Ginger & Green Tea Rehydration Drink

 

Why would you want to gulp down an artificially flavored powdered sports drink during your next long run (or other bout of intense exercise) when you could rehydrate with an antioxidant-rich, stomach-soothing, refreshing ginger and green tea drink? Choosing the real food option is always better!

 

I’ve been meaning to make my own rehydration drink to carry with me on my long runs for a while now. With the summer months fast approaching, replenishing lost electrolytes becomes super important. I really like the idea of being able to make my own rehydration drink using real food items that are beneficial for me as a runner. I can easily drop 2-3 lbs on a longer run during the hotter months from sweat loss, which means I need to be on top of my game staying hydrated.

 

Ginger is a great real food for nausea and upset stomach, which affects a ton of runners. While not everyone responds to the same extent to the stomach calming benefits of ginger, it’s worth trying. Green tea has anti-inflammatory properties and is full of healthy antioxidants. Pair ginger and green tea with fresh-squeezed orange and lemon juice, raw honey, and unrefined salt, and you have a winning hydration combo. Don’t wait until after you finish running to pump your body full of healthful compounds when you can do it during too!

 

Vigorous exercise lasting longer than an hour is one of the rare instances where I feel juice is acceptable to drink. That being said, if you’re going to drink juice, you might as well squeeze it from the fruit yourself so you know none of the fruits’ health benefits have been destroyed. You never really know what nutrients are actually left in that bottle of store-bought OJ.

 

The green tea and ginger flavor combo can work great before exercise too. I like to steep a piece of ginger with my tea and drink the morning of a run for when I want an energy boost less harsh than coffee. As an added bonus, the combo helps to calm my race day jitters!

 

If you really want to go with real food for a run, pair up your ginger and green tea hydration drink with my red tart cherry & chia seed energy gel!

 

 

 

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{Ginger & Green Tea Rehydration Drink}

Enjoy a homemade rehydration mix that combines the stomach-calming power of ginger, and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant packed green tea. You get electrolytes from unrefined salt, which offers sodium and other trace minerals lost in sweat, and potassium from fruit juice. 

 

Servings: 4 – 8 oz servings (makes 1 quart)

 

Ingredients

2 cups water

2 tbsp peeled and chopped fresh ginger

2 or 4 tbsp raw honey

(depending on how many calories you want your drink to be–I used 2 tbsp)

1/4 tsp unrefined salt

2 green tea bags

juice of two medium oranges (about 1/2 cup)

juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp)

 

 

 

 

Directions

Bring 2 cups of water and ginger to a boil; let boil 5 minutes. Remove from stovetop and add in salt, honey, and green tea bags. Steep for 4-5 minutes. Remove tea bags and ginger, then and add in orange juice and lemon juice–stir to combine. Add enough water to equal 4 cups (32oz) of rehydration mix (I added just under 2 cups). Store in mason jars or any sealed bottle. Mix will stay fresh for about 1 week.

 

 

Nutrition info per serving (made with 2 tbsp honey) 45 cal,  0 g fat, 11 g carb, 0 g protein, 0 g fiber, 130 mg sodium, 65 mg potassium.

 

Nutrition info per serving (made with 4 tbsp honey) 75 cal,  0 g fat, 20 g carb, 0 g protein, 0 g fiber, 130 mg sodium, 65 mg potassium.

 

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