It may be chilly out there but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying cold desserts, especially if you have a fire to curl up in front of. When it comes to something icy, it's hard to beat a bowl of fresh sorbet. Not to be confused with ice cream, sorbets are made without using any dairy, making it a low-fat dessert alternative. Plus, skipping the dairy and whipping process that ice cream needs helps make sorbet super dense and flavorful.

These two sorbet recipes come to us from British Chef Robert Irvine and were created on behalf of Transitions Lenses for South Beach Wine and Food Festival. He will be on hand during the event (which runs February 21 - 24) and can be found at the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village, where samples of his sorbet will be passed out. Irvine has appeared on a number of Food Network shows, including Worst Cooks in America, Restaurant: Impossible, and Dinner: Impossible, and also competed in the fourth season of The Next Iron Chef.

Transitions Lenses Carrot Lemon Thyme Sorbet

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Lemon Zest
• 1 cup Carrot Juice
• 1 cup Water
• 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Thyme, minced
• 1 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
• 3/4 cup Sparkling Water

Directions:

Over medium high heat, bring water, juice lemon zest, mint and sugar to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and simmer for additional 10 minutes, then remove from heat and pour through chamois, then cool. Next, in a bowl add prepared syrup and sparkling water, and then finish in ice cream machine.
Transitions Lenses Spiced Green Apple Granita/Sorbet

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Water
• 2 cups Granulated Sugar
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha
• 7 whole Medium Granny Smith Apples
• 1 cup Applesauce
• 1 tablespoon Salt

Directions:

Start blending water and sugar (simple syrup) in saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then chill syrup in cooler until cooled. Next, peel, core and rough-cut apples, then puree apple in food processor. Then add Sriracha and salt and blend, then remove from processor and hold.

Finally blend in simple syrup and applesauce to pureed apple mixture. Pour into shallow pan, not allowing liquid to exceed 1.5 inches in depth. Place shallow pan in freezer, level, stirring (folding) mixture throughout freezing process (4 hours) or finish in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.