Our kids (and husbands) love Gatorade. And in this hot summer weather, getting plenty of fluids is important. But buying it at the store can get a bit pricey. So we've looked around and found some great homemade recipes that taste exactly the same with comparable nutritional content as the commercial brand. This one came from Children's Memorial Hospital - you can't get more reputable that that!
What You Need:
- 32 oz water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 packet unsweetened Koolaid
- *optional: 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or 1/2 cup fruit juice (if adding fruit juice, reduce sugar to 3 Tbsp.)
Mix all your ingredients together, chill, and enjoy! And as you can see from the info below, the nutritional content of the homemade sports drink vs. Gatorade is pretty comparable, although if you are going to Participate in extreme, prolonged exercise (like marathons), the homemade version is not recommended.
Comparison of Nutritional Content:16 oz Gatorade: 28 gm carbohydrate, 220 mg sodium*, 60 mg potassium, 104 cals
16 oz homemade: 26 gm carbohydrate, 288 mg sodium*, 40 mg potassium**, 100 cals**adding the 1/2 cup of fruit juice would add about 150-250 mg potassium**
But how does it taste?
Our experts give it a thumbs up!
20 comments: