90's Butter Summer · Snacks & Sips
Butter Summer Snacks & Sips
Easy summer snacks and drinks for the kids, plus a slightly more grown-up version of each for you.
By Janet
Updated July 2026 · 6 min read
A soft, slow summer day still has to be fed and watered. The kids will play in the sprinkler for hours, but they will also appear at the back door every forty five minutes convinced they are starving and dying of thirst. So this is the other half of a 90's Butter Summer: the snacks and the drinks that keep everyone going without turning into a whole cooking project.
None of this is fancy and none of it needs a recipe card taped to the fridge. These are the easy summer standards, the kind you can throw together with one hand while refilling a water table with the other. And because I am also a person who would like a nice cold drink and something better than string cheese, I am giving you the grown-up version of each one too.
How this is organized: every idea has a Kids version and a Grown-up version. Same idea, two levels. Make one, make both, or make the kid one and then quietly upgrade yours.
Hydration drinks
Spa water (fruit infused water) KidsThe easiest win of the summer. Fill a big pitcher with water and ice, drop in whatever fruit you have: sliced strawberries, cucumber, orange, a handful of berries. It looks special, it tastes like a treat, and it is just water, which is the whole trick. Kids drink way more of it than plain water.
Spa water, upgraded Grown-upSame pitcher, but add cucumber and mint, or strawberry and basil, or lemon and a few slices of ginger. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour so it actually infuses. This is your all-day sipping water that feels like you are at a hotel pool instead of your own backyard.
Agua fresca KidsBlend fruit (watermelon is the classic and the best) with water, strain if you want it smooth, add a tiny squeeze of lime. Barely any sugar needed because the fruit is doing the work. Serve it over a lot of ice.
Agua fresca, upgraded Grown-upSame watermelon agua fresca with a squeeze more lime and a pinch of salt, which makes the flavor pop and quietly rehydrates you after a hot day. Serve in a tall glass with mint. It is also, not that I would ever suggest it, an excellent base for something with a splash of tequila once the kids are down.
DIY electrolyte cooler KidsFor the really hot, really active days. Water, a splash of 100% juice, a tiny pinch of salt, and a little honey or a squeeze of orange. A homemade version of the sports drink without the neon color. Good after a long stretch in the sun.
Iced electrolyte or coffee Grown-upYour version of the hydration cooler is either a real electrolyte packet in cold water, or honestly just a big iced coffee, because it is summer and you have been up since six. An insulated tumbler keeps it cold through the whole afternoon shift.
Fruit smoothie KidsFrozen fruit, a banana, a little yogurt or milk, blend. Sneak in a handful of spinach and they will never know because the berries win. Doubles as a snack and a drink, which on a chaotic day counts as a real meal.
Smoothie bowl or protein version Grown-upSame smoothie, thicker, in a bowl with granola and a few berries on top. Or add a scoop of protein and drink it as your actual breakfast on a morning when sitting down is not going to happen.
Snacks (no cooking, mostly)
Frozen yogurt bark KidsSpread yogurt on a parchment-lined tray, scatter berries and a few chocolate chips or granola, freeze for a couple hours, then break it into pieces. Cold, a little sweet, secretly not junk. Keep a stash in the freezer and it saves the hottest part of the afternoon.
Frozen yogurt bark, upgraded Grown-upGreek yogurt, a drizzle of honey, raspberries, chopped pistachios, a little dark chocolate. Same trick, more grown-up flavors. It is genuinely a nice little dessert and nobody has to know how easy it was.
Homemade popsicles KidsPour the smoothie, the agua fresca, or just juice and fruit into popsicle molds and freeze overnight. Cheaper than the box, no weird ingredients, and making them is half the activity. This is the most 90s snack on the list and the kids love owning the whole process.
Fancy fruit pops Grown-upCoconut milk, a little honey, and mango or berries for a creamier, richer pop. Or freeze the leftover watermelon agua fresca. A cold two-minute dessert that feels like more than it is.
Ants on a log and fruit kabobs KidsCelery, peanut butter or cream cheese, raisins. Or thread fruit onto a skewer, which somehow makes kids eat fruit they would ignore on a plate. Both are more assembling than cooking, and both buy you a quiet few minutes.
Frozen grapes and fruit KidsWash grapes, freeze them, done. They turn into little sorbet marbles and they are the easiest cold snack there is. Frozen banana coins and frozen berries work the same way.
A real snack board Grown-upThe parent move. A board or a divided tray with cheese, crackers, olives, some fruit, a handful of nuts, whatever good things are in the fridge. It looks like effort, it is zero effort, and it turns standing in the kitchen at five o'clock into something that feels a little bit nice.
Snack bento boxes KidsA divided container with a little of everything: crackers, cheese, fruit, a few pretzels. Hand it over on the porch and it is lunch, or a snack, or the thing that ends the "I'm hungry" chorus for an hour. Prep a couple in the morning and the day runs itself.
How I actually keep it easy
The whole thing works because of a little prep, not because of any one recipe. In the morning, while the coffee is happening, I fill the spa water pitcher and put it in the fridge, wash and freeze a tray of grapes, and pour whatever is left of a smoothie into popsicle molds for later. That is ten minutes and it covers drinks, a cold snack, and a treat for the entire day.
Everything else is just assembly when the back door opens. Keep a few divided containers, a pitcher, popsicle molds, and a good insulated cup for yourself, and you can run a whole soft summer day on snacks and sips without ever really cooking.
Shop my Butter Summer snacks & sips list
The pitcher, the fruit infuser, popsicle molds, the yogurt bark tray, divided snack containers, a snack board, and the insulated cups I actually use, all in one Amazon list.
See my Amazon picks →
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Frequently asked questions
How do I get my kids to drink more water in the summer?
Make it spa water. Fill a pitcher with water, ice, and sliced fruit like strawberries, cucumber, or orange. It looks like a treat and tastes lightly of fruit, and kids drink far more of it than plain water. Keep it front and center in the fridge and refill it through the day.
What are easy no-cook summer snacks for kids?
Frozen yogurt bark, homemade fruit popsicles, frozen grapes, ants on a log, fruit kabobs, and divided snack boxes. All of them are more assembling than cooking, and most can be prepped in the morning and pulled out through the day.
What is a healthy homemade sports drink for kids?
Mix water with a splash of 100% juice, a tiny pinch of salt, and a little honey or a squeeze of orange. It replaces some of what they lose sweating on a hot active day, without the artificial color of a store sports drink. Plain water and fruit is enough for most days.
What can I make for myself that is not just kid food?
Upgrade the same ideas. Cucumber-mint infused water, watermelon agua fresca with lime and a pinch of salt, Greek yogurt bark with pistachios and dark chocolate, and a quick snack board with cheese, crackers and fruit. Same base ideas, slightly more grown-up flavors.
How far ahead can I prep these?
Spa water and agua fresca are best made an hour or more ahead so they infuse, and keep a day in the fridge. Yogurt bark and popsicles keep for weeks in the freezer. Frozen grapes are ready whenever. A little morning prep covers the whole day.
Heads up: some links in this post are affiliate links, including my Amazon storefront, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. I only share things I actually use.
Janet
Florida mom of two and the creator behind Planet Janet TV. I share the real finds, routines, and deals I actually use. Come say hi on Instagram.
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