Happy Labor Day!
I hope you are enjoying your long weekend. Is it great weather where you are? Are you enjoying lots of picnics and sun?
One thing that goes great with picnics is lemonade. Strawberry Lemonade is a wonderful combination of flavors. It’s easy to make and a tasty colorful treat. Scroll to the bottom for my recipe or read on to hear my sad, sad lemonade story and how I made this recipe. (Hint – I’m really good at feeling sorry for myself. But only for short periods of time. Like 3 seconds.)
The other day, the Big Man brought home some lemonade as a treat for the little men. He was very excited to share it with them, since we don’t do sweet drinks very often. We like to keep them as a treat instead of every day.
And we love lemonade.
I mean LOVE lemonade.
He was all ready to pour me a glass when I reminded him that I needed to check the ingredients.
Now, it should have been fine, right? RIGHT!?
It should just be lemon juice, water and sugar. Right? RIGHT!?
HA! No. Nope. Not even close.
Citric acid is in there. (Which is started with yeast.)
Really? But it IS citrus juice. That’s what lemon juice is. I mean, am I wrong here? Did I miss the memo? UGH!
So, as the boys were going to town on their lemonade, I (at first) got a little… well…
Pouty. Yep, that’s it. I pouted. If I was 7, my lower lip would have stuck out. (Don’t even go there, Mom.)
After a few seconds of feeling sorry for myself, I made a decision. Eff this. I’ll make my own damn lemonade. And so I did.
But I didn’t make any old lemonade. I decided I was going to get fancy, if I was going to have to do work. I looked in the fridge, and those strawberries looked really good. Had a few limes lying around, so… Why not? Let’s see.
Oh yeah, baby! This was good stuff. Way better than that store bought stuff. With it’s citric acid. Whatever.
- 2 cups Strawberries (divided into 1 cup crushed and 1 cup chopped)
- 1 cup Lemon Juice
- ½ cup Lime Juice
- 1 cup Sugar
- 6 cups Water
- Add all ingredients to a large pitcher and mix until sugar is dissolved.
- Serve cold.
Linking this to Gluten-Free Wednesdays (GFW), the weekly blog carnival that Shirley from gfe-gluten-free easily co-hosts with Linda of The Gluten-Free Homemaker and Lynn of Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures.
Looks great but checking the ingredients, this has as much sugar as a Coke!
…and I’m a bit doubtful it should be poured into a picture. 🙂
Hi Peter,
I totally understand. In fact, I normally use about half that amount of sugar when I make it at home, but I know most people want something much sweeter. Maybe I will put that in the notes. Thanks for the idea.
Plus, it is supposed to be a treat. At least for us.
~Tia
How refreshingly delicious does this strawberry lemonade look! Definitely need to recreate the recipe for when the weather warms up.. thanks for the idea!
Hi Thalia,
Yes, it was nice on our hot Labor day weekend, here. And I love adding strawberries to anything during the summer. I love the ideas you have for your recipes, so I can’t wait to see what you do with it.
~Tia
Nice, refreshing, colorful summer treat! The sugar dilutes with the addition of lots of ice. Needed that today…hot here. Thanks, Tia!
Hi Charlotte,
Well, I hope you enjoy it. Hope it isn’t too hot. 😉
~Tia
The perfect thirst quencher!
So glad you like it. 😉
~Tia
Any ready-made lemonade today is way questionable. And citric acid is in so very much. I know that because it’s a trigger for a gluten-free friend’s migraines. 🙁 But your Strawberry Lemonade with the Lime Twist is clearly a gazillion times better! Thanks for sharing and linking to Gluten-Free Wednedays. 🙂
xo,
Shirley