Sour, fresh, tangy and full of vitamins. Having a lemonade during the summer can be like a breath of fresh air. Especially during heatwaves. But if making lemonade has become a routine for you, why not try to flavor things up? Here are some ideas for upgraded lemonade!
There is one thing above all others that helps me out during the hottest summer days. One refreshing thing to rule above all refreshing things. When coffee is a nuisance and sodas just make me thirstier and I gulp through enormous volumes of water, there is one thing that keeps me steady and hydrated: wonderful lemonade. It’s sour, so I don’t drink too much of it, it doesn’t have sugar in it (unless I decide to add a bit of honey) and there are so many ways to customize it so that I never get bored of it!
Most of the time, it only comes down to using one extra ingredient to give anything a whole new depth of flavor. Here are the ingredients I use to make upgraded lemonade.
Cheers for summer heat and summer lemonade! But until we start the list, here is Beyoncé’s recipe for “Lemonade”, which I personally think is the best.
5 ingredients to add for an upgraded lemonade
1. Mint
More mojito than lemonade but without alcohol? Yes, please! If I’m feeling very adventurous, I like to also add some brown sugar to the minty lemonade. One teaspoon is enough, on the bottom of the glass. Now add the mint leaves and crush them together with the sugar. Pour your usual lemonade over this and you have a very refreshing new drink. Especially since mint is a flavor enhancer and it improves blood circulation. There are no downsides!
Pro tip: If you can’t get enough of herby lemonade, throw a few basil leaves in there, see how it feels!
2. Cucumber
96.7 percent of cucumber is in fact water. It’s the most hydrating food item out there. And maybe you’ve been to a fancy place at one point and had lovely, refreshing cucumber water? This is a bit more of that, only we’ll be adding even more cucumber. Thoroughly wash the cucumbers, peel them and grate them in a bowl. Strain the grated cucumbers over a larger bowl, to get a lot of their juice. Mix this with your lemon juice and you’re good to go!
3. Ginger
The spiciness of ginger can be everything when it comes to putting a new spin on your old-fashioned lemonade. You need a few slices of fresh ginger root. Then you’re going to boil the slices in some water while stirring a little to get it to release its spicy flavor. Remove from the heat, mix with lemon juice, and let it cool in the refrigerator. Then remove the ginger slices and you have quite the kicky lemonade on your hands!
Here is our step by step guide to making lemonade.
4. Watermelon
This, a usual “celebrity” fruit of the summer, is an amazing combo for very hot days. Hydration is all but assured when it comes to mixing watermelon and lemon. But if you tend to heavily sweeten your usual lemonade, better lay off the sugar in this case. Just pick a sweet melon to offset the acidity of lemon and balance is achieved. Cube your watermelon, then juice it and combine it with lemon juice.
5. Lavender
Since I am obsessed with all things lavender, I could not leave my favorite flower, herb, scent, color off this list. This is something I make those nights when the heat has seeped in the walls of my apartment and I can’t sleep. Lavender relaxes me and makes me happy and yes… helps me sleep. So, for this upgraded lemonade recipe, make a simple syrup with sugar and water and add some dried lavender flowers to it. Leave them to blend their flavors for about half an hour and then strain the flowers. Add fresh lemon juice to the syrup and some water (sparkling water would be amazing with this, FYI). Enjoy!
If you want to take this one step further, make this roasted fruit lemonade.
