Recipes and Online Programs From Top Spas and Resorts

Courtesy Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Forget bitter tonics and mystery mush — or whatever you envision as the main fare at wellness retreats. These days, many healthful-eating spas are known for delicious dishes featuring

seasonal and readily available ingredients. Here, four tasty options — including a main dish salad and guilt-free pudding — chosen by top wellness chefs from their summer menus.

Perfect Summer Mocktail

“At Kripalu, the Ayurvedic herb garden sits just above the main building,” says Jeremy Rock Smith, the executive chef at this wellness center in Massachusetts. So a couple of summers ago,

with the basil and tarragon growing like crazy, “we infused them into various flavored syrups to make lemonade,” he says. This one is his favorite.

Ingredients

cups seltzer or water

Instructions

Combine the basil, sugar, salt and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Chill this syrup

mixture until it is cold, at least 1 hour and up to 5 days.

Remove the basil leaves and stir the lemon juice and seltzer into the syrup mixture. Serve in glasses over ice. Garnish each glass with a sprig of basil and a lemon ring on the rim.

Note: You can swap in lime for lemon for another drink treat.

Serves 4

The Ranch recently published a cookbook called Food Food Food, and its chefs have been sharing some of its recipes on the spa's website. The cookbook focuses on nutrition over dieting, just

as guests to the spa are encouraged to “enjoy the freedom of connecting with their bodies and what they need rather than counting calories,” says Meredith Haaz, chef of the spa's special

four-day retreat. Haaz chose this grilled corn recipe as a flavorful take on a summer staple. “The cashew chipotle crema offers a plant-based alternative to butter with chipotle peppers and

garlic, with lime juice adding a little extra kick."

Ingredients for corn

Instructions

1. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium heat.