It’s Spring and nature’s pom-poms try to cheer us on. Here is a fresh “lemonade” recipe I use with a blender to cheer me up when I need something refreshing. It was dubbed the Electrolyte Lemonade by the Jubbs’ Longevity Center.
I came across it in the early aughts at Jubbs (East Village, NYC) and went on a cellular feast (aka fast) for 14 days when my vacation plan fell through. So this lemonade recipe came to mind as flying plans are on hold indefinitely for many. If one felt nostalgic about TWA, all the more so as the only airline now is TBD. To Be Decided.
On to the task at hand. You will need:
3 organic lemons so that you can use them all: pith, pulp, pit and peel. However, if you have no access to organic lemons, just use the conventional ones and peel the outer skin.
3 tablespoons of fractionated coconut oil. It’s also known as MCT - medium chain triglycerides used in bullet coffee and ketogenic foods. Although I’m not a keto-convert, I do like the taste of fractionated coconut oil for this recipe. You can use virgin coconut oil, but if it’s put in the fridge, there will be clumps. Lemonade is something I like cold, so fractionated coconut oil stays liquid. (One can also use flax or olive oil, but again, I think the coconut oil makes the lemonade taste better, but you may prefer the others).
1 organic apple. If an organic apple is not accessible, just peel the outer layer.
1 teaspoon of Celtic sea salt.
6 cups of water. The original recipe from Jubbs Longevity calls for “charged” water. However, I no longer have my ionic water filter because it was truly high maintenance: calibrating for alkaline pH, buying test trips, testing the water, buying cartridges - what a chore! And it would talk to me in an electronic voice that was super annoying. Then there is the “simpler” way of charging water with New Age crystals and placing it North in the water jar, but unless I have my GPS turned on, I have no idea where North is. We’re charged enough for drinking water so I’m thankful we live in a country where water is easy to obtain.
6 tablespoons of raw honey. I am not a sweets person so I cut it down to 3 tablespoons. The purist calls for the raw flower honey that is gritty and chunky, but I like my raw buckwheat honey - smoother but thick like molasses. Stevia can also be used, but the taste in food products doesn’t agree with me.
Chop the lemons and apple. Place all ingredients into a large blender. If your blender is smaller, reduce the quantity of each ingredient according to capacity. For example, if your blender only holds 1000 milliliters, then just use 3 cups of water (720 mLs) and half of all the other ingredients.
I do hope I gave the recipe justice with the adaptations. The Jubbs named it Electrolyte Lemonade because of a much needed cofactor. The Celtic sea salt contains the wonder of all wonder-lytes: magnesium.
Magnesium not only relaxes our muscles and promotes elimination - and helps us sleep better — it is required for several hundred enzymatic reactions in our body. It is an amazing cofactor. That is why I feel more like myself after having foods like kale (high in magnesium). On a side note, I’ve found blending steamed kale the best way for me to ingest and absorb the nutrients. But that’s for another post.
So, take this downtime to take care of yourself. Yes, make lemonade out of lemons. It’s electrifying.