Add some pink grapefruit juice to that lemonade for a healthy boost.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—With the holiday weekend approaching and the long, hot days of summer not far behind, it's time to reexamine your summer beverage options. Water is the best choice for calorie-free refreshment. But when you crave a little flavor, consider some summer drink recipes that make sweet alternatives to sugary sodas and over-sugared fruit drinks. By adding your own sweeteners to homemade thirst-quenchers like fruit juice, green tea, and even soy milk, you’ll be able to control the sugar content and bypass unnecessary additives. With these liquid concoctions from the Rodale Recipe Finder, you’ll satisfy your thirst while you fill up on disease-fighting nutrients.

#1: Strawberry Lemonade. Any collection of summer drink recipes has to start with lemoneade. Here, seasonal strawberries add vitamin C, natural sweetness, and a nice pink blush to tart lemonade. And the lemon juice in this classic warm-weather sipper is vitamin C–rich, as well. Just ½ tablespoon of lemon juice provides nearly 20 percent of your daily requirement for the vitamin, while the juice of two lemons gives you your entire daily quota. This powerful antioxidant fights heart disease, bolsters immunity, and forms the collagen needed for healthy ligaments, bones, and blood vessels. For another rose-colored lemonade option, try adding pink grapefruit juice. Compared to yellow grapefruit, the red and pink varieties contain more of the cancer-fighting antioxidant lycopene. What’s more, a recent study found that people who ate half a grapefruit or drank grapefruit juice three times a day lost more than three pounds over 12 weeks.

#2: Limeade Shiver. This frosty, pucker-inducing wonder is made with lime sherbet and fresh lime juice. That’s a good thing, because eating a daily serving of citrus fruit, such as a lime, can reduce your risk of mouth, throat, and stomach cancer by up to one half, according to a recent Australian metastudy. Limes and other citrus contain some of the highest antioxidant levels of all fruits, and come with more than 170 phytochemicals, including 60 flavanoids that help fight tumor growth, inflammation, and blood clots.