Taste: A Better Workout Drink

Growing up with two older brothers has many benefits. One of these benefits is watching movies that a girl of your age wouldn’t typically watch. For example, Enter the Dragon, The Bride with White Hair, and other movies featuring lots of acrobatic butt kicking courtesy of martial arts.  Sitting on the scratchy carpet in our pine paneled TV room, kid me marveled at the gravity-defying elegant strength displayed on the screen.

 

But I never studied martial arts, aside from a very brief foray into tai chi. It was something I would muse about from time to time that would be cool to study “one day”,  usually inspired by a movie (Kill Bill) or TV show (The Walking Dead‘s Michonne). My oldest daughter, however, started taking karate at the age of four. I would go to her classes and watch the amazing things she was learning to do not only with her body but also her mind until my feeling grew stronger and more insistent.

 

Finally in February 2016,with the encouragement of my husband, I started taking martial arts classes for the first time. He said, “You’ll always be busy so why not just start now?” Used to being the teacher, the one leading those who need assistance or a boost of confidence, being a complete beginner was very humbling for me. In a room full of people in much better shape than me with much higher belts than me, I fumbled through those first months and didn’t give up even though it was a challenge to get through a class. Despite my clumsiness, I loved the energy and empowerment that learning martial arts gave me.

 

About eight months after beginning, that studio closed and we moved to a new studio. Rather than attending a single class, at my new teacher’s urging I attend  both my daughter’s class and the following adult class as well. Once a week I practice kendo for an hour after class with my daughter. When you’re working out that hard and sweating that much, just plain water isn’t enough. Too many times halfway through class I would feel dizzy, faint, and end up with a headache by the time I got home. I knew I had to have something other than just plain water during workouts, but what?

I Googled homemade workout drinks and started making a list of different ingredients that were possibilities. I then did a little bit of research on the usefulness of those ingredients and came up with a simple combination of  3 ingredients. Coconut water contains trace minerals as well as electrolytes. Pink Himalayan salt also contains trace minerals and electrolytes (Insert Idiocracy reference here).

 

Limes? Well, I just added those because they taste awesome with coconut, of course.

Ingredients:

About 16 oz. coconut water

1 lime, juiced and then cut into wedges

Generous pinch ground pink Himalayan salt

Instructions:

1. Pour coconut water into your bottle. (I use a glass bottle with a silicone sleeve.)

2. Juice lime and pour juice into bottle. Slice lime into wedges that are small enough to easily remove from your bottle.

3. Add a generous pinch of salt and shake. Enjoy cold or at room temperature.

Shopping note:

There are many coconut waters out there that are from concentrate or contain artificial flavors and extra sweeteners. You want to avoid those. I have found the best deal on quality coconut water is at Aldi grocery. (If you’ve never shopped at Aldi, give them a try and prepare to save, like, a bajillion dollars on your groceries.)

 

Also depending on where you shop, limes and pink Himalayan salt can be rather expensive. Find a local Asian or international grocery store for a consistently fair price on these items. My favorites are Lotte in Germantown and H Mart in Frederick.

I won’t be wielding my sword against yakuza or zombies, but drinking this sure gives my body the boost it needs anyway.

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments. How do you like to refuel when you’ve worked up a sweat? 

Like tasty drinks? Check out Taste: Green Super Smoothie and Taste: Lavender Latte

Need a bottle for your workout? Click here to purchase Glass Water Bottle with Silicone Sleeve. A portion of your purchase will go to maintaining my blog. Thanks for your support!