The other day I saw someone down 8 cans of Redbull. Redbull is considered an energy drink and she said she was drained after a weekend of partying and needed a boost to get through a day off meetings. Redbull, like many other energy drinks has caffeine in it. The high is pretty awesome, but once it burns out of your system, chances are you will feel ten times worse.
Most bottles and cans of energy drinks are nothing but sugar water plus lots of supplemental vitamins and minerals. The beverages are also loaded with herbal stimulants as well as caffeine. I’m not sure of the safety levels of the herbal ingredients, I’m pretty sure it’s not good to consume 8 cans of an energy drink.
So after thinking about it, I trolled the internet to see if I could get healthy ideas for energy drinks. Making your own is the one advice everyone had.
Here’s a homemade energy drink that I tried out and felt good about it.
The recipe uses cherry and lemon juice, coconut water, plus a small amount of caffeine from rich green tea. I’m not a fan of lemon juice but I have to admit it gave the drink a taste that might make me change my mind about it.
Ingredients:
1 cup brewed unsweetened green tea
½ cup cherry juice
½ cup flavored coconut water
½ cup seltzer water
1 teaspoon agave nectar(optional)
Juice of 1 lemon
Ice cubes
Lemon slices for garnish (Optional)
Method:
Combine green tea, cherry juice, coconut water, seltzer, agave and lemon juice in a large glass or container. Stir well or shake and serve over ice; garnish with lemon slices.