Your training really won’t accommodate booze at the barbeque, and you shouldn’t settle for flat pop or ice tea made from a powder mix. So what’s an athlete supposed to do in the summer? Here are some fantastic options that will keep you dancing all night and all summer long.

Grilled Peach Iced Tea

The green tea in this drink lowers cholesterol levels, staves off infections, and helps to protect against cancer. Noni has been used by Polynesian islanders for years because it fights disease and increases mental clarity.

3/4 fresh peach
1/2 ounce Genesis Today Noni 99 (or other manufacturer’s source of high-quality noni puree)
Brewed, chilled green tea
Grilled peach fan, lemon wheel (for garnish)

Slice 3/4 of a peach, grill, and set aside 3 pieces for garnish. Muddle remaining peach in a mixing glass, add 1/2 ounce of Noni 99. Add ice, and shake, then fine strain into a 12-ounce Collins glass over fresh ice. Top with brewed green tea and garnish with grilled peach slices and lemon wheel.

Asian Berry-Blaster

This drink can help alleviate any gastrointestinal issues or even your arthritis pain. And goji berries are a great anti-aging agent and can increase energy and strength!

1 lychee
1 small piece of peeled ginger
1 1/2 ounce pineapple juice
1/2 ounce Genesis Today Goji 100 (or other manufacturer’s souce of high-quality goji puree)
Juice from 2 wedges of lime
Dried goji berries (for garnish)

Muddle one lychee fruit and small piece of peeled ginger in the bottom of a 10-ounce rocks glass, add pineapple juice, Goji 100, and lime juice. Top with crushed ice and stir vigorously, top with more crushed ice and garnish with dried goji berries.

Blue Pom-Pom

Blueberries and pomegranates are proven antioxidants, delivering a ton of nutrients and vitamins to your system. Blueberries are also low in calories and pomegranates are claimed to fight everything bad from osteoarthritis to breast cancer.

11 blueberries (3 for garnish)
2 ounces pomegranate juice
1 packet New Chapter Organics, probiotic “berry green powder”
Soda water

Muddle 8 blueberries in mixing glass, add one packet of “berry green powder” and pomegranate juice. Add ice, shake, and fine strain into empty 12-ounce Collins glass. Fill glass with ice and slowly top with soda to create layered effect. Garnish with remaining fresh blueberries.

Amazonian Cooler

Acai (pronounced AH-SIGH-EE) is pretty new to North America, but it is an ancient favourite of South America where the trees grow. It is an “anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant,” according to The World’s Healthiest Foods by George Mateljan. And an apple a day? Much more fun this way than eating it by hand, wouldn’t you say?

7-8 red grapes (2 for garnish)
2.5 ounces pure apple juice
2.5 ounces Acai berry juice
Apple slice and sliced grapes (for garnish)

Crush grapes in bottom of a 12-ounce Collins glass, fill with ice, then fill halfway with apple juice, stir, top with Acai juice.

About the Authors

Stephanie Dickison is a lifestyle writer and restaurant critic in Toronto, Ontario. A book on her extensive career as book, music, and restaurant critic will be released February 2009 from ECW Press. See www.stephaniedickison.com.

Franz Swinton is the head bartender at the Raw Bar in Calgary, Alberta.