Spend elegant summer evenings outdoors with Blue Diamond Almonds & Fruit, Grape Agua Fresca, a good book and fresh air.

This post was sponsored by Blue Diamond® as part of an Influencer Activation and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

I’m not big on summer, and it’s no secret. I come from a land of eternal summers, so I believe I’ve had my fill of this particular season. Fall and Spring are where my heart’s really at, but lately even I’ve found ways to enjoy the warm summer evenings. 

Studies have shown that spending time in green spaces has proven health benefits and if you’re lucky enough to live in a place where things are still green, it’s as simple as just stepping outside. We’ve built so many walls around us to keep Nature out, and it’s caused more problems than it has solved. We breathe recycled air, and cover every inch of our cities with concrete till there’s no room for grass to grow.

After the hours spent working in the garden every week: weeding, seeding, pruning, fertilizing, composting, mulching and a variety of other -ing verbs, I like to sit back late in the evenings, and feel gratitude for being surrounded by a world of green.

Some days, I settle for swaying on the hammock briefly before having to get back to inside, but some days, I treat myself to a little something extra.

Here’s how you can have yourself a perfect summer evening in your own backyard in three simple steps:

1.Get your snack on with Blue Diamond Almonds & Fruit

Click image to see what other dynamic Almonds & Fruit flavors are on offer from Blue Diamond

Putting together picnic baskets gets me internally squealing in delight. It reminds me of a simpler time, when people had time to slow down and take a breather. And every single basket of mine has almonds and fruit.

There’s nothing more simpler that adds elegance (and wellness) to a picnic like almonds and fruit do. The new Blue Diamond Almonds & Fruit line has such beautiful flavors for every palette that makes them perfect not just for little escapes, but for all manner of summer gatherings. Made with California Almonds and real fruit, they’re not just delicious, but also nutritious.

Grab a bag or two from your local Walmart (and use this Ibotta offer to save a little on the way) and toss them into your basket. As a spice kinda gal, I like the Fiery Ghost Pepper & Tart Cherry variety while my fruit-loving husband prefers the Sea Salt Almonds & Whole Blueberries kind.

‘Coz lounging in your own backyard (in style) shouldn’t be a lot of work!

2.Grab a drink and a book

I bought a batch of green grapes that were just too sour to enjoy as a fruit (don’t you hate it when that happens?). So I blended it with some water, sugar, lemon balm and basil and the resulting Grape Agua Fresca became rather fragrant and delicious, that now, I almost look forward to accidentally buying sour grapes. I’ll add the recipe for it at the bottom of this post, because I think you’re gonna love this one.

Here are a few other non-alcoholic drinks to cool you down for the summer:

Lavender Lemonade | Spiced Peach Iced Tea | Strawberry Hibiscus Iced Tea | Vanilla Mango Shrubs | Rose Strawberry Shrubs | Lemonade made 4 ways | Raspberry Mint Lemonade | Cucumber Lemon Mint Cooler 

You’re definitely gonna need a drink or two to stay hydrated outside. Besides, salted snacks have a knack for getting you thirsty.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to grab that book you’ve been reading. And your phone. Not for browsing, oh no, but for music instead. 

3.Take care of the pesky bugs

The second worst part about summer (after the sweltering heat) are the bugs. It’s a major deterrent for most people wanting to spend time outside. While you can douse yourself in all manner of chemical and natural repellents, I find that they leave me feeling sticky in the heat.

So, whenever I need to lounge outside, I grab this metal bowl that I picked up at a garage sale, heat up a few charcoal briquettes, and toss a few sprigs of herbs like citronella, lavender, sage, lemon balm and rosemary to smoke. I place this bowl near me to ward off those winged peskies.

Rubbing sage on your skin is also effective as a mosquito repellent (something to remember if you ever come across a field of wild sage on your trips).

       Save $1 on every bag with this Ibotta Offer

While the food nourishes your body and the book nourishes your mind, unbeknownst to you, Nature will nourish your soul. 

This is what summers are meant to be.

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Grape Agua Fresca

Yield: 4 1/4 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Transform sour Green grapes into a refreshing summer drink with Lemon balm and Basil.

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Ingredients

• 2 c sour green grapes (see notes*)
• 3 c water
• 1/4c - 1/2 c sugar, to taste
• 10 lemon balm leaves
• 4 basil leaves
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Add grapes, 1 c water, 1/4 c sugar, lemon balm, basil and salt to a large blender jar and blend until smooth.
2. Add the remaining 2 cups of water and more sugar, to taste. My grapes were very sour, so it needed 1/2 c of sugar.
3. Sieve the juice to strain out the pulp. Discard or compost the pulp.
4. Chill and enjoy the Grape Agua Fresca outside on a warm summer's day with Blue Diamond Almonds & Fruit.

Notes

1. If you want to make this juice with sweet green grapes, follow the recipe, reducing the sugar to taste.
2. To make this a fizzy drink, substitute sugar + water with lime soda instead.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 210Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 46mgCarbohydrates: 58gFiber: 7gSugar: 42gProtein: 3g

Disclaimer: This nutritional data is calculated using third party tools and is only intended as a reference.