Who Said Ice Trays Are Just for Ice?

I’ve been a wee bit tired of water or seltzer, my two go-to’s, when I’m in need of some hydration. Why not make my drinks interesting? My apartment has three ice cube trays, and we don’t need three at all — one is always left abandoned.  I usually make my iced coffee “iced” by just throwing in some ice cubes, but as my friend, Laura, aptly pointed out, “What do you do when your coffee’s watered down?” Well, I suppose I just drink my now-watery coffee and suffer in silence. As it’s all over Pinterest, why not freeze my coffee ahead of time? Why not “dress-up” my plain water with some lemon and mint ice cubes? Both of these options are extremely simple, but require some planning (i.e. allowing time to freeze). So don’t leave your unused ice cube trays abandoned in the freezer. Put them to some good use and jazz them up!

Ingredients (for iced coffee):

• 16 oz of your desired coffee, brewed (I used Starbucks’ Vanilla K-Cups to complement the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.)
• One ice cube tray
• Unsweetened Silk Vanilla Almond Milk (or milk of your choosing)
• 1 t of agave nectar (sweetener optional)

Directions (for iced coffee):

1. Pour 10 oz of desired coffee into ice cube tray. (I have a Keurig, and the “biggest” cup option is 10 oz.) Freeze coffee.
2. Brew 6 oz of desired coffee in large mug, preferably size of 12 oz. (Again, for the Keurig, this is the “smallest” cup option at 6 oz. If using a Keurig, you can even use the same K-Cup from before.)
3. Add sweetener (optional). Stir.
4. Add 4-5 coffee ice cubes. The remaining ice cubes can be used for another round of iced coffee.
5. Add desired amount of milk to get your correct creaminess. Stir.
6. Sip and enjoy!

Adapted from Greatist’s Vanilla Iced Latte.

Ingredients (for lemon-mint water):

• One bunch of fresh mint, washed
• One ice cube tray
• Lemon slice
• Water

Directions (for lemon-mint water):

1. Chiffonade the mint leaves (see picture below).
2. Distribute the mint leaves evenly in ice cube tray. Fill remaining space with water. Freeze.
3. Once frozen, add mint ice cubes to a glass of water, seltzer, lemonade etc. along with a slice of lemon.
4. Sip and enjoy as the mint leaves melt and their flavors merge with the lemon!

Note: the mint ice cubes don’t have to be for mint. Use any berry, herb, citrus…the list goes on. I also used 1-2 mint ice cubes for a smoothies to get it a minty kick. Either way, they’re the perfect “refresh-mint!”