Lemons are life.
The more lemon juice, the better.
Something about their freshness. Their energizing scent. Their tartness and sour bite.
You can find me fantasizing about fields of lemon trees (and basically every kind of fruit tree imaginable) in my sunny backyard oasis, along with a luscious garden overlooking the ocean. YES. Now that would be a dream!
While grocery shopping, I don’t buy just one or two lemons, I buy the whole bag. I use them everyday, like crazy.
Lemons in every morning drink, like this sunshiny lemonade. Lemons in every salad dressing like this this one. Lemons in every Glow Bowl like this one. Lemons in my DIY face masks. Even in this clarifying lemon shampoo
So while you sip this luscious lemony elixir, take a trip down memory lane and think back to your favorite times as a kid selling lemonade on the street for 35 cents or that time you withstood the cruelty that is lemon warheads. Thinking about warheads makes my mouth water immediately. My brother and I would have competitions about who could eat more warheads in one sitting. This was wayyy before the iPhone. LOL.
Anyways, this vibrant Turmeric Glow Lemonade came to life last week, when I was bored of plain water. Sometimes we get bored of it, ya know?
Drinking pop is out of the question. Same with vitamin water, gatorade, snapple etc. NO THANK YOU. I’m also on the fence about apple cider vinegar lately and chose not to include it in this recipe because it tastes SOOOO much better without it. (I’m leaning toward shots of apple cider vinegar rather than adding it to my morning lemon water. It’s quick and painless. Sure I still use it in salad dressings, but I need a break from the super harsh taste).
So, this “healthy lemonade” idea came to be and I’m HOOKED.
Mostly because it’s so lemony and a little bit spicy with a touch of sweetness. Refreshing and thirst-quenching like no other. You can mix this up in 30 seconds. Drink it anytime of day, when your body is thirsty for a refreshing drink that’s a step up from water.
Turmeric Glow Lemonade is a game-changer.
Why turmeric?
- Promotes that healthy glow from within (look at that color!)
- Soothing + immune-boosting properties
- Pain relief + herbal healing
- Contains cancer-fighting curcumin (anti inflammatory)
- Detoxification
- Antioxidants
Here’s what you will need:
Step 1: Squeeze your fresh lemon juice.
Step 2: Sprinkle in your spices. Turmeric + Cayenne.
Step 3: Pour in some sweet maple syrup and lemon essential oil.
Step 4: Pour in filtered water.
Step 5: Stir & Sip!
Refreshing, energizing, thirst-quenching and absolutely perfect for the warmer spring and summer months! Especially with a few ice cubes thrown in. YUM!
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- tiny dash of black pepper (needed in order to absorb the turmeric!)
- 2 drops lemon essential oil (optional)
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or agave nectar)
- 3 cups filtered water
- handful of ice
- Add all ingredients to a large mason jar and stir, until well combined.
- Enjoy!
I drank this as a way of kicking my addiction to Coca-Cola. For a week solid, the cayenne in this gave me the buzz that I needed to get through my mid morning slump at work. But then, I got a cold! I kept on drinking it obsessively and changing it slightly (e.g. swapping honey as sweetener- not vegan of course, cinnamon for cayenne, and warming it). I am certain that my cold was significantly lessened because of the turmeric. Seriously amazing stuff. Your post opened my eyes to the benefits of turmeric. Thank you! 🙂
Sounds very good. Thing is I read that only whole peppercorns contain piperene. It seems that when black pepper is crushed/grinded it loses its piperene and therefore loses its effectiveness when added to any drink containing turmeric.
Do you think you could prep a work weeks worth of the lemonade? Or should you prepare it every morning?
hey check out getting a zero water filter, it does more for your water in cleaning it up in order to add nutrients to your body better. by removing heavy metals etc.
It burns so much. Maybe too much cayenne…
Haha, so sorry Ryan! I always recommend for people to adjust accordingly to their spiciness liking but its very easy to overdo it with the cayenne and then it’s too late. Hopefully next time you can enjoy it more and not use as much!
I read in another post how we need to have pepper to digest the turmeric properly.. Does that not apply to this drink as well? I believe it was your coffee elixir post that you mentioned that!
Hey Taylor,
You are right, totally forgot to add that into the recipe. Doing that now!! Unfortunately, cayenne pepper does not have the piperine that is in black pepper so a tiny dash of black pepper is all you need. Thanks for reminding me! Enjoy!!
xo,
Shannon
I’m so glad I let you know! Clearly you’re teaching me something and I’m very thankful! <3 I am trying to battle some acne that I have had for a decade now. Do you drink this every day?
Your photos made me want to drink this right off the screen. I made this today, even though I had no cayenne or lemon oil, and it is every bit as delicious as you say. Guzzled it! This is my pick for Recipe of the Day on my YayYay’s Kitchen Facebook page, Twitter and other social media.
Why the lemon oil?
Hi Johanna, the lemon oil is optional, but I added it for extra cleansing and purification goodness. Thanks!
-Shannon
Yummy! This looks like the perfect drink for Springtime 🙂 I will have to go buy some turmeric and give it a try!
Thanks Amanda! Hope you love it 🙂 definitely perfect for spring and summer!
This looks great! What you said about Warheads made me smile — I used to love sucking on lemons as a kid.
Haha thanks Janelle! So funny to think back… I used to love sucking on lemons too.