Sugar Free Strawberry Lemonade : A Healthy Twist On A Classic Favorite
Looking for a sugar-free strawberry lemonade recipe that is super fast to make?
Here’s my tried and true concoction that you’ll enjoy in just a few minutes.
Drinking lemonade to quench your thirst in the summer is a must! And if you are like me, you want to enjoy a sugar-free strawberry lemonade that is both healthy and easy to make.
Instead of having to juice lemon after lemon, let’s use the blender to quickly get all the goodness that lemons and strawberries provide.
Begin by blending the zesty essence of fresh lemons, the sweetness of ripe strawberries, and water. Then add your favorite sweetener such as organic amber maple syrup, honey, organic monk fruit, or organic stevia to achieve the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness.
I’ve made this lemonade with amber maple syrup instead of sugar and it’s delicious! But if you are looking for a low-glycemic alternative, here are a few:
3 organic low-glycemic sweeteners I tried in This Sugar-Free Strawberry Lemonade
I researched several sugar alternatives that are natural and organic. I decided to try monk fruit and stevia sweeteners. Here are the pros and cons of each one:
Stevita Organic Liquid Stevia
It is 1 1/4 tsp = 1 c. sugar. In this recipe I used 1 1/4 tsp of Stevita in the blender.
Pros: it’s easy to use and potent.
Cons: it has a strong after taste.
Lakanto Organic Classic Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol
It is 1:1 with sugar. In this recipe I made a simple syrup of 1 cup of Lakanto with 1 cup of water.
Pros: the taste is super close to regular sugar, it’s sweet and your lemonade tastes delicious.
Cons: it takes quite a bit of it to sweeten your lemonade and you may get an upset stomach.
Teakihut Organic Monk Fruit Extract Powder
It is 1/8 tsp = 1 tsp. sugar. In this recipe I dissolved 2 tsp of Teakihut with 2 cups of water.
Pros: it’s potent, therefore you don’t use a lot of it, which is good since it isn’t cheap.
Cons: the taste is not as close to sugar, it has a slight after taste but nowhere close to Stevita.
Out of these 3 alternatives, I prefer Teakihut Organic Monk Fruit Extract Powder. I like the taste, it’s healthy, it dissolves easily in room temperature water, and it doesn’t take much at all to sweeten this lemonade.
Try this recipe with your favorite sweetener and let me know what you think in the comments section below.
Happy cooking 🙂
Sugar Free Strawberry Lemonade
Equipment
- blender
- knife
- cutting board
- measuring cup
- strainer
- large bowl
- pitcher
Ingredients
- 2 large lemons organic
- 1 cup strawberries organic
- 3-4 cups water
- your favorite sweetener maple syrup, honey, monkfruit, stevia, etc.
- 1 cup water if using monkfruit sweetener
- ice
- mint (optional) organic
Instructions
- Wash the lemons really well, do not peel, and cut them into fourths. Remove the seeds you see.
- Wash the strawberries, remove the stems and leaves.
- Place the lemons and strawberries in the blender. Pour water and blend on low and medium settings for about 15 seconds. The mixture will be chunky. (Blending for only 15 seconds is recommended so that the mixture won't be too tart).
- Pour the mixture through a strainer into a large bowl or a pitcher. Using the back of a spoon, press pulp to juice as much as possible.
- If using the monkfruit sweetener : Make the simple syrup by adding the water that is listed for the simple syrup. Mix the powder really well with a spoon until fully dissolved. Water will be a little yellow but clear and will resemble apple juice.
- Add your favorite sweetener (monkfruit simple syrup, honey, maple syrup, stevia, etc) to the lemonade, mix well and taste it. If it needs to be sweeter, add more sweetener.
- If using the monkfruit sweetener, add 1/4 tsp. of monk fruit powder to the lemonade and stir well into fully dissolved. Continue adding 1/4 tsp. of the sweetener until it tastes the way you like. Just make sure to dissolve it completely.
- Pour the lemonade into the pitcher, if not in one already.
- Add ice and mint leaves into glasses, then pour your delicious, freshly made, sugar-free strawberry lemonade. Enjoy!