Delicooks

The sun is an excellent source of energy, providing us with vitamin D (did you know that the skin absorbs the sun's rays and thus synthesizes vitamin D much better than popping pills...). It makes you look great too, giving you an attractive tan. Of course as everyone knows all too well, you have to be careful because, among other things, the sun accelerates the aging process, adding wrinkles in proportion to the amount of time we are exposed to it. So a little sun at the right time of day is fine. You can check if it's the right time by standing up and checking to see if you can see your shadow. The less shadow, the worse the exposure to sunlight.

In summer: more fruits and vegetables
Summer is ideal time to drink and eat water-rich substances with vitamins, minerals and enzymes. If you have to get too much of something make sure it's fruit and vegetables rather than summer sun and ice cream. And this brings us to my proposal, simple juices with some added extras such as herbal or floral waters. These drinks are truly refreshing and vitalizing. Let's check some out.

Ideas for refreshing and revitalizing drinks.
Verbena Lemonade: Drink No. 1.
The idea is to make this classic lemonade with lemon (organic please if possible), a healthy sweetener (I personally love agave syrup), ice water and some lemon verbena leaves. Nothing's better.

Marigold-Orange: Drink No. 2.
This is a XL-sized orange juice together with a few marigold petals and yellow plums or apricots. All well blended. You'll get best results if the orange juice is freshly squeezed and made with good fresh oranges from the refrigerator. The apricots should have and orange color, and the marigold petals should not have been treated with chemicals. They must be the edible kind and not from a florist. If the fruit is very sweet there's no need to add anything else.

Non-Alcoholic Mojito. Drink No. 3.

Squeeze a few limes, finely grated the zest of one and mix everything together with very cold water. Add sweetener to taste and some mint leaves. You'll see it's just like a mojito without the alcohol!

Pink grapefruit. Drink No. 4. 
Make some cool, fresh pink grapefruit juice. Just add a teaspoon of rosewater or orange blossom water, mix vigorously and voila!
Take care not to add too much rosewater or orange blossom water: just add teaspoon by teaspoon and keep trying until it's to your liking.

The last recommendation is to drink slowly and swish it around your mouth before swallowing. Remember these aren't canned soft drinks that you just knock back (and which then leave you even thirstier), but rather, are pure fruit juices packed with nutrients.

Have a great summer!