By Megan O’Connell, Student at University of Wisconsin – Platteville

When we were all anticipating summer days, I don’t think any of us were anticipating temperatures lurking around 100 degrees for a week straight.

Instead of laying poolside and getting our tan on on the back porch or in the driveway, most of us locked ourselves inside and cranked the AC since temperatures outside were literally dangerous. While hanging out inside during the heat wave, I experimented with around the house items and made some delicious and COLD treats to beat the heat!

Frozen Fruit
Have you ever popped grapes in the freezer for a few hours and eaten them frozen? So yummy! Another fun thing to do is freeze chocolate covered fruit. I’ll tell you how!

Ingredients:
Fruit of your choice (I used strawberries and bananas)
2 cups of dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate bakers chocolate

Directions:
Simply melt the chocolate in the microwave. Make sure you check it every 30 seconds and stir well, as chocolate burns fast. Grab a piece of tin foil or wax paper and lay your fruit on it. I chopped my bananas and strawberries in half. Drizzle your melted chocolate on your fruit pieces and freeze for an hour. Take them out of the freezer and enjoy!

Banana Ice Cream
I have a very pregnant, very health-conscious sister-in-law who was also looking for ways to beat the heat this summer. I stole this yummy recipe from her.

Directions:
Freeze bananas until solid and then toss them in your blender. You will end up with super creamy and delicious banana ice cream. If you feel like getting creative, throw in some added goodies, like nuts, sprinkles, peanut butter or anything else that sounds good!

Popsicles
Instead of dropping extra cash on popsicles, make your own — you can freeze combinations of fruit, yogurt and fruit juice. One of my favorite combinations is frozen lemonade concentrate with fresh strawberries. If you feel like splurging on actual popsicle trays, go for it! For those of us on tight budgets, just use ice cube trays. That way you will have an excuse to eat more than one!

Have any sweet treats to help beat the heat of your own? Tweet them to us … we would love to hear from you!

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net