As I write, I'm looking down the barrel of a tough track workout this evening. We're waiting until the heat pulls back a bit before heading out to the track. You've heard of the importance of replacing the electrolytes your body loses in the heat. As you might imagine, I'm not a proponent of Gatorade or other "sports drinks." Can anyone say, "gut-rotting sugars and food coloring?" Okay, I'll settle down. My point is this, there are MUCH healthier ways to replace those electrolytes. Electrolytes are pretty much sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium. One thing we like to do to replenish is this: 1.) Eat half a banana. 2.) Mix a pinch of salt in with a half cup of milk. 3. Drink a half cup of water mixed with a tsp. of Peter Gillham's Calm (a splendid magnesium supplement). I KNOW you can come up with creative ways to mix up this routine. Another VERY simple way to replenish is coconut water. There are a zillion brands out there and a zillion different prices, so get what's on sale. We actually like coconut juice with the pulp. Yummy! Amazingly, this drink provides all of the electrolytes without the chemical sweeteners and other additives. Staying hydrated is important, but tons of water is actually not the best option, so mix it up a bit on hot days with iced herbal teas and honey and/or some coconut juice. You'll be surprised how rejuvenated you feel compared to drinking chemicals.
On a different note, here's an idea for a cool summer treat!
Popsicles
Ingredients: paper cups of your choice, popsicle sticks, other ingredients of your choice!
What I like to do is basically make a smoothie, pour it into paper cups, stick the popsicle stick in the middle of the smoothie and set it in the freezer to freeze. After it's frozen, you just tear off the paper and you have a yummy frozen smoothie pop! Today I put some goat yogurt, a banana and maple syrup in the blender, then added a bag of frozen blue berries. That was it. On other days, I'd be more creative, but that was all I could muster for today. We'll enjoy these after our track workout tonight! I like to do smoothie pops over frozen juice, as juice is pretty much just sugar. I was thinking that herbal tea pops would be pretty refreshing too, though! If your mixture is too liquid-y to hold a stick, let it freeze a bit before placing the stick. Enjoy!!!!!!
