Homemade Gatorade Substitute Electrolyte Replenisher

This delicious healthy electrolyte replenisher is perfect for hot summer days or if you are sick and looking to get some electrolytes in you!

Store-bought Gatorade is full of artificial dyes, artificial sweeteners, and many other unhealthy ingredients; but that doesn’t stop a lot of people from grabbing a bottle when they have been working or playing hard in the hot sun.

Most people drink Gatorade to replace electrolytes lost while sweating. My husband, my boyfriend at the time, used to be one of them and would drink Gatorade when it was really hot and he was out working. I set out to find a healthier substitute for him to keep him from drinking the “poison” as I called it. I had to find out what electrolytes you lose the most of while sweating, which ones Gatorade had, and some healthier ingredients to find to make my drink out of. This is what I found and it led to me coming up with a drink that in my family’s house we call “Fakorade” (fake Gatorade)

What Electrolytes Does Your Body Lose While Sweating?

When you sweat you lose a lot of sodium and also potassium, magnesium, and calcium but in lesser amounts.

Does Gatorade Replace The Electrolytes You Lose?

Not really. Gatorade is high in sodium and potassium but does not contain much calcium or magnesium, which are two other electrolytes you lose while sweating.

So What Are the Electrolytes You Need To Replace? And Can You Make Them Into A Drink?

Coconut water has potassium, magnesium, and sodium while also being low in sugar. I use the Wegmans brand coconut water because I think it has the best flavor for this recipe.

Raw Honey contains some sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium and is a natural sweetener.

Lemons contain potassium, calcium, magnesium, and also vitamin C. Fresh lemons are best, but lemon juice will do if you need it.

Sea salt contains sodium, obviously, and potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

These are all ingredients that have the Electrolytes that you lose while sweating and if you mix them all together they turn into a delicious drink! I like to add grape juice concentrate to mine for extra flavor.

Homemade Electrolyte Replenisher Drink (Fakorade) Recipe

You will need:

1-gallon pitcher

1 carton coconut water (33.8 fl oz) (or two16.9 fl oz containers)

12 oz grape juice concentrate

1 T. sea salt

1/4 c. raw honey

1 c. lemon juice (6-7 lemons)

Homemade Electrolyte Replenisher Drink (Fakorade) Instructions

1. Juice your lemons. This works best with a lemon juicer, but if you don’t have one just cut them in half and squeeze them.
2. Put raw honey, sea salt, and lemon juice into a 1-gallon pitcher and stir until salt is dissolved and honey is mixed.
3. Add grape juice concentrate and coconut water to the pitcher and mix.

4. Fill the rest of the pitcher with cold water.
5. Mix and serve.
6. Refrigerate or freeze extras.

Tips For Making Homemade Electrolyte Replenisher Drink (Fakorade)

1. Warm up a little bit of water, but don’t make it hot, to dissolve your salt and honey in to make it go faster.
2. Add ice if you are serving right away.
3. Freeze in single-serving size bottles so you always have one when you need it. This is really handy when you are sick and need some but don’t feel like making it.

How Long Does Homemade Electrolyte Replenisher Last?

I keep mine in the fridge for about a week without it going bad, it doesn’t normally last that long around our house though. If you want to store it longer than that I suggest putting it in the freezer.