5 Twists on Summer Lemonade

April Daniels Hussar,SELF magazine

You know what they say: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But what they don't say is that while a straight-up glass of old-school lemonade is one of summer's best drinks, sometimes, getting a little "twisted" is just what you need.

Robb Garceau, Executive Chef at Great Performances, an award-winning catering company in New York City, shares three of his "unusual" recipes with HealthySELF, below. But first, his tips for both cutting the calories and serving up extra-delicious lemonade this summer:

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- Use more herbs and less sugar -- they're more nuanced and bring out so many different notes of flavor in spirits and ripe citrus. Your drinks will actually taste more well-balanced.

- Try honey or agave -- these natural sweeteners aren't granular like sugar, so you can make drinks faster this way.

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- Go seasonal -- infuse ripe fruit in your sugar base (if using one). Seasonal fruit has so much natural sugar that adding any other sweetener is many times unnecessary.

- Lemonades are great for the young ones, but you can easily make a grown-up punch by adding rum, vodka or other spirits to any lemonade recipe.

- Using larger ice cubes keeps the lemonade cold, but they melt slower than small cubes, thus avoiding natural dilution of your concoction.

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- Use garnishes when possible -- they add color and a fun visual element to a pitcher or glass, and also continue infusing natural flavors into the lemonade as you drink.

Cool, refreshing lemonade is definitely on everyone's brain as the weather gets warmer -- Yahoo! reports that searches for "how to make lemonade" are up 57 percent. SELF has a great low-sugar recipe here (secret ingredient: applesauce!) and a tasty spiked gingerade recipe (made with lemons and caramelized ginger -- yum!) that's only 70 calories.


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