Summer is at its peak, Sun is shining quite bright on all of us (more than our needs)! Making a summer drink for diabetic people is not a piece of cake, well it is going to be now! Read on to make super-easy diabetes summer drinks.
Fortunately, there are lots of summer-drink options for the diabetes patients. We have done our research well and we now present you with the amazing, refreshing world of diabetic-friendly summer vegan drinks!
Table of Contents
1. Aam Panna/ Raw Mango Drink
The good old grandma-styled Aam Panna/raw mango drink is good for diabetics too. All the citrus fruits are good to keep your sugar levels down. Green mango or unripe mango is used to make this typical Indian summer drink.
How to make it?
Just boil some fresh and healthy green mangoes (Ambi/Kairi) in ample water till soft. Remove their outer skin and take out the pulp. You can do it in a pressure cooker.
Put the pulp in a bowl and smoothen it with the help of a hand blender. Add water according to your taste, and add some rock salt, roasted cumin powder, and some stevia leaves or a few drops of artificial sweetener.
Add some ice cubes and thank your stars for being born in India!
2. Herbal Water
This one is a great option over the boring water. This water will give you more minerals, looks pretty, and will motivate you to stay hydrated.
How to Make?
Grab a glass pitcher, and add some lemon slices, mint leaves, and coriander leaves. Crush them with a muddler. Now fill it with water till the top and let it chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Now whenever you need water, drink this herbal water and replenish your minerals and control your sugar levels too!
3. Ice Tea with your favorite fruit (peach or lemon)
We are not talking about the store-bought, high-in-sugar ice tea. We are talking about homemade ice tea with our good old tea leaves. Our hot teas should also get a cool change in summer!
How to make it?
Boil one teaspoon tea leaves in one glass of water for 2 minutes. Sieve it and add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to it. Keep the glass in the fridge and enjoy it chilled after adding a few stevia leaves or tablets. For peach flavored ice tea just cut the peaches in small bite-sized pieces and drop it in the glass before keeping it in the refrigerator.
This refreshing Ice tea is homemade and healthy too!
4. Berries Smoothie
This fruit punch will give you natural antioxidants and will also make you feel satiated for a long time. You can add fruits of your choice but make sure they are low on glycemic index, for example, citrus fruits and berries make the best choice.
How to make it?
In a mixer/smoothie maker, add ice, milk or yogurt, half banana, strawberries, cherries(deseeded), dragon fruit, mint and nuts of your choice. Blend until smooth and serve chilled! You can top it with walnuts or almonds as well.
5. Ginger Ale
This world-famous drink is also diabetic-friendly. Ginger is good for keeping your blood sugar levels low and activating the pancreas (insulin-producing organ). It prevents you from heat-strokes as well.
How to Make?
Add 1 teaspoon ginger juice or crushed ginger in one glass of chilled sparkling soda. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Add some rock salt and a few Natural Stevia leaves or tablets
6. Kanji
This good old Indian beverage used to be there in every house in summer. The big glass jars full of this lovely red pungent drink were the style of welcoming summer. Nowadays those big jars are replaced by sugary aerated cold drinks. Let’s take a walk down the streets of grandma’s lane and make kanji this summer.
How to make it?
Take about 250 gms of carrots (black carrots would be ideal). Some people prefer to peel them while others keep their skin on for a strong flavor. You can do it as per your choice. Cut it into long finger-sized pieces. Boil around 6 to 8 cups of water and add carrots to it. Boil for about a minute and switch off the flame. Now add 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of mustard seeds and keep the liquid in a glass jar. Keep it in the sun for 2-3 days. You can increase the amount of salt and mustard seeds according to your taste.
Once fermented, keep the Kanji inside and serve chilled!
7. Watermelon Punch
Watermelon is like a deep shade in the sunny rays. The watermelon punch is easy to make summer drink that will beat the heat and is also quite refreshing.
How to Make?
Put the pieces of watermelon(peeled and deseeded) in a jar and blend it with some rock salt and lemon zest. Pour it into a glass and add some mint leaves for freshness. You can also add some stevia tablets or leaves if you want some sweetness as well.
8. Lemonade
This is a no-brainer! No summer can feel special without a pitcher full of lemonade!
When life gives you summer, You make lemonade!
How to make it?
Make it in the old-fashioned Indian way. One lemon juice, some rock salt, and stevia tablets and give it a good stir while adding ice cubes or sparkling soda!
Enjoy the freshness!
9. Peach Mojito
This peach mojito is a drink from heaven, we are in love with this amazing punch of freshness and peachy flavor! You will love this drink too.
How to make it?
Add the peeled and chopped peach in a cocktail maker, add some ice and lemon pieces along with stevia and mint leaves. If you are adding artificial sweetener, then you can add it later. Using the muddler, muddle it properly, and then add soda or water or a combination of both. Mix well, garnish with mint leaves and lemon slices, and thank Dear God for Peaches! Anybody else remembers the ice age Peaches…or it’s just me!
10. Strawberry and Apple Slush
Do you remember the slush that used to be there in those big transparent self-churning jars in our favorite eatery? Slushies remind me of childhood and this slush does the same. This strawberry and apple slush are so diabetes-friendly that most people don’t need the artificial sweetener in it. Well, it depends upon your taste and the level of sweetness in your apples.
How to make it?
Peel and chop the apple (one apple), add in a blender along with strawberry (one cup) and the artificial sweetener of your choice. Add some vanilla or strawberry flavor to add the oomph to your drink. Now fill 1/4rth of the glass with crushed ice and top it with the smoothie you just made.
Enjoy the drink guilt-free!
11. Coconut Water
This one is from nature’s open restaurant! You just buy it or if you are lucky or you have insane climbing skills, then pluck it from a tree and cut the upper end. Insert the straw and enjoy. Coconut water is one of the best drinks for diabetes, it is quite refreshing, full of electrolytes, and quite low in calories.
12. Summer Seasonal Savory Drink
This one is a blend of your favorite summer veggies and fruits. The veggies like carrots and cucumber are good to make the base of a fresh summer drink. Cucumber is high in water content and is easily digestible due to the presence of roughage in it.
How to make it?
Take a blender or smoothies maker, add 2-3 carrots, 1 cucumber, a few pineapple slices, and any citrus fruit from the orange family along with your favorite herbs like mint, coriander, cilantro etc. Blend them till smooth, and add some fresh soda or ice as per your choice. Enjoy this cooler with a straw!
13. Chia Fresca
This one is a strange drink but will keep you hydrated for sure. The whole credit for this drink goes to Angela from ohsheglows, if you are up for some weird looking jelly drink then chia seeds can become your best friends.
How to make it?
Simplest drink ever! Just add 1 tablespoon of chia Seeds to chilled water and squeeze one lemon in it. Add some stevia tablets or leaves as per your choice. Let it sit for 10 minutes, the chia seeds will swell up and have a gel-like coating on them. This will prevent them from sticking inside your throat.
Just gulp them down and think and think some more! Do you like it or do you hate it?
14. Badam/Almond Milk
The good old badam milk is still the best as well as the most royal drink for Indians. Thankfully diabetics can have low-fat milk without any hesitation. So bring it on!
How to make it?
Soak about 7 almonds overnight in water, peel them the next day and crush them with a mortar pestle. Add the almonds to a blender along with some ice cubes, pistachios, and chilled low-fat milk. Give it a good churn, add a few drops of kewra essence (vanilla will do but kewra goes best with it), add the artificial sweetener as per your taste and churn it once more. Now pour it into a glass and enjoy!
P.S – saffron has an unmatching aroma and saffron’s health benefits are outstanding. so if you use that in your almond milk, it will take the drink to another level with a golden hue and blissful aroma! Do read health benefits of almonds
15. Cold-coffee
Recent studies have proven that coffee can prevent diabetes but unfortunately it is not very effective in treating it. Still, the good news is, that it’s not bad either. You can have one cup of iced-frothy-heavenly coffee without being guilty!
How to make it?
Everyone has their own signature coffee style, we are stating a common one here. Take a blender, add ice cubes, a splash of milk, stevia tablets, and 1 heaped teaspoon of your favorite coffee
Bonus Drink – Vijaysar Water kept in an earthen pot will work as a medicine too. Read more about this in this article about the benefits of Vijayasar for diabetes.
A tip for every Diabetic – Think Positive, maintain your dietary control, grab a sweet once in a while but most importantly, never give up!
Know more about diabetes here!
The latest research about Diabetes.
low carb diet for vegetarian diabetics
Don’t forget to share it with your diabetes clan or Whatsapp group!
Note- This article may contain some referral links. We take the utmost care before stating any advice but it is advised to take a professional opinion as well.
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