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This homemade gatorade is a natural sports drink with electrolytes with 3 fruit flavors – mango, kiwi, and blueberry. No fake dyes or artificial ingredients, just a simple mix of fruit and coconut water!
If you’re looking for more drinks with natural electrolytes, you may also love my homemade electrolyte drink, ginger drink, and electrolyte popsicles.
Disclaimer: This recipe is a homemade version of Gatorade but not affiliated with the brand Gatorade. I am not a doctor and this post is not intended to be health advice. This recipe has been neurologist reviewed for the Mediterranean migraine diet!
Why You’ll Love This Homemade Sports Drink
This homemade Gatorade with coconut water is one of my favorite ways to stay hydrated during migraine attack days, or running around with the kids during the heat of summer. And these recipes saved me during the worst stomach bug!
You’ll love this homemade sports drink because it’s:
- Natural electrolytes – Coconut water and Redmond’s real salt contain natural electrolytes like magnesium and potassium.
- Real fruit – Kiwi, blueberry and mango give tropical flavors without any artificial flavorings.
- 5 minute recipe – This is one I can actually make when I don’t feel well because it only takes 5 minutes and uses frozen fruits!
Ingredients
- Fresh or frozen fruit – This provides the color and flavor for each drink. Instead of using store-bought juices, we use frozen fruit which is good year-round. This gives the homemade gatorade a more concentrated fruit flavor. Citrus is used for a refreshing flavor, but can easily be omitted and substituted as needed for those in elimination. Please see the edits below!
- Blueberry flavor – A combination of frozen blueberries and lemon juice. Frozen blueberries offer the best concentration of blueberry flavor. I love wild blueberries for their brain health benefits.
- Mango flavor – More tropical flavor with mango and lime juice. Frozen or fresh mango will work! Mangoes are high in vitamin C and natural electrolytes.
- Kiwi flavor – Frozen or fresh kiwi and lime or lemon can be used!
- Coconut water – I either use Trader Joe’s or Harmless Harvest. Keep in mind some have more of a pink color which can affect the color blend. With one cup you get 470mg of potassium and 30mg of sodium.
- Real salt – Redmond’s is not only a source of sodium, it also contains trace minerals of calcium, magnesium, and potassium. A great natural source of electrolytes compared to kosher or table salt. Sodium helps draw water into cells for hydration during exercise or sweating.
You can use sweetener like honey or maple syrup to taste! For the amounts of ingredients, see the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations
- Fruit – Other fruits can be substituted, like frozen strawberries or raspberries. I went with these flavors because I find more tart flavors to be helpful when I have nausea.
- Migraine diet – I have reintroduced lemon and lime with no issues so I love it for this recipe and those on a Mediterranean diet. If you’re in the elimination period, instead of using lemon or lime, you will want to omit these or substitute with an alternative. I recommend pairing blueberry and pomegranate juice, mango and peach, and kiwi with mango would be great.
- Coconut water – We tested electrolyte water as a substitute, but the flavor was watery and it just did not work as well. I have heard birch water can be a good substitute but this was not tested.
- Salt – Omitting the salt will alter the hydration potential, but it will still be a refreshing drink for those looking for lower sodium!
- Add mint or basil – Blending mint into the mango flavor, or basil with the blueberry elevates the flavors making more grown up versions!
How to Make Homemade Gatorade
Step 1: Add the fruit, juice (citrus or subs), mineral salt, and coconut water to a blender.
Step 2: Blend till smooth and combined.
Step 3: Strain the juice mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Taste and adjust for sweetness, if needed.
Step 4: Pour into a glass with ice and serve!
Recipe Tip
Because we’re using fresh fruit for flavoring, a fine mesh strainer is needed to extract the pulp so the drink is smooth and refreshing. If you don’t mind a little more fiber, feel free to add the pulp to your drink. This works fine with the mango version!
Storage Information
Homemade gatorade can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week in glass containers. I highly recommend these glass bottles for storage!
If you have leftovers and you don’t want to use them immediately, you can freeze these into electrolyte popsicles! This also freezes well in small ice cube containers.
Recipe FAQ
While homemade gatorade offers natural fruit flavors and electrolytes, it doesn’t replace packaged Gatorade when it is prescribed by a physician. Occasionally a specific amount of salt or sugar is critical for certain health issues so it’s important to run any homemade versions by your doctor to make sure it fits your needs. This recipe is only meant to be a refreshing drink!
Whenever I’m not feeling well I rely heavily on smoothies like this ginger smoothie or my homemade rotisserie chicken broth. I also love homemade ginger ale!
Electrolyte Drink Recipes
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Easy Non-Alcoholic Sangria
Drinks
Homemade Electrolyte Drink with Coconut Water
Drinks
Refreshing Ginger Drink
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 review in the recipe card! Don’t forget to tag me @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram, and follow along on Pinterest for more great recipes!
Homemade Gatorade
Equipment
- 1 High speed blender
- 1 Fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
Tropical Mango
- 1 cup fresh or frozen mango
- ⅛ teaspoon Redmond’s real salt or similar/Himalayan salt
- 1 lime, juiced (optional)
- 3 cups coconut water
Kiwi
- 3 kiwis, peeled and chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon Redmond’s real salt or similar/Himalayan salt
- 1 lime, juiced (optional)
- 3 cups coconut water
Blueberry
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen wild blueberries
- ⅛ teaspoon Redmond’s real salt or similar/Himalayan salt
- 1 lemon, juiced (optional)
- 3 cups coconut water
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend on high speed for 15-20 seconds.
- Strain pulp (for kiwi/blueberry, no need to for mango unless you want to!), enjoy or store in a jar for up to 3-4 days.
Notes
- Citrus substitutes – For those who cannot tolerate citrus or on a migraine diet, you can substitute the following for lemon/lime – pomegranate juice (blueberry), peach nectar (mango), mango juice (kiwi). Substitute 1-2 tablespoons in place of the citrus.
- Blueberry flavor can also be substituted with frozen mixed berries.
- Mineral salt – Added for natural electrolytes, this can be omitted for low sodium.
- Homemade juice will store up to 4 days in the fridge but also is great frozen into popsicles or ice cubes!
- Serving size – 1 flavor makes 3 drinks total! Nutrition calculation is for the blueberry flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried the Mango recipe-a little thicker consistency.
Really a great option for headache sufferers
Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed it. I do love that it’s a little thicker!
So great for summer!! I also used these during a stomach bug I picked up on a plane and it was nice to have an alternative from the storebought versions. I made the blueberry and the mango and I think mango was my favorite.