Mojitos are a GREAT summer drink. They are basically a lime and mint flavored drink – most often served with rum. But kids love the flavor, so make a batch of virgin mojitos without the rum – not only will the kids love them, but without the rum, the calorie count is seriously low. So get lotsa limes, lotsa mint and get ready to smile.

Virgin Mojitos

1 serving (12 oz.)
20 calories per serving

6 mint leaves
1 T Splenda or Equal
Juice of one lime
12 oz. can diet lemon lime side
Garnish with fresh mint and lime slices

Mull mint leaves and Splenda at the bottom of the glass with the handle of a wooden spoon. Add lime juice and stir. Pour in soda and stir well. Garnish with lime slices and extra mint.

The melon salsa is sweet but has a bite (onions + jalapenos) and is a perfect accompaniment to a simply broiled tilapia fillet.

Tilapia with Melon Salsa

4 servings
268 calories per serving

2/3 c honeydew melon, in very small cubes
2/3 c cantaloupe, in very small cubes
1/3 c English cucumber, peeled and diced small
1/3 c red onion, diced small
3 T chopped mint
1 t grated lemon zest
2 T lime juice
4 t oil
1 ½ t minced jalapeno peppers
¾ t agave nectar (or honey)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 6 oz. tilapia fillets
Pam

Tilapia with Melon Salsa

Preheat broiler. Mix first 10 ingredients and set aside. Spray baking sheet with Pam and sprinkle tilapia with salt and pepper and broil 3 minutes per side or until done. Serve with melon salsa.

What a burst of flavor you get from the fresh herbs in this soup ! Totally refreshing and so summery. Serve next to your lunch sandwich or as a quick palate cleanser in between courses of your favorite summer grill fare. At only 61 calories per serving, don’t think twice about adding this into a meal for a nice taste of summer.

Chilled Cucumber Soup

4 servings
61 calories per serving

1 c fat free sour cream
1/2 c fresh basil
1/2 c fresh mint
1/4 c sliced scallion
1 c water
½ of a large English cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into a few pieces
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t Tabasco sauce
Salt to taste

In a food processor mix sour cream, basil, mint, water and scallions very well. Then add cucumber, lemon juice and salt and just pulse a few times making sure you leave cucumber chunks. Chill up to 6 hours.

Tabbouleh is a Lebonese salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, mint and bulgur wheat. It is so healthy, so delicious and so very pretty to look at – serve some up as an appetizer at your next get together.

Tabbouleh

8 servings
214 calories per serving

1 c bulgur wheat
2 c boiling water
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped into small bits
2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped into small bits
3 scallions, chopped
1 c chopped fresh parsley
1/3 c mint leaves chopped
2 t salt
1/2 c lemon juice
¼ c olive oil

Place wheat in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak 45 minutes to an hour and then drain it and squeeze out any extra water. Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Serve with pita bread, pita chips or as a side salad.

Quite sweet and definitely tastes of the islands ! This sweet/spicy sauce would do well on any white fish, but I love tilapia !

Spicy Jamaica Tilapia

6 servings
150 calories per serving

¼ c brown sugar
1 t ground cumin
1 t red pepper flakes
6 tilapia fillets, 4 oz. each
¼ c lite zesty Italian dressing
¼ c lime juice
½ c orange juice
¼ c chopped cilantro
2 T chopped mint leaves

Heat dressing in a skillet on medium high. Combine sugar, pepper and cumin and sprinkle 2 T over one side of the fish and put in skillet sugar side down then sprinkle with the rest of the sugar mix. Cook 5 minutes each side or until done. Remove from pan. Add juices to skillet and heat through then stir in cilantro and mint and spoon over the fish.

This marinade is reminiscent of a Mojito – it makes a great, refreshing, summery chicken recipe. Sometimes instead of boneless breasts I par boil split breasts and then slightly score the breast meat before marinating and grilling.

Mojo Chicken

6 servings
200 calories per serving

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (Perdue Perfect Portions work great here !)

Marinade:
¾ c orange juice
3 T lime juice
3 T oil
2 T parsley, minced
2 t mint, minced
2 t oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ t salt
½ t ground ginger
½ t ground allspice
Pam

Make some shallow slits in the chicken and place in a zip loc bag along with all the other ingredients. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Spray a grill with High Heat Pam and grill chicken to desired doneness.

Sangria is a great festive drink – adding the fruit to the wine makes it so much more special. You can set up pitchers well ahead of time so that the fruit really soaks up the wine. This one does away with the usual apples and oranges and adds some really flavorful tropical fruits. Don’t forget to serve some fruit in each glass !

Tropical Sangria

8 servings
172 calories per serving

6 c cubed fruit (mangoes, pineapple, apricot, cantaloupe, honeydew, apples, etc.)
¼ c thinly sliced and peeled ginger
1 c fresh mint or basil leaves
½ c orange liquer or orange juice
1 bottle Pinot Grigio for white or 1 bottle Beaujolais for red
2 T lemon juice

Bruise basil or mint leaves and combine all in a pitcher and refrigerate at least one hour.

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The combination of herbs along with the balsamic glaze was just fantastic. Scallops are such a sweet shellfish and this is a great recipe to showcase their great flavor.

Grilled Scallops with Balsamic

4 servings
244 calories per serving

1 lb. sea scallops
¼ c oil
2 T fresh mint
2 T flat leaf parsley
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T parmesan cheese
1 t shredded lemon zest
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 c baby arugula
Pam

Rinse scallops and pat dry. Mix oil, mint, parsley, 2 T vinegar, cheese, lemon peel and garlic. Place scallops in a Ziploc bag and pour in the oil mix and marinate the scallops 2-4 hours in the refrigerator. Preheat broiler. Drain scallops. Spray a baking sheet with Pam and broil scallops 4 minutes each side or until done. In a saucepan bring 2 T vinegar to a boil and simmer 4-5 minutes. Serve scallops over arugula and drizzled with the reduced vinegar.

Alternately grill the scallops in a grill basket until done.

What a great ice pop ! Sweet and flavorful and so refreshing. Pops make a great snack or dessert.

Sun Tea Pops

6 servings (8 oz. pops)
44 calories per serving

1 c Splenda
2 peaches cut into wedges (skins still on)
1 lime, peeled and sliced
1 lemon, peeled, seeded and sliced
6 mint leaves
8 tea bags – orange pekoe black tea (this is just your standard Lipton, etc. tea bag)
2 c water
2 c cold water

Bring water to simmer in a sauce pan and dissolve Splenda – when all dissolved remove from heat and stir in 2 c cold water and then let sit 10 minutes. Pour sugar water into a glass bowl and add peaches, lemons, limes and mint then add the tea bags, cover and place out in the sun for 3-5 hours to get a nice sun brewed tea. Remove tea bags and divide mint and peaches into molds then pour in the tea (discard the lemon and lime), insert sticks and freeze 6 hours.

Always a hit – Always enjoyed – and so very simple to make ! After I cut them up, I wrap them individually in plastic wrap and freeze in single portions.

Frozen Grasshoppers

16 servings
260 calories per serving

28 Oreo cookies
1 ½ qt. mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened
8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed
1 square grated semi sweet chocolate

Line a 13×9 pan with foil extending the foul over the sides of the pan. Crush 20 cookies (I put them in a zip loc bag and pound with the bottom of a mug – but using a food processor or blender works well too) and sprinkle crumbs into the pan. Spread ice cream over crumbs and then top with cool whip and chocolate then freeze 3 hours. Before serving, let sit out 15 minutes to soften a bit. Serve each piece with ½ a cookie on top.