Freshly Squeezed Lemonade
- tidbitsfromemily
- Dec 14, 2014
- 2 min read
Cold drink on a hot day? Yes please.
With a lemon tree in my backyard, and my little cousins visiting for two weeks, what better way to beat the heat on those hot, summery days than to make freshly squeezed homemade lemonade? It’s fun, easy, so refreshing–the kids love it! You must give this recipe a try!
Nutrition Highlight: Lemons
Commonly used to add a tangy flavor to recipes and to flavor and preserve food, as I have learned in my Nutrient Metabolism class, lemons are a good source of folate, potassium, and vitamin C. They are very low in saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol.
Folate: Folate plays a crucial role in the synthesis of DNA in the body. Adequate intake of folate prevents birth defects such as neural tube defects.
Potassium: Potassium, an electrolyte, is a mineral that is necessary for proper functioning in your body. As I have learned in my Nutrient Metabolism class, potassium plays a role in controlling the balance of acids and bases in the human body, as well as building proteins, maintaining normal body growth, and controlling the electrical activity of the heart.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C is an antioxidant and functions as an electron donor or reducing agent to protect the body from free radicals. Free radicals are, in a nut shell, molecules that contain one or more unpaired electrons in their outer shell and have the potential of damaging other molecules in the body such as proteins, phospholipids, and DNA in cells. Vitamin C stimulates the activity of white blood cells in the immune system that helps us fight against foreign bodies and toxins in the body. Adequate intake of Vitamin C prevents scurvy, a type of vitamin C deficiency that is characterized by signs and symptoms such as easy bruising, bleeding gums, and loose and decaying teeth.
Recipe:
4 large lemons (or a total of ~1 cup of lemon juice)
3/4 cup sugar of choice (i.e. stevia)
1/4 cup honey
1 cup water
7 cups cold water (to dilute)
Directions:
1. Using a lemon squeezer, squeeze the juice from approximately 4 large lemons (to obtain a total of ~1 cup of lemon juice). Here is the size of the lemons I used (pretty big):
2. Make the simple syrup mixture by adding 3/4 cup of sugar to a small saucepan and add 1 cup of water. Cook and stir for approximately 4 minutes over high heat until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.
3. Add the lemon juice you just squeezed and 6 cups of cold water to a large pitcher. Add in the cooled simple syrup mixture and 1/4 cup of honey.
4. Chill and serve. Garnish with a few lemon slices and fruit of choice.
Makes approximately 6 servings.
Tips:
Omit the 1/4 cup of honey if you don’t like honey or replace with 1/4 cup of maple syrup or 1/4 cup of sugar of choice instead.
If you like it a bit sweeter, add 1 cup of sugar of choice instead.
Enjoy and do let me know if you try it!
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