DIY Sports Drink
I'm dedicating recipes this week to my sweet family. There was a second I almost named this blog "You, Me, and Little P" because I just love my little fam so dang much. But then I figured that was way too cheesy, and a more appropriate name wouldn't stop me from writing about them. In case you live under a rock, or just don't follow me on instagram, little p (pumpkin) is our dog.
My other half is pretty incredible. The other day while cooking dinner together, he brought up the fact that once upon a time I thought I wanted to marry a tall, dark, and handsome sweater-wearing artist of a man, and what I ended up with was a dorky balding engineer. But turns out that dorky engineer is the man of my dreams in so many ways (and he's really barely balding). And next month just so happens to be our second anniversary, and he just so happens to be taking me to Napa, whose food scene I just so happen to have researched for almost three hours today. To say I'm excited is a huge understatement. But more on that later.
My dorkalicious love of a man is huge into mountain biking. So huge that he leaves me in bed almost every Saturday morning to wake up at the ass crack of dawn and go for a 2-3 hour ride. Then he comes home covered in a combination of sweat and dirt, which blended together has formed mud, and spandex. Nothing sexier, people. Kidding.
With only minimal resistance he's jumped on the my bandwagon of eating a healthier, plant-based diet, cutting out pretty much all processed foods. That is, with one exception. Gatorade. Have you ever looked at the ingredients on the backside of gatorade? Well it wouldn't really matter if you had because the ingredient list is completely filled with chemicals, additives, and colorings that a normal person could never pronounce nor understand. It's gross, people. "But the electrolytes!" says every person has who ever exercised.
Enter: my DIY Sports Drink. Complete with all the electrolytes of gatorade and oh so much more! I did my research people, and both citrus and coconut water are natural sources for electrolytes. They contain vitamin C, potassium, and coconut water in particular is cooling to the body, which is perfect after a sweaty hot work-out. The fresh-squeezed citrus and coconut water are naturally sweetened with agave and topped with just a touch of salt which dissolves into the drink (I wasn't kidding about the electrolytes, people).
The result is a fresh, real, version of gatorade. Don't believe me? Try it yourself.
DIY Sports Drink
Makes 1 quart
1.5 cups freshly squeeze citrus juice (I use 2-3 oranges, 1/2 lemon, 1 lime)
2-3 tbsp agave nectar (or honey)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup coconut water
1 cup water
Place water, salt, and agave in a saucepan over low heat until salt completely dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside. Using a citrus juicer, juice oranges, lemon, and lime (or whichever citrus fruits you'd like). In a quart size mason jar, combine juice, sweetened water, and coconut water. Refrigerate until cold.