There are many times in life when you might need a recovery drink:
- In the middle of a long-distance training run or bike ride, especially if the weather is hot and you’re sweating a lot.
- You just finished a grueling workout and you need to replenish your body after it lost all that water and salt.
- Your kid plays sports and needs a recovery drink besides water, but you don’t want to send Gatorade or Powerade (since those are filled with dyes and other artificial ingredients).
- You’re sick and can’t keep food down! ☹
My neighbor recently asked me for my natural electrolyte recovery drink recipe and I realized that I had never actually shared this one on my blog. Sure, I shared it on Facebook, but after a few months go by, it’s nearly impossible to scroll down that far on my newsfeed to find it! I wanted this recipe to be searchable on my site and conveniently located in my Recipe Index! 😊
Next time you need a recovery drink (for whatever reason that might be), shake up a batch of this simple homemade solution! I’ve heard great feedback from my readers after posting this originally and several even said their kids loved it just as much as they did! That’s always so great to hear.
Natural Electrolyte Recovery Drink Recipe
Serves: 1-2 servings, based on activity level
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- Juice of 2 lemons (about ¼ cup)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 T organic cane sugar (or honey)
Instructions
Step 1: Shake or whisk all ingredients together.
Step 2: Store in the fridge until ready to enjoy!
My Personal Experience With the Natural Electrolyte Recovery Drink
I came up with this recipe when I was working with a registered dietitian this past summer. (Courtney Rinehold, RDN, CDN, CLT in Fort Wayne, IN) Courtney recommended this homemade combination on ingredients while I was going through my LEAP eating program because I was having a hard time recovering after my long runs.
Even though I was eating afterward and drinking water, I think the lack of enough salt in my diet was hurting me (headaches, dizziness, exhaustion ALL day). After trying this combination, I noticed a huge difference in my recovery time after my long run the next week! I used it every single weekend while I was training for my half marathon this past fall. Replacing the salt lost during sweating is essential!
And, of course, every time I made this drink, I practically had to fight my daughter away to keep her from trying to drink it! It’s not that I minded if she was drinking this combination, it was that I usually made just enough for myself and didn’t want to share!
One time, during a training run for HER upcoming kid race, I even bribed her that if she ran the whole way home, she could have some of my drink. You can bet that she didn’t even think about stopping after that!
This juice press is on my Christmas wish list this year. Maybe after getting one, I’ll be more inclined to make larger batches, since I won’t have to squeeze the lemons by hand anymore!
And one of these Lifefactory Glass Bottles would be perfect to drink it out of. I’m definitely leery of putting my water/recovery drinks in plastic containers these days (even the ones that say BPA-free).
If the drink will be sitting in a hot car for any period of time, I’m concerned that chemicals may leach into it. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again… I may be worrying for no reason, but I feel like with as many studies as I’ve seen on the topic of chemicals lately, I figure it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Final Words
Try to use glass or stainless steel as much as you can instead of plastic. My kids use the stainless steel Thermos brand whenever we travel. (We’re slowly trying to eliminate all plastic bottles and sippy cups from our house.) If you try this natural electrolyte recovery drink, I would love to hear what you think and if it helped you, too!