Summer is here, before you grab a sugary soda to quench your child’s thirst, here are some quick and easy fresh fruit coolers that will satisfy and be a healthy alternative. Stop by one of our many local farmers markets or family farms and just follow your nose… you will find the scent of sweet summer peaches, sunshine kissed strawberries and watermelons just waiting to be cracked open! Look for these local farmers for a great selection of seasonal fruits — Dry Creek Peach, drycreekpeach.com and Sebastopol Berry Farm, sebastopolberryfarm.blogspot.com.

What I love most about fresh summer “fruities,” as I call them, is they will give you the energy you need to enjoy your day! With all of the fresh fruit available here in Sonoma County you can dream up your own ‘fruitie’ concoction to keep your kids coming back for more.

TIP: Wash, cube and freeze extra fruit in a single layer on a baking sheet; when frozen store in a zip lock freezer bag.  You can make your coolers with the frozen fruit by adding the water to the blender along with the fruit; making an icy slushy for those hot summer days.

Peach-Raspberry Spitzer
1 fresh peach
1 handful fresh raspberries
6 oz. sparkling water
Toss fruit into the blender and puree. Pour into a tall glass, add ice and sparkling water, and stir. Garnish with mint. Makes 1 serving.

Watermelon Wake Me Up
1 cup cubed seedless watermelon
1 lime wedge
½ cup ice cubes
6 oz. sparkling water
Add watermelon to blender. Squeeze lime over watermelon. Add ice and blend until smooth. Pour into tall glass and add sparkling water. Garnish with a watermelon slice. Makes 1 serving.

Strawberry Patch Smoothie
5 large strawberries
8 oz. vanilla yogurt
½ cup ice cubes
Place all ingredients into blender and puree. Pour into a tall glass. Garnish with a strawberry.

Laurie Figone has won a number of national recipe contests and hosts a cooking show linked to her website cookingwithlauriefigone.com. She won the ‘So You Think You Can Cook With Garlic’ cook-off at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, and will judge the event this year, as well as the sandwich competition at this year’s Battle of the Brews in Santa Rosa.