Back in the summer of 2009, I posted a recipe for one of my favorite summer drinks. Watermelon Lemonade. There are quite a few health benefits to this amazing, flavorful drink and it is very quick to make and is a great nutritious addition to your raw food diet!
Watermelon is packed with antioxidants. A great source of vitamin C and also A (from it’s beta carotene) it is also rich in B6, B1 and magnesium which are needed for energy production. It has almost a 90% water content and is considered to be more nutritious than other fruits.
Watermelon is also a great source of lycopene, which is a potent carotene antioxidant. These antioxidants neutralize free radicals, which can cause much damage to us. It contains higher amounts of lycopene than any other fruit or vegetable including tomatoes. In fact, it has 40% more lycopene than tomatoes!
Watermelon is rich in electrolytes sodium and potassium and has a cooling effect on the body. It is no wonder that we find ourselves reaching for a piece on those hot summer days! Who knew it was biological? Watermelon is fat free but great for energy production. It is also more effective that carrots for protection against macular degeneration.
For this revised version of the recipe, I threw in a handful of strawberries. Oooo la la!
Strawberry Watermelon Lemonade
- 8 cups watermelon
- 4 lemons, juice from
- 1 cup strawberries
- agave (to taste, you will probably not need it if your fruit is ripe)
1. Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
*Serves 4
For a great treat, freeze some in ice cube trays and use instead of ice to cool down your drink without diluting it!
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
That sounds so refreshing!
Mmm, strawberry watermelon lemonade. Nothing screams SUMMER quite like it! Although I will have a hard time blending watermelon. I would prefer to eat it!
Looks really good, and yes, really refreshing! Looking forward to trying it!
Sounds and looks amazing!
I’ve had this before, it’s SO good!
This looks and sounds delicious!!
this looks great, and for anyone hesitant about blending watermelon, I have to say that although I love good watermelon eaten as is, occasionally putting some in the blender and buzzing it up creates the most delicious drink! and adding strawberries would be a whole new level….
oh, this is SO good. thank you, susan! i used the pulp from one baby watermelon, locally grown strawberries and only two lemons. you might like this too: watermelon blended with a handful of blueberries. yummy!
My husband is a watermelon fanatic! He’s been known to (while on business trips) buy a WHOLE watermelon at a store, carry it back to his hotel room and use a plastic knife and spoon to get into it. It makes me laugh every time I get a phone call and he says he ate watermelon for dinner! LOL
One of our favorites is to freeze chunks of watermelon and throw it into the blender to make slushies. Can’t wait to try this recipe though!
I just got really thirsty!
I´eating my favorite summer salad as I read this:) Watermelon, zest & juice from lime, ginger and bee pollen
Love love love your posts by the way! Great inspiration!
I must confess, I had to Google “macular degeneration” (http://www.maculardegenerationassociation.org/resources/information.aspx?post=b91d2768-6393-47da-bb70-5bfac7dca2a6). Glad I’ve got another reason to eat/drink watermelon
Wow, this sounds lovely, and so refreshing. Watermelon is definitely my favorite fruit, but it never lasts long enough around me to use it in a smoothie. I bet the lemon is really nice in here too.
We used to eat lots of watermelon when I was a kid. As I grew older I stopped eating since I thought it was just water. I started eating watermelon again after my children were born and they liked it. Since I have been learning more about food properties I started eating it more and more and I found it delicious. I do not have strawberries but will try it without them.
I have some watermelon growing in the backyard that has the recipes name all over it! Thank you so much!
i love that you can take so little and make something so great!
this was absolutely fantastic. I could drink it by the gallon. Thanks for the recipe, it made my day!
Suzanne, do you include the watermelon rind? I’ve made straight watermelon juice before and included the rind because I read that the watermelon rind has chlorophyll, vitamin A, protein, potassium, zinc, iodine, nucleic acids and enzymes which aid digestion. Ninety-five percent of the nutritional content in watermelon is in the rind. Just wondering. Thanks.
I did not use the rind. If you do, I would only use an organically grown melon and also you might need to adjust the sugar. While there are nutrients in the rind, I think 95% might be high. The lycopene is in the red flesh.
This looks perfect for my raw food class on a hot summer day. Its suppose to be in the upper 90s here in Great Falls, MT. Can wait to serve this! Thanks Susan!