Making your own, healthy knock-off slush

Kelly Burgess

Senioritis, senior slump and spring slide are all affectionate nicknames seeking to explain the bliss, end-of-year agony, warm weather and lack of motivation that blooms this time of year.

I think describing this all-too-familiar sensation needs to involve the word “slush.” Slushy feelings about how classes will turn out, and often slushing through ankle-deep puddles and rushing rivers that form in a matter of minutes on campus. 

As the afternoon sun fades, and I sit outside trying to simultaneously enjoy the warm rays of sunshine while writing pages of endless papers, all I can really think about is another kind of slush. A slush that takes me to the dreamy days of summer when I am running errands around town and have a sudden realization: it is sometime between the hours of 2–4 p.m., happy hour, and I am conveniently passing a Sonic Drive-In.

One day, I got curious about the nutrient content of a Sonic Drive-In slush, and was taken aback by the amount of sugar they contain; most small size slushes have at least 50 grams of sugar, with large sizes containing slightly more than 100 grams of sugar! 

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests no more than 10 percent of daily calories should come from added sugars. This means that for an “average” person following a 2,000 calorie diet, 200 grams of sugar per day is the maximum amount. Having one large slush packs in more than half of the daily recommendation of added sugar.

I am always trying to think of ways to still enjoy such foods, and out of this determination came a little experiment to create a “knock-off” slush.

You can use any kind of fruit you normally would order as a slush flavor, but a couple I have tried personally are strawberry and pineapple, or a combination of both. Both strawberry and pineapple are considered “spring fruits,” and are likely to be found on sale this time of year!

For the liquids, my personal favorite is to blend Vitamin Water Zero with regular water. This offers just enough flavor with no added sugar or artificial sweeteners.

This recipe creates a refreshing drink to enjoy while packing in an extra serving of fruit instead of half a day’s worth of sugars.

Don’t get too busy with the slush of this season to forget to enjoy the best slush of them all!