We all know how refreshing and healthy home-made lemonade can be for you. Nothing beats the summer heat like a glass of ice-cold lemonade! If you are tired of the classic lemonade recipe but still want to enjoy a tasty (and beneficial) drink on a warm day, you should consider making lavender lemonade. Not only it offers a twist in taste: it will also leave you more relaxed.
What Is Lavender Lemonade?
Lavender lemonade is a fresh and sweet beverage, with a distinct flavor that makes it fancy and elegant. This cute pink drink is perfect for parties, brunches, and gathering with friends. Everyone will be pleasantly surprised! Also, since it’s super easy to make, whenever you have a stressful day, you might want to consume this easy-to-make but considerably beneficial drink. You’ll be happy to notice the difference.
Indeed, you might already be aware of the several benefits of the purple plant used to make this drink. After all, it is a common ingredient of several cosmetic products. Not only lavender has a lovely smell, but it also offers relaxing and soothing properties, no matter how you decide to take it. Science showed that the simple scent is powerful enough to affect one’s body and mind.
If you are stressed and need to calm down, or you are having some trouble sleeping, consider adding lavender to your recipes. If you are not sure how to start doing so, preparing a lavender lemonade is a perfect way to add some lavender to your life!
Let’s take a look at how you can make this simple yet delicious beverage.
Lavender Lemonade Recipe
Don’t worry if you don’t like to spend hours in the kitchen. The good news is that making this pink and elegant beverage is real simple. Additionally, it doesn’t take too much time, which is always a good thing. Plus, you’ll need only a handful of natural ingredients, and you are good to go, so no need to head to the supermarket if you want to make it today!
Lavender Lemonade Ingredients
Before getting to the various steps to make this beverage, you should be familiar with lavender lemonade ingredients. Make sure you have them all before starting, they are so simple you most likely have them at home already.
- One cup of Lemon Juice – best when coming from freshly squeezed lemons (even if more time consuming), for a fresh and re-invigorating flavor. If you are not a fan of the characteristic tarty taste of this citrus, choose Meyer lemons, a naturally sweeter variety.
- Half a cup of honey – better than refined sugar, this natural sweetener will also add some more character to your lemonade. For a deeper taste, you can consider using non-processed maple syrup instead. Of course, you can adjust the quantities based on how sweet you want your lemonade to be.
- One tablespoon of Dried Lavender Flowers – you can either find them at your local market or even in the spice aisle of some popular grocery stores. Don’t forget to add some fresh flowers when serving your drink for an elegant garnish! If you have a plant of lavender at home, you can, of course, dry some flowers and use them for the recipe, as long as you haven’t sprayed it with pesticides.
- Around four cups of water – you’ll need to mix some water with all of the rest of the ingredients to create an enjoyable drink.
- Ice – lemonade tastes better when cold! Ice is an essential ingredient for a refreshing beverage.
It is worth mentioning that lavender is an edible plant, but its essential oil is not. However, you can make this lemonade with lavender oil, but using the “real” ingredient is advisable. To be on the safe side, you must add only one drop of pure lavender oil. Keep in mind that choosing dried to fresh lavender is a much better choice. The most common varieties for culinary purposes are English and Provence lavender.
For a more intense lavender flavor, you can store the syrup in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two days. Then, take it out and follow the rest of the steps to make your lemonade.
The good thing about this beverage is that you won’t need many lavender flowers to make a lovely-tasting lemonade! Indeed, you should avoid overusing this ingredient as it can make your lemonade taste like soap (but an expensive one at least!).
How to make Lavender Lemonade
Preparing lavender lemonade is much easier than you might think. It is all about mixing the ingredients and adding the right quantities. It only takes about thirty minutes, and most of the time, you’ll have to simmer and let the lavender flowers in infusion to ensure the flavor is noticeable but delicate.
- Start with juicing the lemons. You should be able to fill about a cup with the juice, so ensure you have enough citrus. Generally, you’ll need at least six to eight lemons.
- Add 2 cups of water, some honey and the dried lavender flowers to a small pot.
- Place the pot at medium heat.
- Stir until the honey dissolved and turn off the heat.
- Let the syrup infuse for at least 30 minutes, but it can also be for several hours.
- After that, strain the mixture using a fine-mesh sieve and combine it with the lemon juice into a pitcher.
- Pour 2 cups of cold water into the pitches and stir.
- Add some ice and fresh slices of lemon to garnish.
- Your lavender lemonade is ready to serve and impress your guests!
Remember that if you don’t have access to dry flowers, you can use fresh lavender to make this lemonade: a small handful will be more than enough. Cut the flowers from the stem, place them in a bowl, pour as much honey as you’d like to have in your drink, and two cups of boiling water. Let infuse the mixture for a couple of hours and strain the syrup. Follow the rest of the steps.
Why Should You Put Lavender in Lemonade?
As you might have noticed, lavender is a common ingredient in lotions and creams. Also known as an essential oil. However, what you might not know is that the reason goes beyond the refreshing scent.
Native to northern Africa and the mountainous regions of the Mediterranean, this plant has been used for centuries for cosmetic and medicinal uses. Despite coming from the same family as mint, lavender can bring many more benefits than its cousin.
Lavender’s chemical structure is rather complicated, which might explain why it has so many properties. The name of this plant comes from the Latin “lavare,” meaning “to wash.” Lavender was indeed used since ancient times to treat different ailments. Many believed it to hold purifying properties for the body and mind. For instance, ancient Egyptians used during the mummification process. It was also common practice to use lavender to perfume clothing and bedsheets in Elizabethan times.
Today, aside from being a common ingredient in cosmetic products, lavender is also used to make superior-quality honey by extracting the nectar produced by the plant.
Studies found that some components of the scent of this purple plant have effects on anxiety and stress. Some researchers even compared lavender to Valium or drugs such as Lorazepam!
Adding just a few drops of essential oil can have immediate effects on tension, dehydration, and chronic headaches. Not to mention the beneficial effects it has on agitation, restlessness, and disturbed sleep. The scent of this flower can relax the entire body. If that wasn’t enough, lavender seems to have anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and detoxifying properties. It might help to ease digestive issues and even heal wounds. Some believe it has the power to treat a hangover, but science has still not confirmed this yet.
When consumed in small amounts, lavender can heal the body from inside out, helping you to feel better, relaxed, and calm.
Adding lavender to lemonade is one of the best ways to consume this flower and benefit from its positive effects on the body and the mind. Combine that to the nutrients of lemons, rich in vitamin C, and that can boost your immune system and you get a delicious drink that is also good for you.
How is Lavender Used To Reduce Stress
There are several ways to use lavender to promote good health and well-being.
Aromatherapy is arguably the most common one. It seems that the fragrance of the oils of the lavender plant can help to reduce stress and anxiety, but also mild pain. It might also be of aid to adults suffering from dementia. It can also increase blood circulation by increasing the levels of oxygenation, therefore lowering blood pressure, increasing muscle strength and brain activity, and reducing hypertension.
Another popular method to benefit from this plant’s soothing effect is to add some to your pillow to fall asleep. You can either add a few drops of essential oil or even stuffing your pillow with flowers, just like they did in ancient times to get a better night’s rest.
To treat anxiety and headaches, you might want to consider mixing five to six drops of lavender essential oil to your bathwater and soak in for some time. Besides calming you down, it can also improve dry skin.
If you feel stressed at work and have a diffuser, pour 10-12 drops of lavender in your device. You’ll feel it into the air in your office. Not only you’ll be able to enjoy the pleasant smell, but you’ll also get some natural stress-relief.
You can add a couple of drops of lavender oil to other lightly scented, unrefined organic oil (like almond or olive oil). The result will be a miraculous body oil that can let your body soak in all the benefits of this almost magical plant. Your skin will visibly improve, you’ll feel more relaxed, sleep better, and will even be able to deter insects. It almost sounds like a magic potion, but it is true!
Lavender tea is an approved supplement to help with digestive issues, nausea, intestinal gas, and abdominal swelling. Also, it is the perfect bedtime drink.
See other uses for essential oils
The Bottom Line: The Verdict on Lavender Lemonade
If you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, need help with sleeping, or had a stressful day, you should give lavender lemonade a try. Besides being extremely easy to make, it is also a natural remedy for a vast range of ailments. After all, lavender has been used for thousands of years, so there should be something about it! While there are for sure other ways to treat or at least minimize the effects of most of the issues mentioned above, trying with lavender will be of no harm.
However, you must keep in mind that the United States Food and Drug Administration has not approved this plant for medicinal uses. You can purchase its essential oil as a supplement, without replacing any of the prescribed course of treatment given by your doctor. To avoid problems, buy essential oils only from reputable companies.
It is also worth mentioning that lavender might have some interactions with drugs to reduce blood pressure and medicines that induce sleepiness. If you are taking the above, you should seek medical advice before start adding lavender to your regimen. There’s also no scientific confirmation on the safety of taking lavender during pregnancy or while breast-feeding. Always discuss any use of this plant with your doctor if you are breast-feeding.
With all that said, and despite some adverse interaction it may have with some medicines, whether in the form of lemonade, essential oil applied to the body, or fragrance, lavender can have several beneficial effects. If you are not sure where to start to add this plant to your life, one of the easiest ones is to make lavender lemonade. You’ll need only a bunch of ingredients, but the result will be surprising! It the perfect summery beverage, suited to home-parties, brunches, and gatherings! This fancy-looking drink will impress everyone, and chances are you’ll fall in love with its delicate but unique taste.