Looking for a refreshing beverage to drink this summer, but don’t want to over-do it on sugar? Try out my new recipe for a healthier version of low FODMAP Strawberry Lemonade! I use a special ingredient to make this drink flavourful, lower in sugar and packed with beneficial nutrients. Keep reading for the recipe and to learn my special ingredient!
There are so many lemonades for sale at grocery stores that have health claims on the front. But are these lemonades actually good for us? Let’s use Simply Lemonade as an example: “All Natural” “Not From Concentrate” Non GMO”. Wow! The front of the package makes it sound like it’s practically a health drink. How about we take a minute to look at the Nutrition Facts Table before we pour ourselves a glass. One cup of this lemonade has 120 calories and 28 grams of sugar – that’s seven teaspoons of sugar in one small cup! Plus, this drink doesn’t have any beneficial nutrients at all.
This is a classic example of both “health washing” and “empty calories”. “Health washing” means using health claims to make a food or drink seem healthier than it actually is. This commercial lemonade may be “all natural” but it’s not healthy. The term “empty calories” refers to foods or drinks that are high in calories but have no healthy nutrients.
Overall, I’m not saying that it is bad to drink this beverage, but simply that we should treat it as a treat and not as a healthy option. I think we can make a better version at home that has much, much less than seven teaspoons per cup, actually has some beneficial nutrients, AND tastes great too!
When making homemade lemonade, using fresh lemon juice is key. Lemon juice is a great way to add a big burst of lemon flavour. However, it’s a fact that the more juice you use, the greater the amount of sugar you will need to balance out the tartness. I’ve figured out a special ingredient to add lots of lemon flavour without the sourness: lemon tea! #dietitianhack
Lemon flavoured teas are sugar-free and calorie-free but still add a punch of flavour. If you are currently in the elimination phase of the low FODMAP diet, you will need to be careful to choose a low FODMAP tea. Rooibos (red) tea, white tea, and green tea are all low FODMAP. Avoid any untested ingredients. Click to read my blog post on the FODMAP content of teas. If you are not on the low FODMAP diet, then please just ignore all of my notes about FODMAPs!
Personally, my favourite place to buy teas are from local tea shops. I find that loose-leaf teas are often much more flavourful than the teas you buy pre-packaged in stores. In London, Ontario my favourite tea shop is Wisdom Tea Shop (note: this is not a sponsored post, I just really love their teas!) I have two lemon teas from Wisdom which I mix together: a lemon rooibos and a lemon herbal tea. Yum!
Lemon tea tastes great but as I mentioned, it is sugar-free and not sweet. Luckily for us, fruit is naturally sweet as well as very healthy. Strawberries are packed with nutrition, including vitamin C, fibre and antioxidants. Adding strawberries to this lemonade helps to make it sweet without tons of added sugar. Strawberries are low FODMAP at 1 cup (140 grams). I generally recommend during the low FODMAP diet to stick to just one serving of fruit per meal/snack. Eating too many servings of fruit in a sitting (even low FODMAP fruit) can trigger digestive issues in some people. Kate Scarlata has a great blog post on why portion size is so important on the low FODMAP diet.
(Note: I do recommend eating your fruit most of the time and drinking it only occasionally. Eating food can be much more filling than drinking it! When fruit and/or vegetables are juiced the healthy fibre is lost. Since the strawberries are blended into this drink the fibre is not lost. Fibre is important for digestion and beneficial for many areas of health, including heart health. Learn more about fibre at EatRight Ontario)
This low FODMAP Strawberry Lemonade recipe makes two servings of strawberry lemonade. Per serving that is 1.5 teaspoons of added sugar – a lot better than the seven teaspoons in the commercial version. Enjoy!
Healthier Strawberry Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup lemon tea *
- 3/4 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp white sugar or maple syrup
- 1/2 cup ice cubes optional
- Plus extra strawberries and/or lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
- Brew your tea strongly. Allow to cool off before using (you may want to make your tea the night before).
- Add the tea, strawberries, lemon juice and sugar to a blender. Option to add ice cubes to the blender as well. Blend well. Taste and add more tea/strawberries/lemon juice/sugar as desired.
- Pour into glasses. Option to add ice cubes; can also add strawberries and/or lemon slices for garnish on the glass.
Notes
- *Not all teas are low FODMAP. Check ingredients list for high FODMAP or untested ingredients. Rooibos tea is low FODMAP. Click here for more info on finding a low FODMAP tea. If you do not have a lemon tea you can use water instead of tea and add 1 extra tablespoon of lemon juice for more flavour. The drink will be tarter and may need more sugar.
- To keep this drink relatively lower in sugar I recommend sticking to just 1 tablespoon of added sugar. It won’t be as sweet as a commercial lemonade but it is still tasty (and much healthier).
- There are 2 ways to brew your tea. You can brew tea as usual using hot water and allow it to cool off before using (if you are in a hurry you can add ice cubes to the tea to cool it faster). Or you can cold brew your tea by adding the tea to cold water for 6-24 hours. For both methods it can be helpful to make the tea the night before you hope to use it.
- On the low FODMAP diet limit fruit to one serving per meal/snack. One serving of strawberries is 1 cup.
My friend and fellow Canadian FODMAP dietitian Audrey reviewed this recipe for me to double check it is low FODMAP and safe for elimination. She has some great blog posts and low FODMAP recipes on her website, IBS Nutrition, check it out!
Next week I will be posting my first popsicle recipe on the blog!
i will definitely try this on this sunday for sure
Wonderful! Hope you enjoy 🙂