This 4-Ingredient Frosted Lemonade Is The Perfect Porch Drink

It includes a naturally-sweet ingredient that's a Southern favorite.

<p>Getty Images</p>

Getty Images

Here at Southern Living, we don’t even try to hide our devotion to all things lemonade. We’re so sweet on the concept that we frequently have heated office discussions about the real secret to the best Southern-style lemonade, and even created a guide to what your favorite type of lemonade says about you. (By the way, we’re usually in the homemade lemonade camp, but depending on the day, we might switch teams to boozy, or outsource the squeezing to Chick-Fil-A!)

We’re such lemonade lovers, in fact, that we don’t just have a how-to for Homemade Lemonade on our site. Our Test Kitchen aces have also created lemonade-inspired jam, cupcakes, pies, and layer cakes.

So of course our ears perked up when we heard Joy Bauer, RD, author and TODAY show nutrition and healthy lifestyle expert, share about how she refreshes lemonade—with a dose of Southern flair.

"Pucker up because this lemonade will leave you speechless! It delivers a dessert-like experience with more fiber, more antioxidants, and only a fraction of the sugar of traditional lemonade,” Bauer said in the TODAY show segment.

To sweeten the deal, she reveals that her refreshing lemonade recipe asks for just four ingredients.

Frosted Lemonade Ingredients

Bauer’s lemonade contains lemons, of course, as well as something she calls a “crafty addition,” since it "intensifies the lemony taste without the need for excessive amounts of sweetener." You might have this in your refrigerator as we speak: lemon-flavored sparkling water. This also means that this frosty drink recipe will help you inch closer to your daily hydration goals.

The only sweetener Bauer does incorporate is a drizzle of honey. Agave nectar or maple syrup should work here, too.

To deliver on the lower-sugar, higher-fiber promise, Bauer infuses some natural sweetness and bonus nutrition via frozen peaches.

"The combination of sweet, juicy peaches with the tang of zesty lemon is quite incredible,” Bauer says.

We’ve also had luck with similar recipes utilizing frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries, and frozen raspberries. Frozen cherries or pineapple would also be a treat, but as Southerners at heart, we’re sweet on the idea of her original selection.

Related: 23 Frozen Drink Recipes To Help You Beat The Summer Heat

How To Make Easy Frosted Lemonade

To make Bauer’s Frozen Peach Lemonade, to a blender pitcher, add 2 heaping cups of frozen sliced peaches (the store-bought, pre-peeled kind is what she prefers), 1/4 cup lemon juice, one  12-ounce can lemon-flavored sparkling water, and 1 tablespoon of honey.

Blend for about 20 seconds, or until the mixture is thick and icy. "Be careful not to over-blend or the texture will thin out," Bauer advises.

If it does appear thinner than you’d like, toss in a few ice cubes or more frozen peaches to yield a more slushy consistency.

This frosted lemonade recipe makes two servings, each about 1 1/2 cups. We gave it a whirl ourselves, and adored how the peach flavor was subtle but pleasant, and how the drink was just sweet enough without being cloying.

In one minute flat and with 4 ingredients, you, too, can slurp up one of the most refreshing drinks on these hot summer days.

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Read the original article on Southern Living.