Refreshing Strawberry Lemondade Ice Cubes for Upcoming BBQ's

*This post was created in partnership with Nothing But the Fruit. All opinions are mine and I super appreciate you supporting businesses that help keep Prim and Propah moving.

I had seen Nothing but the Fruit at Starbucks but had never grabbed them for me and the kiddo to snack on but now that we've been formally introduced, I don't think that we can ever go back! The gals from their team had sent us some samples earlier this Summer and to say that we became instant fans would not be an exagerration. I thought I would take some of our favorite fruit snacks and put a little bit of a late Summer twist on something for this coming Labor Day weekend! 

I did a little tinkering until I found the best combination of ingredients to create tasty ice cubes to toss into water, lemonade or even a ice cold glass of vodka... it gives new meaning to "on the rocks". With just a couple simple ingredients, a cute ice cube tray and a freezer, this is a great addition to any tasty Summer drinks that may be whipping up to celebrate the last days of Summer.

What you'll need:

• One package of Nothing But the Fruit Strawberry Bites
• 3-4 Fresh Strawberries, extra for garnish if desired
• 1 tablespoon of simple syrup
• 1/2 cup of water
• Juice of one lemon

It's so simple, really. Dice up your strawberries and put them into your ice cube tray. They will sit and wait for the liquid component. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring your simple syrup, water, lemon juice and fruit bites to a simmer, constantly stirring so that your mixture doesn't burn. You should start to see your fruit bites dissolving as you stir. There's really no way to screw this up so feel free to take a taste here or there (after cooling a bit) and feel free to add a little more simple syrup or lemon juice depending on which direction you want to go, sweet or tart. Your mixture can be completely dissolved (much like the consistency of a thick syrup) or you can leave bits and pieces of the fruit bites. At the end of the day, you cannot escape the deliciousness that awaits you. 

Once you've reached the perfect ratio, very gently pour your mixture over the strawberries in your ice cube tray making sure not to overflow. I used a silicon version which worked great for this special project. Pop in the freezer and give it a couple of hours to firm up. I added our ice cubes to a pitcher of lemonaide that I whipped up but we also saved a couple (from my second batch) for some mixed drinks we planned to make after the kids went to bed. If you give them a couple minutes to start melting into the drink... well, that's when the flavors start spreading- Mmmmm, mmmmmm! I've quickly realized that these little 100% fruit snacks, made with all natural ingredients, are more versatile that I initially gave them credit for. I used the strawberry bites this time but I'm thinking that I may need to figure out an inventive way to use the Concord Grape flavor next. Have you used something out of the ordinary to create a new treat? I'd love to hear in the comments!

If you want to know more about Nothing But the Fruit, be sure to check them out online, Facebook, and Instagram!