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1. Juice

One of the simplest improvements to ice cubes is to use juice in place of water. Juice cubes can jazz up almost any beverage-a cocktail, seltzer, soda, or even simple water. You can achieve a fun, layered effect by choosing 2-4 different juices. Partially fill a tray with one juice and freeze solid. Add the next juice and freeze, and repeat until all juices are used. The effect is a multi-colored cube that creates a fun boost of flavor. Your kids will love it!

2. Pureed Fruit

Fruit puree ice cubes can be a great option to infuse your beverages with flavor. You can choose a very quick method by simply buying fruity baby food pouches, squeezing them into ice cube trays, and freezing. Alternatively, you can puree your own choices of fruits in your blender at home, put them in an ice cube tray, and pop them in the freezer. Fruit quality does matter, so be sure you are choosing fruits that are very ripe, almost to the point of being overripe. Should you need to add liquids while pureeing the fruit, use fruit juice instead of water to maintain flavor.

3. Citrus Pieces

For a quick and easy upgrade to ice cubes, consider adding citrus pieces to your ice cubes. If you are using a muffin tin or larger ice cube tray, you can just slice up a lemon, lime, or orange, lay the slice in the bottom of the compartment, add water, and freeze. If your ice cube trays are quite small, you can cut the fruits into more of a dice and follow the same steps. Citrus cubes would be a great addition to water, seltzer, or any beverage you don't mind getting a bit watered down as the cube melts.

4. Yogurt

This ice cube for kids is my son's favorite. At the end of every meal, he asks for "yogurt cubes" or "yogurt popsicles." We use a low sugar variety of yogurt like Sigis and fill the tray with a variety of flavors. After dinner, we pop out a few cubes and he eats them for a dessert. They are much healthier than ice cream! Be sure to check the expiration date before freezing. Don't worry about keeping them too long because they will not last long with your kiddos!

5. Milk

Freezing milk for ice cubes is pretty simple. Be sure to check the expiration date before using the milk. Skim and low-fat milk tend to yield the best results. You can use milk cubes for serving eggnog or any milk based drink that needs chilling without being watered down. Chocolate milk ice cubes would be a fun addition to a glass of milk for children and adults! If you like cream in your coffee or tea, tossing a couple of milk cubes can serve a dual purpose by cooling down your beverage and adding creamy goodness.

6. Herbs

There are two ways to make herbal ice cubes. You can choose to do a simple infusion by placing a pinch of fresh herbs in each compartment, then filling about a third of the way, freezing, then partially filling and freezing twice more until the tray is full. Another option is to brew tea from the herbs and use it to fill the ice trays. You can add herbal ice cubes to your hot or cold drinks of the same variety to infuse more flavor, or use them to add a completely new flavor. Maybe you'd enjoy mint or lavender tea ice cubes in your lemonade!

7. Flowers

An unexpected way to add beauty to your beverages is to include flowers in your ice cubes. You'll need to use a very simple layering technique to achieve this effect.

• First, lay your flowers into the ice cube trays.
• Then, fill your ice tray with water only about a fourth of the way full and freeze until solid.
• Remove the ice trays, fill until another quarter of the way, and freeze again.
• Repeat twice more until the ice cube trays are full and completely frozen.

Be sure to use flowers that are specially grown for eating, that have not been sprayed with pesticides. A few options for edible flowers are carnations, honeysuckle, marigold, and roses. Some flowers will also add subtle flavor to your beverage.

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