The time of doubt is over: you are going to start today with that positive, healthy lifestyle you have been envisioning for so long. The car will stay in its parking spot more often, you will exercise more and prepare more healthy meals. Spring is the perfect time for it. By the way, did you know that you can also drink yourself healthy(er)? With homemade smoothies, juices and other spring drinks you can effortlessly give your body a nice vitamin and energy boost. And they taste delicious too.

Smoothies and juices are good for skin, hair and more

With a smoothie or homemade lemonade, you not only quench your thirst, but also enrich your body with all sorts of fine vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Now vitamin D is practically in the air in this season (thank the sun!), so we'll skip that one, but how about a shot of vitamin A or C or some extra iron? Let's get to it.

1. Make a smoothie using whole milk and/or yogurt as the base. Add some leaf spinach and oranges and your vitamin A booster is ready. Further flavor it with banana, apple and a lemon. Vitamin A is important for healthy skin and healthy hair and eyes, among other things.
2. Looking for more resistance? Then you should definitely try this smoothie for an extra jolt of vitamin C and E. Fill your blender with goji berries, lemon and flaxseed. Then add some fresh-squeezed orange juice, a generous splash of yogurt and a handful of leafy spinach. Vitamin C and E are antioxidants. They also help keep your skin firm and elastic.
3. A drink that will make your whole body happy? Bring a saucepan with 50-100 ml of water, sugar and lemon juice to a boil. Let it boil very briefly and then remove from the heat to cool. Mash pieces of watermelon and peach and/or a handful of blackcurrants with the hand blender. Mix the cooled syrup with the fruit puree. After this, strain your homemade fruit syrup. Dilute your syrup with water and garnish glasses with a slice of melon. Or fill a drink dispenser with this tasty lemonade and add pieces of fruit.

Refreshing ice tea

Did you know that iced tea is, after cola, the most consumed soft drink in the Netherlands? No wonder, because iced tea is a delicious and healthy thirst quencher when the outdoor temperatures rise. This is exactly why the drink is so popular. Long, long ago, people would deliberately let tea cool before drinking it, and then dilute it with liquor. Early last century, the variant without alcohol became popular. The reason for this was the American tea merchant Richard Blechynden who on a sunny day couldn't sell his hot beverage and decided to add ice. For that, we are still grateful to him. We all love drinking iced tea so much that we've bombed June 10 as National Iced Tea Day. Want to incorporate iced tea into your new healthy lifestyle? Then make it yourself. It's completely up to you how much sugar or honey you add.

Making your own iced tea

Making your own iced tea is a piece of cake. First brew tea from loose black, green or white tea leaves. Note: black tea is made with water that is 100 degrees, for green and white tea, first let the tea water cool down to 80 degrees. Allow the tea leaves to steep for about 3 minutes and in the meantime spoon or pour in a small amount of sugar or honey as desired. Remove the tea leaves and add a flavor. Popular iced tea flavors are lemon and peach, but you can also flavor your own iced tea with mango, mint or even strawberry. After this, let the iced tea cool in a cool place. Then this delicious spring drink is ready to serve. Tip: With some lime ice cubes in each glass, the drink stays just as cold even in full sunlight. Find the tea a little too strong? Then dilute the iced tea immediately with some cold water. Also handy if you are very thirsty, because this way your iced tea will have reached the desired temperature sooner.

Fresh water drinks with fruit and herbs

What can be done with hot water can, of course, be done with cold water. Water-with-a-flavor is a welcome thirst quencher at a lunch or dinner in the sun and a pleasant alternative to plain water. Here are five examples of drinks with water and fruit or with herbs:

1. Lemon water: squeeze half a lemon into a glass of water and add some honey or mint leaves for extra flavor, if desired. Garnish the carafe with a slice of lemon.
2. Cucumber-mint water: for this slightly spicy drink, simply add some slices of cucumber and a few mint leaves to a pitcher of water.
3. Strawberry-basil water: for this uncommon combination, fill the water pitcher with halved strawberries and basil leaves. After this, leave it in the refrigerator for a few hours first so that the flavors soak well into the water.
4. Pineapple-coconut water: for this tropical combination, we smuggle a little and use ready-made coconut water. Add pieces of pineapple to the coconut water and you have not only a fine thirst quencher, but also a perfect drink for a tropical party. In that case, don't forget to add an umbrella to each glass.

Freshly squeezed juice: this is the best way to store it

If you still have a few apples, pears or oranges in the fruit bowl, you are only a few actions away from a tasty thirst quencher. Fresh fruit juices are tastiest and most nutritious when freshly squeezed. But if you have some left over, it would be nice if they still taste just as good the next day. To maintain the freshness and quality of your fruit juice, here are some important storage tips:

1. Keep cool: store the juice in a sealed container in the refrigerator to prevent bacteria from multiplying. Juice stays fresh for up to 3-4 days if stored properly.
2. Pour the juice into a glass pitcher: glass does not absorb odors or flavors. Moreover, should you use a plastic PET bottle, it can give off toxins to your juice and suddenly your drink is not so healthy. Seal the glass pitcher airtight with foil, a cork or a lid.
3. Choose a jug that fits the amount of juice you want to preserve. The less air that gets to your juice, the better the flavor is preserved.
4. Freeze the juice. Frozen juice can be stored for up to 6 months.

Let's hydrate!