Ice cold beverages are a great way to escape the heat and enjoy healthy helpings of fresh fruit, creamy yogurt and ice cream and sparkling juices.

Grab your sunglasses, break out the blender and get ready to stir up a whole new kind of cool this summer. Ice cold beverages — fizzy, blended, shaken, or stirred — are a great way to escape the heat and enjoy healthy helpings of fresh fruit, creamy yogurt and ice cream and sparkling juices. Food colors and extracts, which are commonly used to brighten birthday treats and baked goods, can also add a bold splash of color and flavor to the season's fruity and frosty thirst quenchers. Just add ice and fresh fruit, and let the sipping begin.

Kids' coolers • Tie-dyes and lava lamps were the inspiration for Groovy Banana Blitz, a smoothie that is sure to become the kid-chic pool accessory this season. Kids will go bananas for this concoction, and moms will love that it's also good for them. Just blend the kid-friendly fruit with vanilla yogurt, orange extract, and ice cubes. Divide the mixture and add a different neon food color to each part, then pour, alternately, into glasses and serve.• Arctic Ade is perfect for "chillaxing" after a day at the skate park. Lemonade becomes electrified, when blended with ice cubes, club soda and a few drops of neon blue food color.• There's something for the glamour girls, too. Young ladies who love Shirley Temples will flip for the L'il Pink Lady, a frozen concoction of limeade, raspberry extract, ginger ale and a kiss of pink food color.

To whet a grown-up whiste• Put an invigorating twist on sangria with Fresh Fruit Sparkler, a non-alcoholic cooler that showcases some of the season's favorite fruits — grapes, oranges and berries, in a blend of sparkling grape and apple juices. Lemon extract adds a hint of citrus flavor.• Who says ice cream sodas are for kids? Capture all the excitement of childhood with Chocolate Almond Soda, which combines chocolate syrup, almond extract and vanilla ice cream. It's perfect for an afternoon drink or dessert.• Tap into the tastes of the islands with Mango Madness, a slushy delight that blends the flavor of fresh mangoes with raspberry and rum extracts.• Pineapple Coconut Cooler is a fun new take on the quintessential blender beverage — the piña colada. Pineapple sherbet, pineapple juice, coconut, rum, and vanilla extracts combine for this tropical refreshment.

Make a splash with extractsExtracts are a great way to accent summer fruits, like blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and melon, as well as jazz up shortcakes and cobblers.• Add a tropical touch to drinks and more with rum and coconut extracts. Use them with bananas, pineapple and mangoes to transform any backyard into an island retreat.• Lemon and orange extracts taste just like fresh lemon and orange peel, only they save hands from the grating process and leave more time for sipping! A good rule of thumb — substitute one teaspoon lemon or orange extract for one teaspoon fresh grated peel.

2 cups pineapple juice, chilled2 cups ice cubes2½ teaspoons imitation coconut extract1 teaspoon imitation rum extract½ teaspoon vanilla extract4 drops yellow food coloring2 cups pineapple sherbetPlace all ingredients, except sherbet, in blender; cover. Blend on high speed until ice is crushed.Add sherbet; cover and blend until smooth. Garnish with pineapple slices and cherries, if desired.Makes 5 servings.Nutritional Information Per Serving: About 137 Calories, Fat 1g, Protein 1g, Carbohydrates 31g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 31mg, Fiber 2g.

1 can (12 ounces) lemonade concentrate2 cups ice cubes1 cup water¼ cup sugar4 drops neon blue food coloring2 cups club soda or seltzer, chilledPlace all ingredients, except club soda, in blender; cover, and blend on high speed until smooth.Pour into large pitcher. Slowly stir in club soda.Makes 5 servings.Nutritional Information Per Serving: About 204 Calories, Fat 0g, Protein 0g, Carbohydrates 51g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 23mg, Fiber 0g.

1 bottle (25.4 ounces) white sparkling grape juice, chilled½ cup thawed frozen apple juice concentrate1 teaspoon lemon extract1 can (12 ounces) club soda or seltzer chilled2 cups cut-up fresh fruit such as berries, grapes and orangesMix juice, concentrate and extract in large pitcher.Slowly stir in club soda and fruit. Serve immediately in tall ice-filled glasses.Makes 6 servings.Nutritional Information Per Serving: About 104 Calories, Fat 0g, Protein 0g, Carbohydrates 26g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 30mg, Fiber 1g.

2 ripe bananas2 cups ice cubes1 container (6 ounces) vanilla yogurt1 tablespoon sugar¼ teaspoon orange extractAssorted neon food colorsMix all ingredients, except food colors, in blender; cover and blend on high speed until smooth.Divide mixture evenly into 4 portions. Stir 6 drops of a different food color into each portion. Pour the different colors alternately into each of 3 tall glasses to serve.Makes 3 servings.Nutritional Information Per Serving: About 145 Calories, Fat 1g, Protein 4g, Carbohydrates 30g, Cholesterol 30mg, Sodium 40mg, Fiber 2g

½ cup chocolate syrup1 teaspoon imitation almond extract3 cups vanilla ice cream1 bottle (1 liter) club soda or seltzer, chilledMix chocolate syrup and extract. Place 2 large scoops of ice cream in each of 4 tall glasses. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the syrup mixture into each glass.Slowly pour 1 cup of the club soda into each glass. Serve immediately with straws and long spoons.Makes 4 servings.Nutritional Information Per Serving: About 320 Calories, Fat 12g, Protein 4g, Carbohydrates 49g, Cholesterol 45mg, Sodium 125mg, Fiber 0g.

1 can (6 ounces) frozen limeade concentrate, plus one can water2 cups ice cubes¼ cup sugar2 teaspoons raspberry extract6 drops neon pink food coloring1 can (12 ounces) ginger ale, chilledPlace all ingredients, except ginger ale, in blender; cover, and blend on high speed until smooth.Pour into large pitcher. Slowly stir in ginger ale.Makes 5 servings.Nutritional Information Per Serving: About 152 Calories, Fat 0g, Protein 0g, Carbohydrates 38g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 13mg, Fiber 0g.

2 large mangos, peeled and cubed (3 cups)2 cups ice cubes½ cup orange juice1½ teaspoons raspberry extract1 teaspoon imitation rum extractPlace all ingredients in blender; cover. Blend on high speed until smooth and serve.Makes 3 servings.Nutritional Information Per Serving: About 140 Calories, Fat 0g, Protein 1g, Carbohydrates 34g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 7mg, Fiber 3g.