It's time for lemonade! ...but not just any lemonade

Hot weather is coming and there's nothing more refreshing than an ice cold glass of lemonade. Be careful though, store bought lemonade can be full of added sugar. This lemonade is homemade. When you make something yourself, you have control over the amount of sugar you add. This recipe has a total of 16 grams of sugar, 12 added sugar and 4 from fruit. The American Heart Association recommends 25 grams or less of added sugar per fay for women and 36 for men.

This recipe has 59% of the daily recommended allowance of Vitamin C. Here are some Vitamin C fun facts: It is a powerful antioxidant that can boost your body's natural defenses. It also assists in absorption of iron, a much needed mineral.  Lastly, it is a natural antihistamine. So, it can help those who suffer from allergies.

The Recipe

The Nutrition Facts

Ingredients
3 - large lemons juiced
200 grams strawberries
1/4 cup sugar (adjust for taste)
4 cups of water

Directions
Place strawberries and 1 cup of water in food processor/blender and blend until fully liquefied. Strain if there are any chunks left. Heat 1/2 cup of water and stir in sugar until dissolved to make a simple syrup. Mix together lemon juice, strawberry liquid, and simple sugar. Then add two additional cups of water. Serve chilled. 

* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. Values obtained by entering them in myfitnesspal.com

A side note on the lemon juice & strawberries

​The lemons I use for this recipe are from our tree. They were ripe and picked months ago, but we juiced them and froze them in ice cube trays and saved them as cubes to use on  a regular basis until the next batch of lemons are ready to pick. If you don't have frozen lemon juice cubes handy, the lemons from the store will do just fine. Once my strawberry plants are at increased production levels, I will be using my own strawberries too.