sugar. It’s rare that after I request this, a restaurant will comply. Usually lemonade is pre-made and packed full of sugar and who knows what. At Nectar Cafe, I watched him squeeze lemons into water and mix it up with an electric mixer which made it look frothy and refreshing on such a hot day. It tasted a little too tart so I grudgingly added a little sugar myself. My sister mentioned that agave nectar would be a perfect addition to the juice.

That got me thinking about how amazing this would be blended with ice, so after our little date I marched over to the store and bought a dozen lemons to experiment with. I tried a few different times, and by the end I perfected the proportions for a wonderful sugar-free lemonade smoothie. I used agave nectar so it isn’t excruciatingly tart but you could use stevia or any other natural sweetener. Inspired by my favorite body scrub from Sabon (best, most delicious smelling product ever if you’re in the market), I added mint to liven up the flavor.

Lemonade Smoothie (Serves 2)
– 1 cup ice
– 1 cup water
– juice from 2 full lemons (save two small wedges for garnish)
– 1 tablespoon agave nectar
– 6 mint leaves
– Blend all ingredients in a blender
– Taste and add more of what you think it needs
– Pour into glasses and garnish with lemon wedges and a mint leaf
– Park yourself outside and sip!

After OD’ing on lemon smoothies, I decided to use my extra stash for popsicles. More popsicle recipes to come next week so find yourself a popsicle-making kit before then. They’re total must for hot summer days!