Saturday, June 23, 2012

Sweet Saturday #10: Loaded Lemonade

Forgive me for not posting yesterday, but after the week I had, I needed a break! Not only that, but my internet was acting whacky Thursday evening (when I usually draft Friday's post) due to a couple of brown outs from the intense heat we had here in NJ. Then poor Lily contracted what may be Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (although it appears to be a very mild case), so I just had to take care of her first and foremost, as all you mommies know!


Yet, I did find some time to try out this sweet and sour and refreshing drink, that combines sour lemons, refreshing cucumber, tangy ginger and cool mint. Do I have your attention yet..?


Loaded Lemonade
(makes one full pitcher)


Ingredients:


6-8 large lemons (or 1 1/2 cups lemon juice)
1 large cucumber
2 cups water
1/2 cup honey or agave syrup (to taste)
1 hunk of ginger
Fresh mint leaves 


Slice and dice cucumber, then place into blender with water and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture over a strainer into a pitcher, then return liquid to blender. (This is optional, you may like your lemonade chunky!).




Next, add the lemon juice, ginger, and honey or agave. You can use sugar instead, but it's better to use a natural sweetener, so I'd recommend raw sugar if you have it. You can also make a sugar syrup by dissolving the sugar with water over low heat in a small saucepan. 



I used a hunk of ginger this size


Blend the added ingredients with the cucumber juice mixture. Add more sweetener or ginger to taste if desired. Serve over ice with fresh mint leaves and sliced cucumber and/or lemon. Pucker up! This is a drink everyone will love, but may not be good for kids under 1. Give children under 3 a watered-down version (I give Lily half juice, half water). This is the perfect summer cooler!



For the adults: Vodka or gin go nicely with this too ;)

I was inspired to add the ginger after I read this blog post from The Tasty Alternative. They have a lot of awesome recipes and info, so check them out!


Lemons are an amazing fruit! Not only are they good for your insides- high vitamin C content, aids in digestion, lowers blood pressure, prevents diabetes -but, they are also helpful in a number of other ways. They can be used as an antiseptic, household cleaner, acne treatment, hair treatment, and so much more. Click here to learn more. Lemons are also a high alkaline food, so they can help keep your body balanced and capable of healing itself.




Now it's your turn to share? Follow me if you aren't already, then link-up something sweet to share- a blog, an Etsy store, an FB page, Twitter page, Pinterest, whatever! Hop around and say hi. Grab a button to spread the word! Have a great weekend!









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We had ice cream yesterday :)





P.S. Sorry about the weird spacing on here, I can't figure out how to adjust it. This has happened before- does anyone know what I can do?




 

11 comments:

  1. I can't wait to make this lemonade. Looks so delicious and refreshing! Have a great weekend!

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  2. This looks so delicious. I can't wait to make it! Thanks for the hop. I added a recipe I had previously posted on my blog. Hope that's okay. I wasn't sure if it had to be a recipe or not. Hope to get to know you better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It can be anything you want! Thanks for linking up! I will follow back!

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  3. Thanks for hosting again. I love Lemonade and would be trying your recipe, cucumber (as well as lettuce) is also a natural body coolant ! {Even though it's Winter over here, South Africa still has it's patches of heat}
    Have a lovely weekend!
    Linda

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  4. New follower! Love the Lemonade!

    I'd greatly appreciate if you follow back!

    Emily Sung
    http://birthofamom.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lemonade sounds great.
    Have a good week and thanks for hosting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That lemonade looks awesome. New follower here!

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  7. ginger and cucumbers I'm intrigued. thanks for sharing this drink on foodie friday.

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  8. Oh my! That lemonade sounds amazing, going to have to add the ingredients to my shopping list. Definitely glad I decided to keep looking through your blog :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by! I love comments and always want to know what you think :)

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