Alternatives to Plain-Water Ice Cubes

You've thrown a backyard barbecue for family and friends only to find out you've run out of ice. Or perhaps you're tired of plain-water ice cubes and want to try something different. Here are alternatives for you to try rather than using the same plain-water ice cubes.

Ice Cube Alternative: Frozen Strawberries

Frozen strawberries are delicious when used in smoothies. They also make a great alternative to plain water ice cubes in fruity drinks. Strawberries can be added whole, halved, or crushed to cool summer drinks such as lemonade or a tropical mixed drink.

Ice Cube Alternative: Plastic Cubes

Plastic ice cubes are great because they won't water down your drink. They are also inexpensive and easy to find. You can usually find them on the shelves at your local dollar or drug store. These plastic ice cubes are also often found in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes which can help customize your drinks for your party. You can also use these in place of plain water ice cubes in order to help conserve water.

Ice Cube Alternative: Frozen Tea Cubes

Want to enjoy a delicious iced tea that hasn't been watered down by plain water ice cubes? You can freeze some tea in ice cube trays to serve along with your iced tea to keep it from losing flavor. You can also add these frozen tea cubes to a glass of lemonade for an interesting flavored lemonade drink. These frozen tea ice cubes could be used to cool down hot tea drinks as well.

Ice Cube Alternative: Crushed Popsicles

To help keep your glass of Kool-Aid or punch cold you can use crushed up pieces of Popsicle. These crushed pieces of Popsicle will keep your drink cold while adding flavor rather than watering your drink down. Kids will love having pieces of Popsicle floating in their drink.

Ice Cube Alternative: Ice Cream

Root Beer isn't the only soda which could benefit from an added scoop of ice cream. You can serve soda to guests at a party along with a small scoop of ice cream to help cool the drink down and add some flavor as well. Root Beer, Cherry Cola, and Dr. Pepper would make great choices for these types of ice cream drinks. Scoops of ice cream can help liven up a glass of punch as well. You don't only have to stick with ice cream, you could also use sherbet or frozen yogurt in your drinks as well.

Ice Cube Alternative: Watermelon Cubes

Frozen cubes of watermelon make a great addition to a fruit smoothie. Frozen watermelon cubes also make a great alternative to traditional plain water ice cubes. Frozen watermelon cubes could be used to cool down lemonade or pineapple juice. They can also be used in glasses of kool-aid or fruit punch. For an interesting twist to ordinary frozen watermelon cubes you can follow the recipe (found here) for Watermelon Mint Ice Cubes.

Ice Cube Alternative: Frozen Grapes

Frozen grapes are great for snacking on during the warm summer months. These grapes also make great alternatives to tradition plain water ice cubes in tropical summer drinks. Simply place grapes on a baking sheet and freeze. Once the grapes are frozen you can store them in a freezer bag and use as needed.

Ice Cube Alternative: Frozen Lemonade Cubes

Lemonade can be used to add flavor to other drinks such as iced tea. You can use lemonade to flavor other drinks by using frozen cubes of lemonade in place of plain water ice cubes. Frozen lemonade cubes can be added to tea, lemonade, kool-aid, summer cocktails, and tropical drinks.