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Not too long ago I was on Instagram asking what kind of recipes you guys wanted to see from me this Summer and I was surprised at how many people wanted lemonade.
Truth be told, I don’t drink lemonade very often because unless you’re drinking a diet-lemonade (which I’m not a fan of), lemonade has a lot of sugar and I’m not a big fan of drinking my sugar (unless it’s wine or margaritas, of course!).
But every once in a while I will enjoy a fresh, home-made lemonade on a hot summer day and the very best lemonade I’ve ever had was from a place called ‘Lemonade‘ on Abbott Kinney in Venice, California. They sold different flavors of lemonade but the cucumber and mint was always my favorite.
So this is my attempt at making their amazing lemonade.
In an effort to keep things Clean & Delicious®, I used honey in place of white sugar. Honey is less refined and offers more nutrients then white sugar, which makes it a higher quality choice when it comes to sugar. But when all is said and done, it is still sugar, so if weight loss is your goal, you may want to keep that in mind (because sugar and weight loss are not best buddies!).
But now that I’ve told you that, I also want to remind you that even with weight loss as a goal, there is always room for some pure deliciousness (that’s what I call fun food!)! So check it out and let me know what you think.
TOOLS I USED IN THIS VIDEO:
1-Quart Measuring Cup: http://amzn.to/1exHDgL
8-inch Fine Mesh Strainer: http://amzn.to/1P0SNHC
Vitamix 5200: http://amzn.to/1KZfTxs
Red Striped Paper Straws: http://amzn.to/1gFtct9
Cucumber + Mint Lemonade
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 English cucumbers roughly chopped
- 1.5 cups fresh mint leaves
- 3/4 cup honey
- 4 cups filtered water
Instructions
- Combine lemon juice, cucumbers, mint leaves, and honey in a blender and blend for one minute or until everything is well combined.
- Strain lemonade through a fine mesh strainer and discard the remains. Add filtered water to the lemonade and pop in the fridge until you are ready to enjoy.
- Makes 8-10 cups.
Laura West
Hi Dani,
Really love your site/vids/recipes!
I’ve been able to keep off 27 lbs. for the last 3 years, so I agree that
drinking liquids with sugar is something to be very careful about.
In Berkeley, Ca. we have lots of the milder meyer lemons, so I think this recipe will work well with those. Plus I’ll replace the honey with STEVIA.
Now, in my experience, people either hate or love this sugar replacement.
Here’s what I’ve discovered:
The aftertaste doesn’t bother me with strong acidic/ bitter foods.
Turns out these are the foods I like sweetened:
coffee, lemonade, yogurt, ice tea
I get the best priced, clear liquid form from the Whole Foods, 8 oz brand. It also dissolves quickly in the above foods and drinks. That way you can do just a few drops at a time.
Looking forward to raiding my garden for the ingredients for your yummy lemonade!
Laura
Dani
Hi Laura! Thanks for sharing all of those tips – I’m sure it will be very helpful for people who have not tried stevia yet or think they don’t like it!! Enjoy your lemonade.
Portia Huguley
I just made a fresh batch of this lemonade. I didn’t have fresh mint leaves, but I did have some dries mint flakes on hand, and it turned out great!! I love, love, love your website, I use it all time for gluten free and vegan recipes, I have some kids that can’t have any gluten, so this really helps me with creativity. 🙂
Dani
Wow! I would have never thought to use dried mint leaves – thanks for sharing that tip! So glad you liked it:)
Sharon
Love this recipe. Just halfed the recipe and drank the whole thing myself; its 101 here in Texas, so it was super yummy on a hot day!! I use your website ALL the time. Keep up the great work. 🙂