Agave Lemonade Recipe
A tall cold glass of lemonade on a hot summer day is one of life’s little pleasures that can’t be beat. But if you’ve ever been making your own lemonade and wondered if there was any alternative to adding sugar, you might want to give this lemonade made with agave syrup a try. It’s a slightly different way to make lemonade that’s still delicious and refreshing.
Agave nectar has been used as a sweetener for centuries and is derived from the Mexican Agave plant. In its fermented form, agave is made into tequila. The reason agave is getting a new look in modern times is because it is low on the glycemic index which means your body won’t have the insulin spikes and crashes that often result from white sugar.
Because agave is sweeter than white table sugar, you should be able to cut down the amount of sweetener used in recipes by at least a third, sometimes almost in half. You should be able to find agave in the baking aisle of your grocery store with the other sweeteners. It looks somewhat like honey, but is not as thick and syrupy.
Quick and Easy Agave Lemonade
This homemade agave lemonade recipe stirs together quickly because I also use the bottled lemon juice. I’ve always been happy with the taste but of course if you have lots of lemons around and want to squeeze out fresh lemon juice that’s OK too.
The cup of lemon juice is added to 6 cups of water. Then all you need to do is add 2/3 cup of the agave syrup and stir. Then all that’s left to do is serve your homemade agave lemonade over ice and enjoy. I find agave gives the lemonade a smoother and more mellow taste and it’s been a very nice alternative to white sugar. Try it and I think you’ll like it too!
Agave Lemonade
Ingredients:
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup lemon juice (either bottled or fresh)
- 2/3 cup agave syrup
Instructions:
- Combine the water, lemon juice, and agave syrup in a large pitcher. Chill and serve over ice.
We found agave at Aldi for $3.00, less than our usual grocery store. We also found Lime juice at Aldi for $2.79 for a qt and $1.00 a qt for lemon juice at Dollar Tree. So far that’s the cheapest and healthiest we’ve found it in July 2019. I hope you find as good if not better.
Oops, the Agave was for 11.x oz @ $3.00.
I buy my agave at Aldi too!
You can get the same brand agave at Costco way cheaper
Two 32 oz bottles around $12.00
As pointed out on 05/04/12, there are healthy versions of agave which can be found in the US. Organic on the label is helpful. My Winco in Washington state, has organic agave in the bulk section. I also read that 10 worst foods article, which is helpful, but there is more to the story as is common with the media. Dr. Laura W
Global Goods has Agave that is tested to be the lowest glycemic index. They test each batch that crosses the border from Mexico to make sure no corn syrup, etc. has been added to it (since it is harvested in Mexico and they don't have the same standards as the US, many companies add stuff to the agave and don't have to report it.) Look up http://www.globalgoods.com and read about it. You can also buy in bulk which is much cheaper than the grocery store!
And, you can buy it much cheaper on Amazon than in the grocery store.
Yes, agave syrup does have roughly the same glycemic index as fructose. However, it tastes sweeter and therefore you use half as much, which in a sense halves what you are consuming. You can't compare it tablespoon to tablespoon because it's not used in equal quantities to HFCS or sugar.
Looks like I am going to have to give Stevia a try next 🙂 I liked that Agave was low glycemic but after reading the 10 worst food ingredients link you shared, I'm not so sure what to think about agave.
I'm playing catch up after a couple of months.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but agave is not healthy.
The 10 worst food ingredientsÂ
I'm making the move to almost all stevia for my sweetening. It is a challenge because some stevia brands just don't taste very good and all of them have a bad taste if you use too much. Sweetleaf or KAL seem to be the best brands. I've gotten used to them for lemonade.
Of course, the problem comes that so many baked goods need sugar to brown and have the proper consistency. But i've cut out most baked goods anyway.
I do so enjoy your blog, and i'm looking forward to getting caught up! 🙂