Strawberry Ginger Lemonade

One of my secrets for maintaining a healthy weight, clear skin and balanced diet is that I don’t drink soda nor juice. Well I drink juice but not the kind you buy in a can, bottle or jar. 

I drink the kind that comes directly from fruit. Why? 

Because that’s where the vitality is. The fresher it is, the better for your cells. Fruit juice is meant to be consumed immediately not stored in your cabinet or fridge for months on end. 

In my grandmothers’ house in Jamaica, we made and drank juicy daily. Juice is probably one of the easiest things to make. All you need is a fruit of choice and sometimes that’s enough, like an orange. Sometimes you may need water and a sweetener, like this lemonade. But rarely do you need anything else. And you don’t need preservatives, colors, artificial sweeteners and other additives that you get when you buy juice. 

Now let’s talk about this lemonade. 

For starters it’s easy peasy. And trust me when it comes to the kitchen, I am all about ease. 

Secondly, making lemonade was my designated job as a kid. From 3rd grade, my father declared me the best Lemonade Maker in all of the Universe – it sounded great at the time, but I now realize it was just one of his tricks to get me to make it. The formula was simple : 3 hand squeezed lemons, enough water to fill the pitcher and sweeten it to your liking. 

Now, this recipe is a bit more complex but not complicated. I spruced things up with ginger and strawberries to appeal to grown up and kids taste buds alike. 

Enjoy. 

The video is for Strawberry Cucumber Lime and the recipe below is for Strawberry Ginger Lemonade

Strawberry Ginger Lemonade

• Author: Shelley

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 16 oz strawberries, stem removed
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 cup sucanat or coconut sugar
• 1 cup lemon or lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 inch ginger, grated
• Sparkling water

Instructions

1. Add strawberries, sweetener of choice and ginger to a bowl. Macerate with a potato masher or fork until pulpy.
2. Let rest for 30 minutes (strawberries will form a syrup)
3. Strain syrup into a large pitcher
4. Set pulp aside
5. Add lemon juice and water to syrup and mix well
6. Taste to make sure it’s sweet enough. Sometimes I add agave nectar, a liquid sweetener, if I want it sweeter. It’s important to use a liquid sweetener at this stage if you MUST add a sweetener. Adding sugar crystals at this stage will result in your drink being grainy.
7. If you want the drink to have more texture, add some of the pulp that you set aside earlier
8. Fill your glass with ice and pour 3/4 of Strawberry Ginger Lemonade. Top it off with sparkling water.