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I have made this homemade electrolyte drink three times in preparation for giving birth. Each time it has been used and very much appreciated when in the throws of labour! As well as in the early postpartum days that followed.
I always make this drink it large bottles well ahead of when it will be needed. Leaving plenty of space in the bottle, I simply freeze. Then this homemade electrolyte drink is ready to be pulled out anytime its needed. A homemade electrolyte drink is simply a combination of water, fruit juice, coconut water, salt and sugar. It contains all the fluids, sugars and minerals you need to replace when exerting a lot of energy (and sweat)!
The first time I was pregnant my midwife suggested that I buy some electrolyte drinks for labour. Unfortunately most shop bought electrolyte drinks contain ingredients that I would rather avoid. A quick bit of research and I found that it was very simple to make your own. I’ve tweaked the recipe a few times to suit my taste buds. But honestly it is very adaptable.
I soon realised that this was an easy recipe to prepare well in advance of birth. By freezing the homemade electrolyte drink its ready to go on baby-day. Simply leave out on the counter in the early hours of labour. By the time you want to reach for it, enough will be defrosted that your thirst can be quenched. It also means that the drink stays nice and cool. It’s so much better than shop bought, both in healthiness and tastiness.
Welcome to Hennys Recipe Book
Now that we have a family I am experimenting in the kitchen more than ever before. My focus is on healthy, whole foods. More often than not my recipes can be made in bulk, for future use. Or store in the freezer for the postpartum snacks.
I grew up surrounded by home cooks. Influenced heavily by my mum, grandma and aunties, my recipes are family focused.
I feel very privileged to have a collection of recipes passed on my by late Grandmother. Hand typed on her type writer. She travel widely for a single Mum of her era. Therefore my inherited recipe book is a collection of recipes from family and friends from all over the world.
Now with a young family of my own, I’m sharing, adapting and creating more recipes to add to her collection. Recipes that will hopefully continue to be passed down the generations.
I hope that you find your own inspiration from our recipes. Most of them can be adapted to suit all tastes and families. Know all the recipes are ones that I use regularly for my own loved ones. They have been created with love and care. I hope that you and your family enjoy them as much as mine. If you would like to stay up to date with our weekly recipes join our newsletter here.
How this recipe makes the perfect homemade electrolyte drink!
This recipe for my homemade electrolyte drink is so much better than anything you will buy off the shelf! For one thing it is far healthier, with no added chemicals or refined sugars. Secondly this recipe can be easily adjusted to suit your individual tastes. Like sour rather than sweet? Add more lime. Like a sweeter flavour? Replace the grapefruit and lime juice with mango or strawberry juice. Want it to taste even more refreshing? Swap grapefruit juice for watermelon.
I invented this recipe ahead of the delivery of our first daughter. I wanted something that would refresh and energize me while in labour. It was the perfect drink. Asides water it was all I had. I couldn’t face the thought of food or sugary snacks. Having read the ingredients list on a bottle of energy drink, there was no way I was consuming that! This homemade electrolyte drink is the perfect alternative.
Freezing this homemade electrolyte drink allows you to make it well in advance of your due date. You can pull it out on baby day and enjoy it super cold as it slowly thaws.
Ingredients you will need for Henny’s homemade electrolyte drink
Here’s a look at the ingredients you need to make this recipe. Most of our ingredients are things you will likely already have in your fridge or pantry. Missing something? Don’t worry, we’ve suggested some ingredient swaps and tricks that might help. Don’t let one missing ingredient prevent you from making a delicious from-scratch meal, snack or dessert for your family.
- Water – (I used filtered)
- Fruit juice – assorted. I like to use a combination of oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit. As I like quite a sour-sweet flavour in my homemade electrolyte drink. However if you prefer a sweeter tasting drink you may want to swap out the grapefruit for something else. My suggestions are strawberry juice (you’ll need a few punnets to make enough juice!). Or you could try adding something like watermelon. It really is very adaptable, but you’ll want something that will work with the other flavours. If you want to make this drink even more sour, you can increase the lime and grapefruit ratios. Reducing the amount of orange juice.
- Salt – You’ll want to use really good quality salt for this. The point of the salt is to add minerals into your homemade electrolyte drink, as well as just salt. Salt is a primary electrolyte. You need salt to effectively and efficiently absorb water within your body’s cells. Salt or sodium acts like a magnet drawing water into your cells. It also carries electrical currents needed to make your nerves and muscles function.
- Agave syrup – This is the sugar element of the drink (as well as the fructose in the fruit juice). It is also called agave nectar. It is a naturally occurring sweetener very similar to maple syrup. It is extracted from the agave plant, which is grown primarily in Mexico. It is a vegan friendly alternative to honey. It has a much lower glycemic index than granulated sugar (sucrose) as it is made of fructose and glucose. For this recipe you could swap agave syrup with either honey or maple syrup. You want a good source of sugar in this homemade electrolyte drink to provide you with energy for giving birth!
Equipment you will need for homemade electrolyte drink
Our recipes rarely require any fancy tools. We don’t use a microwave to heat our food, so everything can be made either on the hob or in the oven. (Or in an Instant Pot if you have one!) Conversions for gas, electric, fan and Celsius and Fahrenheit are included in each recipe.
See my list of most used toddler and baby meal prep tools here.
Find my list of non-toxic kitchen tools here.
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Juicer (I use a manual one)
- 1 litre jug
- Funnel
- 1 cup measure
- 1/2 cup measure
- 1/4 cup measure
- 1 tablespoon measure
- 1/2 teaspoon measure
- 1 litre freezer safe bottle
Step-by-step instructions for homemade electrolyte drink
Tips For Success for Henny’s Homemade Electrolyte Drink
- Tip one – Make this homemade electrolyte drink well ahead of your due date and store it in the freezer. When labour starts pull the drink out of the freezer and allow it to thaw on the side. Alternatively store the homemade electrolyte drink in smaller bottles, removing from the freezer as necessary. This drink will travel well to the hospital. Just make sure you wrap it in a towel if transporting when frozen, or the condensation will dampen your bag.
- Tip two – Adjust the fruit juice used in this recipe to suit your own taste buds. I like my drink to be both sour and sweet. You can easily make it sweeter by swapping the grapefruit and lime juice with mango, strawberry or watermelon juice. To make it more sour, add more lime juice.
- Tip three – If you don’t mind the slight saltiness add more salt to suit your taste buds.
Frequently Asked Questions for Henny’s Homemade Electrolyte Drink
How long can I store this homemade electrolyte drink in the fridge?
Freshly squeezed juice is best consumed within 2-3 days if stored in the fridge.
How long will this homemade electrolyte drink store in the freezer?
This homemade electrolyte drink can be stored safely in the freezer for up to a year. But you may notice some changes to taste and quality. I recommend storing it in the freezer for no longer than 4 months.
How do I defrost this homemade electrolyte drink?
Simply leave out on the side until fully thawed. Depending on the surrounding temperature, and the size of the bottle you have used this could take 12 hours or more. It will take approximately double the time if you thaw this drink in the fridge. Shake well before drinking. I personally like it when it is still a little frozen for ultimate refreshment!
Please comment and rate the recipe below if you make it. I’d love to know what your family thinks and your feedback helps us continue to improve our recipes.
Homemade Electrolyte Drink
Equipment
- Knife
- Chopping board
- Manual juicer
- 1 Cup meaure
- 1/2 Cup measure
- 1/4 Cup measure
- 1 Tablespoon measure
- 1/2 Teaspoon measure
- 1 Litre freezer safe bottle You can use any 1 litre bottle if not freezing. I like to make this well in advance of my due date, so I store it in the freezer until ready to be used.
- Funnel Optional
- 1 Litre jug
Ingredients
- 2 cups Filtered water
- 1 cup Coconut water
- ½ cup Orange juice Approximately 2 large fresh oranges
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice Approximately 1-2 large fresh lemons
- ¼ cup Lime juice Approximately 2-3 fresh fresh limes
- ¼ cup Grapefruit juice Approximately 1/2 fresh grapefruit. Replace this with more orange juice if you like a sweeter drink. You can even replace this with strawberry or mango juice. If you like it sour, but don't have a grapefruit, use more lemon or lime instead.
- 3 tbsp Agave syrup You can easily swap this for honey or even Maple syrup.
- ½ tsp Good quality salt I use Celtic Sea Salt. If you find this too salty reduce to 1/4 tsp. However if you reduce any further there won't be enough salt to make this drink work! If you can palate a little more salt go for it!
Instructions
- Slice your fruit in half starting with the oranges.
- Juice approximately 2 oranges until you have 1/2 cup of fresh orange juice and add to a 1 litre jug.
- Juice approximately 1 to 2 lemons until you have 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice and add to the jug.
- Juice approximately 2 to 3 limes until you have 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice to add to the jug.
- Juice approximately 1/2 a grapefruit until you have 1/4 cup of fresh grapefruit juice to the jug.
- Add 2 cups of filtered water and 1 cup of coconut water to the jug.
- Add 3 tbsp of Agave syrup to the jug and stir well to combine.
- Add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of good quality salt to the jug and stir well to combine.
- Using a funnel (if possible) pour the combined contents of the jug into a 1 litre bottle.
- Store in the fridge if consuming immediately. Store in the freezer if saving for later. Allow approximately 12 hours at room temperature for the homemade electrolyte drink to fully defrost. Enjoy!
That’s a wrap for now…
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About the author – Olivia Henny
Olivia Henny is a wife and mother to two young daughters. She is now pregnant with their third child. She lives with her husband in the North East of the UK. Their home is nestled in the British countryside, but not too far from a neighbouring city. Olivia writes from her own motherhood experience. As well as drawing from the experience and advice of other families and Mums, who she has interviewed for certain blog posts. Olivia loves being a mother and wife, and enjoys learning from the experience of other Mums online. Feeling that the online motherhood community has helped her so much in her own parenting journey. She would now like to give something back. Hoping that other Mums will find solidarity, inspiration, laughter and information from her motherhood and homemaking blogs.
Olivia is passionate about food and the health of her family. She already has decades of experience experimenting in the kitchen alongside her late Grandmother. Taking that experience and desire to create wholesome food, she is now sharing her family recipes here. She hopes to inspire other young families to cook from-scratch whole food. She feels that the kitchen is the heart of any home. Food having the power to make memories and bring people together.
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