All Natural Sports Drink

On Sunday my daughter had a hockey game immediately followed by a 90 min practice. 

For two and a half hours she’d be on the ice.

I’m usually all about telling the kids to stick with water, but even I had to admit that with two and a half hours straight of hockey, she might need some electrolyte replenishment.

We were in the car on the way home from grocery shopping a few hours before the game.

“Maybe I’ll get you a Gatordate,” I said to her.

Her eyes went wide. “Really?”

“Well, I’ll LOOK at them.  I’m not making any promises.”

“Okay!!” She was happy to take any shred of hope.

We stopped at a convenience store.

“Do they make clear ones?” I asked her as we were walking in.  “Because I’m not buying one with that fluorescent orange dye.”

“I think they do!” she said, trying to encourage this path we were now on.

We got inside and made our way back to the big coolers.  I scanned the bottles of Gatorade for something clear and found one. 

“Here we go!” I said, pulling it from the shelf and spinning it around to read the label. 

Her eyes got wider as she watched me. “Yes! I knew they had clear ones!” Her hopes high.

“Forty one grams of sugar!!!!  What the heck?!?!”

I put it back, reeling.

“Vitamin Water!” she shouted, running ahead of me, seeing that things were going badly and desperate to salvage the situation.

I followed her and zeroed in on a clear bottle of Vitamin Water. I pulled it from the shelf and turned it over.

“Thirty eight grams of sugar!!!! That’s insane!”

“Mommy!” she rolled her eyes. “It’s fine!”  

“It is not fine! I’m sorry babe, there is no way I can buy you a drink with forty-one grams of sugar in it.  I just can’t.”

“Okay,” she said, her shoulders dropping. 

I could see how deflated she was. 

“I’ll make you one!” I exclaimed.  “I’m sure we could make one at home!  How hard could it be?”

“You’re going to make Gatorade?” She didn’t look convinced.

“Not Gatorade, a healthy sports drink!!” I was excited now.

She shrugged, “okay.”

As we left the store, empty handed, she turned to me, “You know you’re crazy, right mommy?”

I nodded, “I know.”

Back at home I did some Googling and some experimenting and taste testing with her help and – voila – an all-natural healthy sports drink that will replenish electrolytes, tastes greate and does NOT have forty-one grams of sugar in it!