Banana Lemonade - tried and tested

(serves 1)
1 medium ripe banana, peeled and quartered
¼ cup (2 oz.) fresh lemon juice
⅓ cup (scant 3 oz.) chilled water
3 to 4 Tbsp. superfine sugar
3 ice cubes, coarsely crushed
lemon slice for garnish

Combine all ingredients except garnish in a blender.
Cover and process at high speed until smooth.
Pour into a tall glass; add ice cubes.
Garnish with lemon slice.

Variation:
Substitute fresh lime juice for the lemon juice; garnish with lime slice.

extracted from The Ultimate Liquor-Free Drink Guide.

My say: Looking at the recipe, you should know that the amount of sugar is tad too much. So reduce where necessary. Refreshing.

Banavalanche - tried and tested

(serves 1)
1 medium ripe banana, peeled and quartered
¾ to 1 cup (6 to 8 oz.) banana or vanilla yogurt
⅓ cup (scant 3 oz.) fresh orange juice
pinch of ground allspice

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Cover and process at medium speed until smooth. Pour into a tall glass.

extracted from The Ultimate Liquor-Free Drink Guide.

My say: I used vanilla yogurt and ground cinnamon instead of allspice. It's alright lah.. like any other banana smoothie to me.

Serious Chocolate Shake - tried and tested

¼ cup (2 oz.) milk
⅓ cup (scant 3oz.) Dark Chocolate Syrup, home made (see below for Dark Chocolate Syrup) or store-bought chocolate syrup
3 scoops vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
whipped cream for garnish (optional)
grated chocolate for garnish (optional)

Combine all ingredients except garnishes in a blender. Cover and process at medium speed until smooth. Pour into tall glass. If desired, garnish with a dollop of whipped cream sprinkled with grated chocolate. Serve with straw and iced-tea spoon.

Variations:
Double Chocolate Shake
Substitute chocolate ice cream for the vanilla ice cream.

Black Forest Shake
Add ¼ cup cherry preserves before blending.

My say: Okay I didn't bother making my own syrup so it's Hershey's from the supermarket but I didn't like how the taste overpowered the ice cream. Also I used one scoop chocolate and 2 scoops vanilla ice cream in an attempt to combine it slightly with Double Chocolate Shake. I think amount of milk should be increased slightly.

Dark Chocolate Syrup
(Makes about 1½ cups)
1¼ cups sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
⅛ tsp. salt
½ cup (4 oz.) water
½ cup (4 oz.) dark corn syrup
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

In a medium, heavy saucepan, stir together syrup, cocoa powder, and salt. Slowly add water, then corn syrup, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened.
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to boil. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature, stirring three of four times during that time. Stir in vanilla; cover and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Mango Swizzle - tried and tested

(serves 6)
2 medium mangoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
2 cups (16oz.) fresh orange juice
1/4 cup (2 oz.) fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup superfine sugar
about 2 cups (16 oz.) chilled seltzer water or club soda
6 orange slices for garnish

Combine all ingredients except seltzer and garnish, in a blender. Cover and process at high speed until smooth. Divide equally between 6 tall glasses; add 2 or 3 ice cubes to each. Top with seltzer, stirring gently; garnish with orange slices.

extracted from The Ultimate Liquor-Free Drink Guide.

My say: I like it fizzy like this because of Schweppes Club Soda again. I used Florida natural pulpless orange juice and reduced the amount of sugar. Other brand of orange juice might even turn out sweeter.

Kiss O' Citrus Soda - tried and tested

(serves 1)
3 to 4 Tbsp. (1.5 to 2oz.) citrus-flavored syrup
about 1 cup (8oz.) chilled sparkling water
2 scoops vanilla ice cream or fruit-flavored sherbet, slightly softened
mint sprig

In a tall glass, stir together the syrup and 1/3 cup of the sparkling water.
Add ice cream; top with remaining sparkling water.
Stir gently; garnish with mint sprig.
Serve with straw and iced-tea spoon.

extracted from the same book as the previous recipe.

My say: Love! cos I have a penchant for anything citrus. I used Sunquick's Lemon Squash Concentrate for the syrup and Schweppes Club Soda for sparkling water. Author's advice was to use the same flavor sparkling water as the syrup. Will try orange sparkling water with orange concentrate next time.

Funky Monkey - tried and tested

(serves 2)
1/2 cup (4 oz) milk
2 small ripe bananas, peeled and quatered
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 scoops vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

Combine all ingredients except ice-cream in a blender.
Cover and process at high speed until smooth.
Add ice cream; blend at medium speed until smooth.
Pour into tall glasses; seerve with straws and iced-tea spoons.

extracted from The Ultimate Liquor-Free Drink Guide.

My say: A bit too sweet, thick and sticky. I recommend increasing the amount of milk.