Looking for something sweet, cool, and virtually non-caloric?

You can buy sugar-free or no sugar added ice pops from Edy’s or Popsicle. Or, you can make your own from your favorite diet soft drink.

It couldn’t be easier. Prep time is five minutes plus freezing time.

RECIPE: DIET ICE POPS

Ingredients

 
Preparation For 6 Ice Pops

1. POUR 20 ounces of beverage into a large pitcher.

2. POUR the mixture into the pop molds; freeze for 3 hours or until completely frozen.

 
On a related note, you can also make flavored ice cubes by freezing your favorite diet beverage in an ice cube tray. Toss them into your drink instead of regular ice, and the melting cubes won’t dilute the flavor.

[2] Prosciutto and mozzarella are the Italian “ham and cheese” sandwich (photo © Consorzio di Prosciutto di Parma).

[3] Julienne three different colors of bell peppers (photo © Srinivas Bandari | Unsplash).

[4] Tapenade on crackers or crostini is delicious with cocktails, wine and beer (photo © Kelly Cline | iStock Photo).

[5] We like this sandwich on country bread, but you can use whatever you like—focaccia, whole wheat, even, for fun, a bagel (photo © Good Eggs).

A delicious “surf and turf” sandwich: mozzarella, prosciutto, tapenade, and more on crunchy rustic toast. Or, call it an Italian ham and cheese sandwich with some added extras. We think of it as a summer sandwich because of the bright colors; although there’s nothing particularly summery about it and the colors will brighten your plate year-round.

You can enjoy the sandwich four ways:

 
The second recipe, for Tuna Tapenade, is below.
 
 
RECIPE: PROSCIUTTO, MOZZARELLA & TAPENADE SANDWICH

Ingredients For 4 Sandwiches

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE peppers, vinaigrette, and tarragon in a small bowl; set aside.

2. PLACE 4 slices of toasted bread on a clean surface. Top each slice with 1/4 of the prosciutto (1 ounce). Spread 2 tablespoons olive tapenade on top of the prosciutto.

3. DIVIDE mozzarella slices evenly over the tapenade. Top with the pepper mixture and cover with remaining toast slices.
 
 
WHAT IS TAPENADE

A Provençal specialty, tapenade (tah-pen-ODD) is a thick paste of olives, capers, and seasonings. You can use black or green olives, or a combination. Here’s a classic recipe.

It is typically used as an hors d’œuvre spread, on crackers or bread, or with crudités. It can be used in recipes as well; for example, to stuff fish fillets. We serve it as a condiment with grilled fish, atop or to the side.

There are many variations to the recipe. For example, you can add a can of drained tuna for tuna tapenade (the recipe is below). You can purchase ready-made tapenade in better food stores, but it’s so easy to make: Just combine the ingredients in a food processor.
 
 
RECIPE #2: TUNA TAPENADE

You can substitute green olives for the black olives (some people use a half cup of each). If you don’t like anchovies, leave them out. If you don’t like anchovies and tuna, you can substitute artichoke hearts, cooked eggplant, mushrooms, red bell peppers, or sundried tomatoes. This is an easy recipe to customize to your own preferences.

For another occasion, here’s a recipe for green olive tapenade (no fish, just olives).

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pulse until desired consistency is reached.

 
________________

*Canned olives are famously bland. If you like a stronger olive flavor, buy better-quality olives in the jar or from the olive bar at some supermarkets and specialty food stores—although you may need an olive pitter to remove the pits.

†We find that the oil in the drained tuna and anchovies is often sufficient. Process the mixture without the added olive oil; then decide if you need it. The added olive oil will give the tapenade a thinner consistency. If you’d like it thinner still, add more olive oil, bit by bit.

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[2] Use cantaloupe or one of its relatives (e.g. Persian), or substitute honeydew (photo © Good Eggs).

Grey Goose Le Melon showcases the Cavaillon melon from the South of France, a variety of cantaloupe with pale, greenish skin and distinctive green vertical markings.

Cavaillon is a commune in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. For centuries, the rich soil and concentrated sunshine have produced melons with high sugar content, that are celebrated for their signature flavor of wildflower honey.

The melons are picked in July and August (see more about the variety below). The flavor is concentrated and extracted through maceration of the flesh in Grey Goose vodka. Learn more at GreyGoose.com.

For the purest expression of the vodka flavor, just add ice!
 
 
RECIPE #1: MELON ON THE ROCKS

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. FILL a shaker with ice and add Le Melon. Shake well and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.

2. GARNISH with fresh melon.
 
TIP: Use this preparation for all rocks drinks. To really chill the spirit, don’t just pour it into an ice-filled glass. First shake it with ice; then strain it into a rocks glass over more ice.

Prefer something fizzy? Simply add 1/2 ounce (half a shot glass) of Le Melon to a glass and top with sparkling wine. Or, try this cocktail:
 
 
RECIPE #2: MELON ROYALE

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. FILL a rocks glass with ice. Add Le Melon

2. TOP with lemon-lime soda. Garnish and serve.
 
 
RECIPE #3: MELON MULE

This twist on the classic Moscow Mule replaces plain vodka with Le Melon.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. FILL a cocktail shaker with ice cubes and add Le Melon and the juice from three lime wedges.

2. SHAKE will and strain into a copper mug filled with crushed ice. Top with ginger beer and garnish with a lime wedge.

[4] Make it a Melon Mule with a glass of ginger beer (photo © Goslings).

The Cavaillon melon was first cultivated in France in the 14th century, from seeds brought from Cantalupo, Italy to Provence. The melon is now grown in North America and elsewhere.

Ripe Cavaillon melons have a lime green skin with pale green vertical striping, a bright orange flesh and a floral-sweet aroma. It also has a lovely fragrance, even before it is cut.

Serve it with prosciutto, or turn it into:

Another way to avoid blender dilution is to freeze the ingredients, so they also act in place of the ice. It’s easy to do this with fruit, most of which can be purchased frozen.

Here’s a recipe from The Great Pepper Cookbook from specialty produce purveyor Melissa’s, which shows readers how easy it is to use 38 different fresh and dried chile pepper varieties in everyday recipes. It’s a beautiful cookbook.

The recipe is made in a blender. Process it for a shorter time for a slushie-type drink. Process it longer, and you’ve got blender sorbet. Add milk and you’ve got a smoothie.

But wait: Chile in a slushie?

Sure, and that’s the beauty of the cookbook. You’ll discover how to use a bit of heat where you never thought to use it.

RECIPE: STRAWBERRY MANGO SLUSHER (or SORBET or SMOOTHIE)

Ingredients For 4 Servings

Preparation

1. PLACE all ingredients in a blender. Process until slushy and not quite smooth.

2. For a smoothie, add milk to desired consistency.

If you want a slushie but aren’t getting enough “slushie consistency,” next time use frozen strawberries in addition to mango.

 
ABOUT MANZANO CHILES

The manzano chile, cultivated in high altitudes in Mexico, is a member of the Capsicum pubescens species (as opposed to the more common Capsicum annuum species) from the Andes region of South America. It is most often used in its fresh form because the pod is so thick that it is difficult to dry. It is also unusual in that it has black seeds.

It turns yellow-orange when mature, and is popular for making hot salsa. The name translates to apple, and is also known as Chile Peron, Chile Caballo, and Chile Ciruelo.

The Manzano chile generally rates between 12,000 and 30,000 Scoville units on the Scoville heat index. If you need to substitute a chile, look for one in the same range of Scoville units.
  

August is National Olive Oil Month, reminding us again that it’s easy to make heart-healthy switches in everyday eating.

While the health benefits of olive oil are no secret (including no cholesterol and less saturated fat than butter), most people are unaware of how simple it is to make the swap. Here are three easy switches:

 
When you swap butter for olive oil, you use need less oil—so that’s also a savings in calories.
 
HOW TO SWAP BUTTER FOR OLIVE OIL

You can also print out Pompeian’s butter to olive oil conversion chart and hang it on the fridge.

MOVIE POPCORN OIL

What kind of oil is in and on your movie popcorn?

Most movie theaters pop the kernels in coconut oil. Coconut oil is 86% saturated fat, the kind that raises cholesterol. Lard is 38% saturated fat.

The butter-flavored oil topping at the movies is usually partially hydrogenated soybean oil that contains both saturated and trans fats. [Source]

What happened to “butter topping?” The butter made the popcorn soggier than oil. As a bonus to theater owners, oil is also far cheaper than butter.

During the month of August, Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil has arranged with some movie theater chains to offer pure olive oil as an alternative to the standard topping. If you find yourself at one of those venues, let us know how you enjoyed the swap.