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Homemade Sports Drink (Without The Nasty Artificial Ingredients!)

I am pretty proud of the fact that I haven’t had to drink Gatorade in years even though I’m still a very active individual. After finding out the truth about the ingredients in it and other sports drinks like Powerade, I always turn to coconut water or fresh made juice and it always hydrates me just fine. 

I find it appalling that scientists 40 years ago were paid by these sport drink companies to tell us we would not be able to sufficiently hydrate ourselves with just water, that our children didn’t drink enough at meals, and that we would lose performance during sporting events if we didn’t drink this artificially flavored and colored salt water. 

I also find it appalling that some doctors still recommend this garbage that is full of artificial ingredients to parents with sick children. Just look at the ingredients in these popular sports drinks:

Orange Flavored Gatorade: Water, Sugar, Dextrose, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Salt, Sodium Citrate, Monopotassium Phosphate, Gum Arabic, Sucrose Acetate Isobutyrate, Glycerol Ester Of Rosin, Yellow 6

Orange Flavored Powerade: Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Less Than 0.5% of: Citric Acid, Salt And Potassium Citrate And Magnesium Chloride And Calcium Chloride And Potassium Phosphate (Electrolyte Sources), Gum Acacia, Natural Flavors, Glycerol Ester of Rosin, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Vitamin B12, Ascorbic Acid (to protect taste), Calcium Disodium EDTA (to protect color).

When I look at these ingredient lists, I just shake my head. Gatorade & Powerade drinks are full of GMOs, artificial food dyes, and synthetic additives. No thanks! This super hydration juice, however, has none of those ingredients and is perfect to have after a hot day in the sun, will get you hydrated fast and give you a serious dose of nutrition!

super hydration juice

Let me break down the nutritional components of this juice to give you an idea of how powerful it is. This juice has a tad more fruit juice than I normally would recommend for green drinks but that is because hopefully you’ll be drinking this after you’ve lost a lot of calories, electrolytes and sweat! If you need to dial back the fruit juice, you can cut the fruit ingredients in half. 

  • Watermelon: Has a high water content for fast hydration and lycopene that helps with skin protection from too much sun exposure.
  • Green Apple: Provides potassium and magnesium that helps with headaches associated with dehydration. 
  • Cucumber: One of the best vegetables for natural hydration.
  • Celery: A natural source of sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, and phosphorus. 
  • Orange: A high dose of vitamin C that can aid the immune system.
  • Romaine: Another nice dose of magnesium to aid in dehydration and calcium for bone health.

Source: The Guide To Juicing for Health: Unleashing the Healing Power of Whole Fruits and Vegetables Revised Edition

Refreshing Super Hydration Juice
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 1 cup chopped seedless watermelon
  • 1 apple, cored
  • ½ cucumber
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 1 orange peeled
  • 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
Instructions
  1. Wash all fruits and vegetables and place into a large bowl.
  2. Place all ingredients through your juicer.
  3. Clean juicer immediately.
Notes
**Please choose all organic ingredients if possible**

 

If you don’t have a juicer, you can make this juice using a blender – here’s a technique you can use.

Do you know someone who needs to drop Gatorade or Powerade for good? Please share this information and recipe with them.

It’s easy to beat the heat naturally without that garbage! 

Xo, 

Vani 

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87 responses to “Homemade Sports Drink (Without The Nasty Artificial Ingredients!)

  1. I don’t have a juicer and I don’t drink sports drinks. I would rather put those ingredients in a salad and drink a glass of ice tea (unsweetened). I have a problem with everyone’s need to constantly snack and hydrate.

      1. Please please use “you” instead of “ya”. You are such a classy woman and that sounds horrible!! I cringe when you write that word. I am of average intelligence and I wouldn’t write “ya”.

      2. On another note Vani. I know that a lot of people do not recommend or eat wheat bread because of how it is processed. How about organic wheat bread? Or how about that bread that is made with the ingredients recommended in the Bible in the book of Ezequiel? I miss my bread and I would like to have some. It has helped some the diabetes situation in my life. Please advice. thank you.

      3. Hi Vani,

        Do you have a forum for random questions? I have been dying to know what you think about the ingredient Xanthan Gum. I have tried to do a little bit of my own research on it but otherwise found so far that it is apparently “harmless”. As you know there are many deceiving statements out there so I had to go to you for this one!!! Thanks in advance, you Rock 🙂

      4. Re: good bread to the person who misses it. Alvarado Street Bakery from California makes a bread I find in freezers in Whole Foods, Publix, Richards Whole Foods and Walmart, called “California Complete Protein Bread”. Really good taste and all good organic ingredients. Spread with a nut butter, or avocado, or just Earth Balance Organic “butter”. The only bread I eat anymore.

      5. In regard to “ya” vs. “you” – I am in my final year of business school and we just covered this in a marketing class I had recently. As an author, or a well-known blogger, addressing the audience as “ya” as opposed to “you” has nothing to do with grammar, it is about being personal with your followers. By sharing her preferred dialect, Vani is being genuine and that shows how interpersonal she is. But we already knew that. From a marketing perspective, it can be beneficial to be more personal with your audience because it makes you more approachable, and makes it seem to many as if they’re getting an email message from a friend, not just a “company,” for example. Many warm up to this instead of finding the need to criticize it. Especially when the content is so valuable, regardless of what pronouns are being used. I appreciate the great recipes and I appreciate someone going to bat for us against companies like Kraft and General Mills. I have a 5 year old son and feel like I have someone fighting for his greater good. Vani is the reason my son eats Annie’s Mac and cheese and coconut oil every day. I am so honored to have the support that she provides. She could be fighting these big companies from a B2B perspective only, which is a big enough battle on its own but she spends a lot of time to keep us in the loop and keep us educated as well, by sending us recipes and doing so much research that we would otherwise have to perform on our own and I am so grateful for all of her hard work and effort!

  2. You have me squirming in my chair right now, that’s how bad the guilt is right now! Oh my, there is a Powerade sitting on my counter right now and I let me 5 year old drink some with breakfast because she said she wasn’t feeling too good this morning! Gatorade, same thing. My husband drinks it (gym teacher) by the truck load and has all the kids he coaches drink it. I am so glad you posted this! Have a watermelon on my countertop right now to make this. Sending you tons of high five’s right now!!!

    1. Laura – It’s ok, we’ve all been there! But now that you know what’s going on, it’s only progress from here, right? 🙂

    2. I bet your husband doesnt even realize he is drinking artificial ‘poison’. We all were duped. Don’t feel bad. Go get him some coconut water. He can tell his kids “when you know better, you do better”. ;-)) here’s an opportunity to ‘teach’ all those kids about how unhealthy those Gatorade and Powerade drinks really are.

    1. Promise you won’t be able to taste it – but it will add that natural dose of sodium you need to replace electrolytes 🙂

      1. Once you start juicing or making smoothies with celery…YOU WONT MAKE ANOTHER “WITHOUT” THE CELERY!!! Adds great flavor. Look forward to my “Hari” every day. Thanks Vani…Hope you are well. Thanks for posting juice…joe looks forward to drinking.

    1. To Juan, in Miami: Conventionally grown wheat, is possibly contaminated with GMO wheat, from Monsanto Field trials, that “got out” of containment. Also, most farmers are drowning Wheat, oats, and anything harvested with a combine, with a heavy dose of Glyphosate Herbicide, prior to harvest, to dry the crop, evenly and make it easier to harvest. Not even time for a good rain to wash it off a little. So right before it is shipped to bread-makers, it’s poisoned for us all.
      Stick with organic bread and organic versions of combine harvested crops. Before I found out about this practice of drying things with glyphosate, I didn’t feel too bad, because most of those crops are Non-GMO and don’t need many ag chemicals, because they grow fairly fast. The price difference on such crops is very small, between conventional and Organic, so I now buy ONLY, organic Wheat products, oat products, peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, and multi-grain breads and cereals. I feel it is worth it, to protect my health.
      I also do not give a gram of rancid rat poo, if someone thinks it’s silly. Either the farmers are going to learn that people don’t want their food, dowsed in chemicals, the food industry is going to get with the program and find it has to produce the food with additives that are organic and tested for safety, or a larger and larger portion of the food business will be telling the chemical makers and the food companies to buzz off, because the market is going rapidly to Organics to the tune of at least a 15% increase, in organics, every year. That goes for pet foods, too!!!
      And what is most conventionally processed food, anyway? Basically the same thing you find in a bag of dog or cat food, flavored and messed with, to make you believe your NOT eating the lowest quality, cheapest stuff, they can find to put into a box, bag or can.

      1. I just finished harvesting my wheat crop and it didn’t get one drop of glyphosate on it for harvest. I have been farming for 33 years and have never done that. It is done on less than 5% of the acres of wheat grown in this country from what I’ve read. I am surprised it is done at all. You’ve made many posts about what happens on farms. I haven’t read much of anything you’ve posted that is true.

      2. This is done on Canadian Wheat to the extreme and probably explains the rise of gluten problems people are having in Canada. 5% of the acres? Where’s your data for that? I have spoken to wheat farmers in central Canada who practise this desiccation practise, and think there’s nothing wrong with it b/c glyphosate is deemed ‘safe’ by the canadian government. It’s also sprayed on the wheat just before harvest because it forces the wheat head to squeeze out a few more kernels as it’s dying. Increased yield = increased profit. What do they care about the health of the nation? Most farmers eat organic wheat anyways.

      3. Anne, I am appalled at the lack of truth in your post. To the others – only in certain areas is anything applied to dry down wheat – the 5% figure is correct. Kotula, I don’t know any farmers who eat organic wheat – not sure where you’re getting that. We are working farmers who live in Kansas – the wheat state.

      4. To all who replied:
        I don’t care if it’s 1%, 5% or what, of farmers that are drying their wheat or other combine harvested crops with Glyphosate and I don’t CARE if most of the U.S. wheat crop is uncontaminated by the escaped GMO field trial Monsanto containment “accident”. I will ONLY eat Organic wheat, now, because “most” and 5% are numbers that are too high for me to be comfortable with or take a chance with my health.
        I want as close to ZERO pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, dyes, additives and preservatives in my food as possible. You can all spout that stuff about how it’s not harmful and etc. but, until I can get a Certified Organic loaf of bread and not have to even look at a label to be assured I am eating clean, safe food, Certified Organics is all I care to eat. Millions more like me, feel the same way. We don’t believe you. If you want people like me to buy your products, you’ll set at least part of your fields aside for USDA Organic Certification or you’ll be making less money, as more and more of your crops are rejected, because the demand is not there for them anymore.

  3. This sounds delicious! I have followed you for a long time, so I know how bad the sports drinks are. Since you mentioned coconut water…….I really can’t stand the taste! Do you have a recipe to mask the taste of coconut water?

    1. No recipe here for masking coconut water but I have read somewhere that one can also hydrate by squeezing 1/2 lemon juice into a bottle of water with a couple pinches of Himalayan pink sea salt. This salt has hundreds of minerals in it.

    2. I would think about it as an acquired taste. When I spent over a month in Eastern Europe years ago I had to learn to drink tea. I could not stand it at the beginning but after few weeks I adapted to it. Where I was, nobody could not drink water out of the faucet so they would boil water and add tea since it would take time to make the water cold. I guess if you try enough, you will end up like me liking something I would not stand in the first place.

  4. Great recipe; however, when I’m playing several sets of paddle tennis and need something before I get home, I add ElectroMix (by Alacer) to my water. Tastes good, no artificial ingredients, and uses stevia as a sweetener. And it’s pretty inexpensive. Thankfully, I don’t remember ever drinking Gatorade or any of those kinds of drinks.

  5. Hey, this makes me wonder if there’s something you would recommend that could be made in bulk? I feed a team of high school football players on their game days during the season. Gatorade has been (of course) the ubiquitous drink during these meals, and we prepare about 8 gallons of it each week. The team couldn’t afford the drink you have above, but I wonder if I could enrich water with something that would increase electrolytes and be a tasty substitution for Gatorade? Thoughts?

    1. Yes Karen there is something inexpensive. 1/2 lemon juiced – mixed into water with a tsp. or so of some Pink Himalayan sea salt. The sea salt is full of minerals to replace electrolytes. I don’t think it would taste that bad. It’s not going to be like sweet candy to their palate, but at least they are not going to be drinking horrible artificial ingredients and dyes.

      1. Lavender lemonade, sweetened with stevia, is good, too. For every gallon of lemonade, replace 1/4 of it with lavender tea. You only need about three Tablespoons of dried Lavender for a spaghetti sauce jar of boiling water.
        Lavender is cooling to the system and calming to the nervous system, allowing you to relax properly, after a hard work out. A quarter teaspoon of Himalayan Salt, would probably not even be noticed, in a gallon of Lavender Lemonade. Of course, use organic ingredients.
        Stevia is good for helping to regulate blood glucose levels and lemons help re-hydrate.

  6. How about adding some Cayenne Pepper and just enough Niacin for an added Cerebral/Thermogenic effect?

  7. Question:

    Why is the FoodBabe army not petitioning to simply get Gatorade to change their ingredients so they are pure and healthy? This seems unusual to not call them to action.

    1. I’m sure that’s next on Vani’s list of things to do!

      First, create the awareness (which she is doing).
      Second, look for an alternative(s) and share that information (which she just did). Third, a plan of action to put pressure on the company (or companies) in question through petitioning and other communication channels.
      Fourth, Food Babe Army invades… the public’s consciousness and creates needed change for better overall health.

    2. It’s a free country Amber. If you don’t like it, DON’T BUY IT!!!! Don’t foist your preferences on those who like and buy Gatorade.

  8. Doctors make Gatorade part of the required prep for a colonoscopy. Please educate them.

    1. My husband’s Dr. did not recommend Gatoraide. I’ve never known any Dr. to recommend it.

      1. My children’s pediatrician. I had buy a bottle of the colorless one on those occasions. At least I have a better recipe now!

      2. I have a colonoscopy next Monday and everyone from the first doctors I saw, to the surgical lab to the pharmacist all told me to drink Gatorade as one of the recommended “clear” liquids. They have no clue. We have a lot of work ahead of us.

  9. This is a great fruit/salad, why pulverize it? Just eat it up.

    I must say gatorade saved me when I had heat exhaustion. I thought I was getting the flu while I was working away from home. I couldn’t eat a thing and keep it down.

    A kind Tulsan at the show told me in a slow drawl that I had heat exhaustion, needed gatorade followed by a cool shower. It was great advice.

    I try to make my own with citrus, sugar, salt, and water/ice but gatorade is handy no matter where I am.
    I can no longer hate the ‘ade.

  10. Gatorade sucks….I knew all those artificial ingredients ere bad for people even before I read this article. Thanks Vani for the recipe.

    Coconut water ROCKS! Just be careful what brand you drink! Read the ingredients.

    peace

  11. can’t we just eat a banana & drink some water? part of the reason why people do those other two is the portability of it. This seems like A LOT! Cleaning the juicer alone takes forever. Your sports people are on the go and need an easier alternative.

    1. Actually, for hydration and electrolyte replenishment, some athletic trainers (those who understand health) recommend “monkey broth” … a simple blend of a couple of bananas and a blender full of water. Bananas have a small amount of calcium, and decent amounts of potassium, magnesium and phosphorus, all four of which are important electrolytes.

  12. Most of these ‘health drinks’ are chemical compounds, not real juices. They’re most likely as bad as sodas.

  13. Thank you Food Babe. This is a standup post. In my business I use clear Gatorade in a test to show how acidic it is. It has about the same acidic number as battery acid. Thanks again for spreading the word about good food. To see two tests on Gatorade and other drinks Go to http://www.GodsRefreshingDrink.com and after registering select videos 5a and 5b. It is an eye opening picture.

  14. Gatorade is nothing but sugar water. STAY AWAY. Watermelon is the BEST THING for you during Summer weather.

  15. Vani,

    I’m glad you are posting this. I used to drink Gatorade & Powerade by the truck full, but after several years wised up. Besides removing the enamel from my teeth I also developed a lot of cavities and lost a few of them. It kills me to walk into a food store and see shelves and shelves of this poison. Thanks for championing this.

  16. Thanks for the great post, Vani! I’ve been telling my family this for years! I have my boys drink coconut water instead – it’s healthy, hydrating and full of natural electrolytes.

  17. Vani, we just came back last night from racing the Baja 500 in Ensanada Mexico, because of you I knew this info and took plenty of organic coconut water and Suja juice with me for our team and the drivers. They finished the grueling 500 mile race and felt great the entire time by using this to hydrate instead of Gatorade like they used to use. Just like those high performance trucks, our bodies need the right fuel to run at peek performance! Thanks for all you do! #buehlermotorsports

  18. Thanks so much for sharing this. I buy gatorade every year just in case i get the flu. I usually never do. So i toss the gator juice. So glad to have this recipe!

  19. Has anyone considered including Aloe to increase hydration and the fruit molecule sugar for the muscle fibers?

  20. Last week doctor suggested this nasty drink for my 21 month old girl when she fell sick and I was asked to drink it during my pregnancy.

    1. There’s no excuse for recommending poisonous chemicals to a child or her mother. This is outrageous conduct.

  21. Thank you so much for all that you have been doing in our food of the future.
    We are blessed to have you our lives, I will try this juice, (I hate Gatorade or any vitamin waters).
    You are an amazing woman!!!!!

  22. Hello, I would love your advice on safest chemical free organic skin care line? my derm gave me Rx Tretinion cream for fine lines and I have been researching the ingredients and am alarmed by them and side effects. I am at my wits end with upscale lines and Dr. suggesting their products are best when truthfully they are not.

    Thank you,
    Cheryl

  23. Great news! I have been steering our kids away from these nasty drinks especially with artificial food dyes for a while – and yet they still pester. Hopefully this one is kid approved!

  24. Have you done any research on Zippfizz? They claim it’s healthy. Is it? I know it has caffeine, but, other than that, is it ok?

  25. Another great option to optimize your fitness performance and over-all health is filtered ionized alkaline water with electrolytes and a pH of 8.5 – 9.5 — and a more balanced alkaline/acidic diet. The special properties of this water will increase cellular hydration and blood oxygenation, help to balance your body chemistry and metabolism, and protect the body from oxidizing free radicals. I have experienced these benefits and many more from living a more alkaline anti-oxidant rich lifestyle! I do drink coconut water and love my green smoothies!

  26. somehow ran into your pizza ingredient article, was interested as well. Just read some more articles
    Game changer for my life.
    Anyway Another great read!
    not sure if I can drink that during tennis, will try some cranberry though
    Thanks a lot 🙂

  27. Just wondering…. aren’t seedless watermelons GMO?
    I’ve not seen organic seedless watermelon.

  28. Hi Vani…hope you tell you readers about our Pedialyte replacement Wubba Water. Pedialyte is no different than Powerade/Gatorade and this Dad of 5 finally had enough of Pediatricians recommending it! I love your recipe as a sports drink replacement.

  29. Her grammar is relevant because as she has said so many times, there are people out there who want to destroy her. She herself said many times they look for anything to discredit her. She is on national tv, she has the respect of so many, and has come so far. I fear one of her adversaries would run with anything to bring her down. If she wants to keep the crusade going, everything counts. This is called “an opinion”.

  30. Vani- With a 4 year old, I don’t have time to make fresh juice every time she wants juice, and your juices need to be consumed immediately. Any recipes for a juice or drink that can be stored that will appeal to kids? We try to push water in our house, but kids want fun stuff. Any suggestions?
    And I really appreciate the work you do. Thank you.

    1. What about batches of green iced tea with something like stevia or agave nectar? Those can be frozen in smaller containers. Still less convenient, but could be pulled out each night for a next day , . . . This is my alternative to soda and other chemical poisons.

  31. Vani, when people have a colonoscopy they need to clean their system out beforehand and are told to drink a large amount of Gatorade. What can people do in place of drinking this? Want to be sure it is safe.

  32. Vani
    What about the organic coconut juice from Costco? My husband brings home cases of it. How do we know if it’s good or not being the Kirkland Costco brand?
    Thanks
    Cindi

  33. Please tell me if there is a healthy drink for children and adults to buy when traveling.

  34. Vani thank you so much! As a newby to the clean eating world I have plenty if questions and this post answers one of my big concerns! Thanks for the great info and recipe!!!

  35. Thanks Vani. You are really impacting the world. Now can you start a grocery chain that only sells the stuff you recommend!!!

  36. I have been trying to figure out how to write you. I’m unable to leave comments on your fb, not sure why but I have a question for you..could you please do some research on a new product called Thrive it’s a three step nutrients pill drink and patch. I would really like more info about it. I was using it for a month and had levels in my body drop, without any reason. I stopped but I have friends that are still using it and promoting it. Just want information I can share with them. Thanks!

  37. After major abdominal surgery I was instructed to drink at least 64 oz of Gatorade daily. I hAre having to do this especially the sucrose that impedes absorption. How. Many servings of this drink would be equivalent to meet my needs?

  38. Looks like a refreshing drink. Just wondering about the seedless watermelon issue….doesn’t it contain GMO’s?!?

  39. This one of the reasons why I love reading your blog and trying your recipes. You really know what is healthy and what is not. 🙂

  40. The same can be said about hydration drinks like Pedialyte. My mom was battling cancer for a few years and they recommended Pedialyte to ensure hydration. Similar to Gatorade, Pedialyte is of artifricial sweeteners, colors and is mostly sugar. It astonishes me that the institutions we rely on for health aren’t getting it right. I guess this is why we need bloggers and passionate health minded people to step yup. Cheers Vandi!

  41. Here is my problem with this… to hydrate i see the recipe what about loss of electrolytes? I was having heat stroke symptoms before even with drinking water all day in the hot sun. I drank a bit of gatorade and it helped. What would be recommended for loss of the electrolytes especially if you are on the go like I was.

  42. About the Summer Squash Casserole: When my husband’s kids were young, they wanted rats as pets. They fed them everything and the rats ate everything. Except the one time they found some Ritz crackers in the cupboard. (This is before they knew about eating healthy.) THE RATS WOULD EAT ANYTHING EXCEPT: RITZ CRACKERS. In fact, when they smelled them, they backed away into a corner. They knew they were poison!

  43. My kid’s swimming coach dumps out anything other than Gatorade in the bottle. Another word, swimmers must bring Gatorade to practice. I can’t believe how much of these artificial ingredients they intake each day. How do I change the coach’s perspective on the sports drink? Do you have a full report on how these sport drinks damage and impact our health?

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