‘Blueberry Lemon Mint Fizzy’

Finding something that can quench your thirst when the weather is hot, like really hot, is hard.  However, creating a refreshing drink to cool down your overheated body after riding, as in pedaling a bicycle, for over 35 miles in 95+ weather is a challenge!

For the past six weeks, Ben and I have been training for a fund-raising bicycle ride in Colorado.  It’s BIKE MS and here’s my page!  Part of our training was in South Carolina, which is total flat land…sure we did some distance riding on our ‘Pee Wee Herman’ bikes, and that just kind of conditioned our behinds.  Not bad, but not nearly enough.   When we got to Colorado is when we began our training in earnest!  Here we’ve been doing major riding, 25+ miles a day, climbing elevations of 2000+ plus, handling grades of 6-9%, which means granny gear all the way.  After these gut-wrenching rides, there’s nothing like a drink, non-alcoholic, of course, that makes it all worth while.  This ‘Blueberry lemon Mint Fizzy’ does it.  You’ll need a spoon, and I not only drank every drop, but ate everything including the wonderful mint!  I’ve entered this one in the ‘Little Blue Dynamo’ contest…let’s see if it’s a winner!

 

Makes:  One approximate 12-16 ounce drink!

 

What you need:

¾  cup fresh blueberries (divided)

1 cup cubed ice

½ fresh lemon (juice/zest)

1 tbl fresh lime juice

½ tsp fresh grated ginger

1 can cold Ginger ale (diet or regular)

8-10 mint leaves (divided)

1 mint sprig

 

What you do:

Skewer about 9 bueberries with alternating mint leaves on a swizzle stick or small wooden stick.  Take about ¼ cup of the blueberries and crush them well.

 

Put half the ice in a cup (i.e., Ball or Mason jar).  Put the crushed blueberries on top of the cubes.  Put the rest of the ice in.  Place the remaining whole blueberries in the container.  Put three to four mint leaves in and tuck on sides of container.  Put lemon/lime juice in then fresh ginger zest.  Pour ginger ale in glass.  Garnish with lemon zest and mint sprig.

 

Serve with a spoon!  You might want to put a dollop of vanilla ice cream in before adding the lemon zest and mint sprig!

 

© 2012 Alice D’Antoni Phillips    Ally’s Kitchen