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You know how every year there’s a song of the summer? Something featherweight and carefree that makes you want to splash in the pool or drive over empty highways with the windows rolled down? Well, this sparkling strawberry lemonade has been our household’s beverage equivalent.
It’s refreshingly light, bright, and a cinch to make. It’s our drink of the summer.
This past weekend David and I went to the farmers market, and I saw cherry watermelon lemonade for sale. I like cherries, watermelon, and lemons. It sounded like the ideal way to break the day’s humidity.
With the first sip of that Kool-Aid style lemonade, I realized it was a bad idea. Three dollars wasted.
That kind of scenario seems to play out at least once every summer. Whether I’m at a carnival, fair, or music fest, I give in to the draw of a lemonade stand and regret it immediately.
I wonder if my sugar expectations are just different from people who still drink things like Coke or Pepsi. Maybe that’s what they want.
Personally, I want the beverage version of a sundress – airy and breezy.
Sparkling strawberry lemonade
Unlike the sugar-laden lemonade you’d find at a roadside stand, this effervescent sparkling strawberry lemonade doesn’t coat your mouth with syrup or make you feel like you’ve had dessert in a glass.
There’s no mountain of sugar to stake your straw into. It’s refreshingly easy to drink – glass after glass.
(In fact, I wavered over whether to name it sparkling water with lemon and strawberry or sparkling strawberry lemonade, because the strawberry and lemon flavors aren’t overpowering or cloying.)
Because of its light, crisp flavor, it’s a drink that doesn’t wear out its welcome.
The lemonade is made with sparkling or carbonated water for fizz. Frozen strawberries take the place of some of the ice in the drink, helping it to keep everything cool.
David and I have been drinking this sparkling strawberry lemonade for a few weeks now. We’ve really been craving it.
After the first drink, we refill with more sparkling water, but we don’t add any more agave syrup. As the strawberries thaw, they release more of their own inherent sweetness, flavor, and pink hue.
Sometimes we do add an additional squeeze of lemon, depending on our moods.
Bring a glass of sparkling strawberry lemonade to your next summer outing, and make lemonade stand regret a thing of the past.
Sparkling strawberry lemonade
Ingredients
- 3 - 4 frozen strawberries
- A few ice cubes
- 2 wedges of lemon about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon agave syrup or your preferred vegan liquid sweetener Optional
- 12 ounces sparkling water
Instructions
- Put frozen strawberries and ice cubes into drinking glass. Squeeze two lemon wedges and put them into the glass. Add agave syrup (if using) and sparkling water. Stir with a straw or long spoon to combine ingredients and dissolve the agave syrup. Taste & adjust for your preferences, if necessary.
Notes
Nutrition
David Busch says
Step off, Justin Timberlake! This is the sensation of the summer. 🙂
Cadry says
Justin needs to bring it on down to Veganville! 😀
Bianca Phillips says
YES!!! Using frozen berries as ice cubes is SO SMART! And I love sparkling water. I need to try this. I hate wasting calories that could be used for pizza or beer on sugary drinks. This sounds perfect.
Cadry says
I’m totally with you on the pizza! I usually drink cucumber water all day, but having something fizzy is a fun change for summer. You’ll have to give it a go!
Shell says
I’m not a lemonade fan, but this is something I could get used to! I think I would love this! It looks so light and refreshing!
Cadry says
How do you feel about lemons in general? If you like them, you should definitely give this a whirl. If not, you could always try using a squeeze of orange instead. (I know how you feel about freshly squeezed orange juice!) I served this to my parents & David’s parents recently (on separate occasions), and they went crazy for it. It’s so simple, but really refreshing!
Shell says
I’m fine with lemons in general, but I do love a good squeezed orange! I bet there is a lot of mixing and matching you could do with this recipe.