Homemade Sports Drink

This week I want to share my Homemade Sports Drink recipe with you!  If you love Gatorade but its sugar content makes you nervous, whip up a batch of this healthier, all natural, Homemade Sports Drink instead!

I love having a bottle of my Homemade Sports Drink handy after a rigorous workout.  Our apartment complex has a tennis court roughly 50 feet from our front door, during the nice weather months Kieran and I hit the court at least 3 times per week.  My love for tennis started back in high school.  I was never good enough to try out for my high school’s tennis team, instead, my friends (Julie and Brandy) and I would clown around, hitting the ball back and forth on the court.  We never kept score or played games, we just volleyed for an hour, trying to hit the ball where ever it bounced.  I was never good at tennis, but I enjoyed playing nonetheless.  Kieran, however, did play on his high school’s tennis team.  Kieran’s Dad, Owen, also loves to play tennis so Kieran got a lot of practice on the court growing up.  When Kieran first saw the tennis court near our apartment he was stoked to resume playing, especially when I expressed interest in wanting to play tennis with him!

Playing tennis with Kieran is tremendously fun and beneficial for my gameplay.  Kieran’s taught me a plethora of knowledge on the court and I’ve improved my game because of it.  He’s given pointers on how to improve my technique along with teaching me how to keep score.  Kieran is worlds better than me at tennis, but with the pointers, he’s taught me, I’m happy to report I beat him on occasion!  Playing actual matches is WAY more fun than volleying the entire time.  The most valuable lesson Kieran taught me was how to control my temper on the court.  I used to get PISSED at myself and Kieran if I messed up or couldn’t return a good hit from him.  I had a full-blown case of Tennis Temper, I was like John McEnroe on the court but with boobs!!  I used to curse and carry on like a jackass.  Interestingly enough, the angrier I got on the court, the worse I performed.  Tennis is a mental sport and Kieran told me a LOT of people who get angry while playing, it’s a tennis thing.  Kieran told me the sooner I let the anger go, the sooner my tennis skills would improve.  Holy shit he was right!!!  I can’t explain how I let the anger go, I just did.  Instead of getting pissed at myself for missing the ball or botching a hit, I laugh at myself.  Now when Kieran sneaks in an amazing shot I can’t return, I compliment him on a great play rather than calling him an asshole.  The more I relax and enjoy playing the game, the better at tennis I become!  I’m still an amateur tennis player and Kieran continues to beat me 90% of the time, but now I look forward to playing tennis as much as we can!

How does this have anything to do with my Homemade Sports Drink recipe?  I’ll be right with you on that…

While on vacation in Florida a couple weeks ago, Kieran and I had the opportunity to play tennis with Kieran’s Dad, Owen.  Owen plays tennis once a week, if not more when he’s able.  Tennis and computer programming are two areas which Kieran and Owen bond over.  Owen is remarkable at tennis but Kieran still has the ability to beat him.  It’s fun to watch them compete against each other because they’re both so talented at the sport.  Since 3 of us were playing, we took turns playing doubles on one side of the net and singles on the other.  I’m used to playing singles and struggled at first adjusting to the doubles tennis rules.  The first game we played was Owen and me playing doubles against Kieran.  Owen served first but instead of serving the ball over the net to Kieran, he served the ball to left side of the court, directly into my back.  Owen apologized profusely and once the pain subsided a minute later, we all had a good laugh about it.  A few games later, Owen and I were on the same team again, he played the net while I covered the back of the court.  Kieran launched a ball out of Owen’s reach which meant I had to sprint from the opposite side of the court to reach the ball in time.  I whacked the ball with my racket and watched it sail directly into Owen’s back.  Karma at it’s finest folks, HA!!

After our game, we each drank some Gatorade to rehydrate.  I love the taste of Gatorade but gasped when I noticed the sugar content on the nutrition label.  I’ve always been aware Gatorade is basically sugar water with some extra nutrients thrown in but didn’t fully understand exactly HOW much sugar was in each bottle.  Gatorade has different types of sports drinks ranging from normal Gatorade to their G- Series and the sugar content is different in each.  I read the label of a normal 8oz bottle which said the drink had 14 grams of sugar per serving, but the serving size PER bottle was 2.5, which meant if you gulp down the entire battle, you’re gulping down 35 grams of sugar in one 8oz drink.  That equates to roughly 3 tablespoons of sugar dissolved into an 8oz beverage!!  And most of their bottles come in 20oz or more so you could EASILY be consuming over 70 grams of added, unnatural sugar in one sitting.

Now, I’m not coming at you all high and mighty like I’m some master on avoiding added sugar,  I eat and drink things with sugar on a regular basis, but I DO try to avoid certain types of sugars the best I can.  If the food I’m eating has natural sugar, I don’t fret about it.  Natural sugar occurring in foods is fine, it’s the unnatural man-made sugar that freaks me out.  For example, Gatorade Thirst Quencher’s sugar content is mostly from sucrose syrup and glucose-­‐fructose syrup, neither of those are natural ingredients. Another huge problem with Gatorade is a number of food additives and colorings added to their drinks. For example, one additive is monopotassium phosphate, which can be used as a food additive, a fertilizer, AND a fungicide.  BLEH!!!

I did some research and found a much healthier alternative to Gatorade that you can make at home.  Get ready to swallow down a Homemade Sports Drink with all natural ingredients!!!

I love this Homemade Sports Drink recipe.  It’s refreshing, healthier, and easy to make.

Yes, there is still added sugar in this drink but less than half the amount of sugar found in Gatorade.  Plus, the sweeteners in this beverage are natural.  I started by using 4 tablespoons of honey.  After all the ingredients came together, I decided I wanted the drink sweeter.  I ran out of honey so I used another 1/4 cup of sugar (4 tablespoons), totaling 8 tablespoons of added sweetener altogether.

After tasting and adjusting for sweetness, I ended up with approx 93 fluid ounces once the recipe was complete.  Check this out, it takes roughly 11, 8oz bottles, to hold 93 oz of liquid (the number was like 11.65 bottles but we’ll round down to keep the math simpler).  If you have 8 tablespoons of sugar divided by 11 8oz bottles, that breaks down to .72 tablespoons per 8 oz bottle.  Now compare .72 tablespoons per bottle of the homemade sports drink to 3 tablespoons of sugar found in a bottle of Gatorade.  You get the idea, making a Homemade Sports Drink cuts down drastically on your added sugar intake which is more beneficial to your health.

Now sugar sticklers will notice, I added 1 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice to the recipe, which is not accounted for in my sugar calculations.  I’m worried about ADDED sugar in a recipe than natural sugar in my fruit.  I’ve read articles that state orange juice is worse than soda as far as sugar content goes, but I disagree because orange juice is natural whereas soda is all chemicals.  But, if you’re thinking, screw you, Christina, sugar is sugar and adding OJ is just as bad as adding a sweetener!, then I have a simple solution, omit the orange juice from the recipe!

Same with the coconut water I added.  Yes, it’s adding sugar to the total amount of sugar per serving, but the sugar is naturally occurring, not some smorgasbord of nasty sweeteners made from chemicals. Plus coconut water is packed with electrolytes and minerals to replenish dehydration which is perfect for you to consume after playing sports.

If you want to be a stickler about the sugar content you can omit the orange juice and/or coconut water from the recipe or add the orange juice and coconut water and cut down on the tablespoons of honey.  Either way, even though the drink’s color looks artificial (being bright orange) everything you’re adding to this recipe is natural, and you should feel good about that!

One ingredient you shouldn’t omit in the Homemade Sports Drink is the pink Himalayan sea salt.  I love cooking and adding this salt to recipes!!  Studies have shown Himalayan sea salt has been beneficial in the following ways…

“Detoxifies the body by balancing systemic pH, improves hydration by providing 84 trace minerals and elements that are found in the human body, reduces muscle cramps by improving minerals and hydration, helps balance blood sugar, supports hormone balance, helps balance blood pressure because it provides unrefined, mineral-rich salt in an ionic solution, improves sleep by supporting blood sugar and hormone balance, acts as a powerful antihistamine, supports weight loss by balancing hormones and improving energy, and supports thyroid and adrenal function.”

Another beneficial ingredient added to the Homemade Sports Drink is magnesium powder!  According to the National Institutes of Health:

“Magnesium helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis.”

So, not only does this recipe taste good, nothing about it is artificial, and it’s loaded with elements and minerals that benefit your body, especially after a workout!

The next time you’re at the store, reaching for Gatorade, run over to the produce section instead, and try making a natural, Homemade Sports Drink yourself!

I hope you enjoy it, thanks for stopping by,

Christina

10 cups filtered water – 0
4 tablespoons of honey – 256
2 packets of magnesium powder – 0
1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan sea salt – 0
Juice from 3 limes – 30
Juice from 3 lemons – 36

Total calories- 316
Separated into 4 bottles – 79
Separated into 5 bottles – 63.20
Separated into 6 bottles – 52

Additional Sweeteners (optional)
1 cup orange juice.. 112
1/2 cup natural 100% coconut water… 28
1/4 cup white sugar…. 195

Total with extra sweeteners 651
Separated into 4 bottles – 162.75
Separated into 5 bottles – 130.20
Separated into 6 bottles – 108.50

*Note, I am not a nutritionist, nor am I pretending to be. I found the calorie counts by reading the nutrition labels on the food I purchased, searching Google, and using my Lose It! app on my phone.using my Lose It! app on my phone.