A Healthy Homemade Lemonade Recipe of freshly squeezed lemons, sweetener of choice, a few mint leaves and lots of ice and you’ve got the best lemonade.
Why Make Homemade Lemonade?
Lemons are often in abundance during the summer months, so what better time to make your own fresh, healthy, cost effective lemonade!
The oil in the lemon zest alone makes for a richer lemon flavor for a fabulous lemonade, as well as when making lemon sauces.
Making lemonade at home, offers the opportunity to sweeten the lemonade with healthier choices.
Often, store bought lemonade is predominantly sugar/water.
Simmering the lemon peels, loaded with flavor and nutrients, in a little water and healthy sweetener, makes for deeper flavors.
What To Use Lemonade For?
Gosh, along with summertime sips, this recipe makes for some of the best cocktails you will make during the hot months.
Making a simple syrup from the freshly squeezed lemons, zest and sweetener of your choice, and you’ve certainly started the makings for many other recipes too!
Lemonade For Health
Keeping a stash of homemade lemonade in your freezer for the winter months is just good sense in dealing with wintertime cold and flu season.
Sip it cold to sooth the inflammation of the throat, or warm it up, and sip as a tea.
Maybe if you sip on a little each day when cold and flu season cranks up, you won’t get sick, because you will have built up your immune system with the power packed vitamins in lemons!
Lemonade Popsicles
Let’s not forget the little ones during the summer months.
Making a big batch of lemonade and turning some of it into popsicles is a health trick for the little ones.
It will assure that they are both hydrated and their body is loading up on the vitamin C this bright little citrus provides.
Toss in a little crushed strawberries, and you’ve got one of the best Strawberry Lemonade popsicles you and your family will eat all summer!
Lemonade For Cold And Flu Season
You might think, the last thing you want is Lemonade in the winter, when feeling ill from a cold, flu or Covid.
But you are not sick right now, and forget what ails you, when you are.
Sore throat, dehydration from fever, depleation of all the immune system all need these Wellness Popsicles because they are Loaded!
Loaded with lemon juice, zest, honey, ginger and chili peppers, yes chili peppers!
Lemonade And Mint
No sip is more refreshing than lemons and mint.
Muddle a few mint leaves and allow them to steep in the lemon/sugar simple syrup, remove the leaves after 15 minutes and you have the bright and refreshing mint flavor without the leaves floating around your drink.
Allowing mint leaves to steep in the lemon juice adds another dimension to this refreshing sip.
Lemonade Cocktail
Oh, do I have a fabulous summertime cocktail for you, made with Homemade Lemonade! My niece is an event and wedding planner for her family’s catering company.
She created the most amazing refreshing cocktail for the, sometimes, hot headed brides. Now, she says during wedding season, this Bridal Lemonade cocktail is her most popular sip, for both weddings and bridal showers!
Lemonade Desserts
Summertime desserts are often kept both light in texture as well as flavor.
Mix a little homemade lemonade with confectioners sugar and you’ve got a wonderful drizzle for cupcakes, Lemon Scones or cookies.
A ‘year-round’ favorite lemon dessert, is my individual size Lemon Tarts!
I actually crave these in February and March because they remind me of sunshine, in the dark of winter!
Add homemade lemonade to your dessert recipe, such as a citrus cheese cake or homemade ice cream and you will make lemonade a part of many summertime recipes. Don’t forget to add the zest because that is where a rich and flavorful oil is found in the lemon.
How To Make Homemade Lemonade
Homemade Healthy Lemonade couldn’t be easier.
All you will need, besides the ingredients, is a small saucepan, a citrus press, a knife and cutting board, and an airtight container to store the lemonade in the fridge.
Step 1 – Simply place the ingredients into a sauce pan with just a little of the water.
Step 2 – Bring to a boil.
Step 3 – Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 4 – Cool, strain and add remaining water.
Step 5 – Chill for sipping or adding to other recipes, or freeze for future use.
Ingredients Needed
- Lemons
- Sugar
- Water
- Mint
Equipment Needed
- Saucepan
- Strainer
- Citrus press – my favorite
- Closed container – all time favorite for drinks and smoothies.
- Fridge – to chill
Healthy Homemade Lemonade Recipe
Equipment
- Citrus press
- Pitcher with lid
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Fresh Lemon Juice about 3 lemons
- 1 tbsp Lemon zest
- 1/3 cup Sugar or honey or sweetener of choice
- 3 cups Water
- Mint leaves a few sprigs
Instructions
- Place the lemon juice, zest, mint leaves, sweetener and 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower to a slow bubble and allow it to simmer 5 minutes.
- Cool. Add remaining water, strain and chill.
Notes
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.