Healthy Frosted Lemonade

In today’s post: This healthy frosted lemonade tastes very similar to your favorite summer treat from Chick Fil A, but it’s full of protein and low in sugar! This lightened up version is easy to make at home in under five minutes.

My daughter and I have been really enjoying frosted lemonades from Chick Fil A this summer. Like, really enjoying them. I usually reach for chocolate when I want a treat but frosted lemonade is just so delicious and refreshing, especially on a hot summer day. But even the diet version has a lot of sugar – plus each drink is kind of expensive! – so we decided to try making a healthier, cheaper version at home. After some experimenting, we’ve come up with a recipe we love, saves us money, and is high in protein and low in sugar. Does it taste exactly like a Chick Fil A frosted lemonade? Probably not. But for the difference in cost and nutrition, it’s definitely close enough.

Ingredients

Chick Fil A makes their frosted lemonades by blending lemonade and their soft serve. Our healthier frosted lemonade recipe uses these ingredients instead:

• Sugar Free Lemonade drink mix: You’ll use a single serving packet (meant to be mixed into 16 oz of water). I used Crystal Light brand drink mix, but I also like the True Lemon brand. If you don’t want to use the drink mix, you could also get the lemon flavor from fresh lemon juice, but you’d need to add a sweetener like sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
• Vanilla Protein Powder: You can use your favorite brand of protein powder. I like the Optimum Nutrition Whey protein powder from Costco (Vanilla Ice Cream flavor). Different brands of protein powder vary in taste and nutrition, so be sure to use one that you like.
• Milk: We tried this frosted lemonade out with a couple different types of milk, and I think it tastes great using either 2% milk or skim milk, depending on what you usually keep on hand and whether you are worried about the calorie difference. We also tried making this smoothie with unsweetened almond milk and it tasted good, but the texture wasn’t as smooth and creamy as the versions made with cow’s milk were. For a super creamy frozen lemonade, you could use vanilla frozen yogurt instead of milk.
• Vanilla Extract: Just a quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract really amps up the flavor and makes it taste more like the Chick Fil A version!
• Ice: I use ice cubes in a high powered blender (like a Vitamix or Ninja); if your blender doesn’t handle full cubes try using crushed ice instead. You may want to play with the amount of ice you use to make the finished drink nice and frosty.

Optional Variation:

• Make this a berry frosted lemonade by adding strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries to the mixture! Depending on how sweet the fruit is, you may want to add a tiny amount of sugar.