A recipe for electrolyte-packed homemade Gatorade sports drink including variations for orange, cranberry, lemon-line and ruby red grapefruit with only 4 ingredients!
Our kids are all athletes. God bless them. And God bless Husband because they didn’t get a lick of that athleticism from me. I took the same step aerobics class for two years and still screwed up the steps and tripped over my own feet.
And they all think they’re Michael Jordan and need Gatorade at every single practice. Since at least one someone in my house is practicing every night, that much sports drink adds up. Plus it’s got all sorts of stuff in it that I can’t even pronounce. And it’s loaded with dyes, preservatives, unnecessary calories and high fructose corn syrup.
So I was just sending them to practice with water. Boom. Problem solved. Until I noticed they weren't actually drinking much of the water. Not the way they suck gown the sports drinks anyway.
When I picked AB up from a three-hour practice the other night I noticed she wasn't sweating. She was beet-red in the face but dry as a bone. I asked her how much water she’d had and she told me none. NONE. And trust me, it’s not because her coaches don’t give her ample opportunities to get water. She’s 10. She doesn't care about hydration.
Hmmmm. So I turned where every mother turns for parenting and health advice: Pinterest.
And guess what Pinterest said? She said I could make my own homemade electrolyte sports drink.
So I did.
And it is AMAZING!
The kids love it. It's crazy cheap to make. I know exactly what’s in it (and what’s not) AND a whole quart only has one tablespoon of sugar in it.
Holla!
What they’re getting is mostly water that’s flavored with a little natural fruit juice and raw sugar that’s topped off with a pinch of salt. And that breaks down to this:
Citrus Juice – provides antioxidants, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, folate and vitamin AI wouldn't even begin to claim to be an expert on any of this. If you’d like to read more, please see this site and this site. I know honey or agave nectar would be better than sugar but I'm just not that cool. Yet.
Sugar – helps the body regulate cortisol which spikes during aerobic activity
Sea Salt – provides electrolytes and minerals and is a natural antihistamine
What I do know for sure is that a huge bag of oranges costs less than half than a case of Gatorade, my kids are getting hydrated and we had fun making it! I made a gallon of this to put in the fridge and have been topping off everyone’s water bottles before each practice.
Yield: 1 Quart
Homemade Sports Drink
A recipe for electrolyte-packed homemade Gatorade sports drink including variations for orange, cranberry, lemon-line and ruby red grapefruit with only 4 ingredients!
prep time: 10 Mcook time: total time: 10 M
ingredients:
Orange Sports Drink
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse-grain sea salt
Cranberry Sports Drink
- 1 cup cranberry juice
- 3 cups water
- 1-2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse-grain sea salt
Lemon-Lime Sports Drink
- 3/4 cup fresh lemon and/or lime juice
- 3 cups water
- 1-2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse-grain sea salt
Ruby Red Sports Drink
- 1 cup fresh ruby red grapefruit juice
- 3 cups water
- 1-2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse-grain sea salt
instructions:
How to make Homemade Gatorade
- Combine all ingredients and stir well. My crew likes one tablespoon of sugar in the Orange and Cranberry and 2 tablespoons in the Lemon-Lime and Ruby Red but feel free to add more to suit your taste.
- Cover and refrigerate up to one week.
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Great, i never thought about what was in the sports drink,just thought itveas healthy! I will be trying this!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fab idea! Lots of gatorade drinking at my house. We usually buy the tub of powder mix, but this will be better for us!
ReplyDeleteFor the chicken and potatoes dish -- what type of potatoes do you recommend. I am out and need to pick up some I was thinking yellow or red.
ReplyDeleteThese are great recipes... we also make a homemade electrolyte drink, actually a couple of different kinds, depending on how creative I feel that day! We all love them and like you, I love knowing what is in them. :)
ReplyDeleteAll this recipe dose is supplement salt aka sodium (sea salt dose add a few other trace minerals), something most people in America, even some athletes, get way too much of in their normal diet. Instead, maybe use sodium-free salt such as "No Salt"(yes that is the brand name, not endorsing it, that is just the one I have in my kitchen) it is potassium chloride. Your much more likely to be low on potassium. Wouldn't take much, quart of Poweraid has about 90 mg potassium (about 2% recommended daily value) 1/4 tsp "No Salt" has 650mg (19% rdv). now if we could only figure out a way to add some Magnesium.
ReplyDeleteOh no, it does WAY more than that friend! Here, let me remind you of all the reasons I posted above: My kids love it. We had fun making it together (which is enough for me). It's cheaper than buying the bottled stuff. I know exactly what’s in it (and what’s not). A quart only has one tablespoon of sugar in it.
DeleteOh, and sorry if I gave you the wrong impression but I'm not a fitness, health food, weight loss or medicinal food blog. I'm a just a mom who loves to cook and share recipes. If you're looking for someone to split hairs with about sodium, etc. maybe try someone else.
We just like to have fun and share recipes here.
[drops the mic and walks off the stage]
DeleteThis definitely ain’t Gatorade. There’s nothing in this that’ll rot your floorboards, so-to-speak. After I discovered what’s really in Gatorade, everything but the gator himself, I decided to make my own. Now, not to ‘split hairs,’ God only knows that I don’t have that many left to split, I do add potassium to mine. I help out on my buddy’s farm next door. It's tough hot work. I found that by adding potassium to the brew, it prevents cramps and regulates the heartbeat and blood pressure: Just what an old curmudgeon like me needs. Then, after a log hot day of mowing or raking hay, or whatever, a few splashes of rum in my magic elixir… and who cares what’s in it.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
All these demands regular exercise that includes ones that promote blood flow, help build muscles and train the muscles. Let's discuss each of them.Madden 17 News
ReplyDelete