Homestead Recipes - The Frugal Homestead

How to Make a Natural Sports Drink

homemade sports drink
DIY Sports Drink - The Self Sufficient HomeAcre

DIY ‘Sports Drink’

Homemade sports drinks are a great way to rehydrate and save money. I love working out in my garden and being outside, but some days I feel like I can’t drink enough water to stay hydrated. I don’t want to keep store-bought sports drinks on hand for the dog days of summer. Most of them have artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. In addition, I hate buying all that plastic.

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Stay Hydrated While You Save Money & Plastic

Are you tired of spending money on artificially flavored water and plastic? Do you wish there was an easy way to make a satisfying drink that will help you recover from the heat? I understand completely!

Here are 2 different drinks you can make, one glass at a time, to satisfy your thirst after a hard day working in the garden, canning jam, or baling hay!

homemade 'sports drink'

Homemade ‘Sports Drink’ by the Glass

Make just one glass at a time as you need the extra hydration, or make a large batch to put in the fridge. It’s super easy to make. This isn’t the same recipe you’ll find if you search for ‘Switchel recipe.’ It’s easier and you don’t need to keep ginger root on hand, as called for in most of those recipes.

  • 12 oz glass of water
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • Scant Tbsp sorghum molasses or drop (or 2) of blackstrap molasses
  • 1 scant Tbsp sugar (or to taste)
  • a few grains of table salt

Stir ingredients together and add a couple of ice cubes, if you like. If you are on a low sodium diet or if you are trying to avoid sugar, don’t add the salt or the sugar.

You may substitute a bit of honey or maple syrup for the sugar, or add lemon juice or crushed mint leaves for extra flavor. This recipe is more of a guideline that you can adjust to your own tastes.

Is This Better Than Switchel?

I guess that all depends on your personal taste. My Gram also mixed a little bit of dried ginger powder in the drink, if she had it on hand. But that was the one flavor I didn’t care for much. I don’t normally keep ginger root on hand, so making switchel the way that most recipes call for requires some planning ahead. If you like ginger, try making a glass of switchel with ginger powder or fresh ginger juice first to taste test.

homemade sports drink

Here’s the recipe if you want to make one glass…

Homemade Switchel

  • 12 oz water
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbs sugar or honey
  • 1 Tbs sorghum molasses or a drop (or 2) of blackstrap molasses
  • a few grains of table salt

Mix all ingredients together in a glass and add a couple of ice cubes, if you like. If you are on a low sodium or a low sugar diet, don’t add the salt or sugar. Adjust recipe according to taste.

This is an Easy Way to Stay Hydrated

Although this recipe isn’t the same as most of the switchel recipes you’ll find online, it is a nice way to replace lost fluids in hot weather. Some people don’t care for the flavor and prefer store-bought sports drinks. However, the flavor is pretty mild and the cost is definitely a huge advantage compared to the purchased alternatives. A quart of sports drink will probably set you back $1 or more, but this drink will only cost a few cents.

If you want to save money, reduce your impact on the environment, or just be more self-reliant, then making your own sports drink replacement is one more step you can accomplish in just a couple of minutes, with a few pennies, and in good taste!

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Make your own sports drink to replace storebought Gatorade and other electrolyte drinks. You can save a lot of money and reduce your plastic waste with this #DIYSportsDrink

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