My goal toward healthy, whole eating has been, at best, a daily struggle (hello irresistibly cheesy takeout pizza and Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl from the ice cream shop down the street).
But here’s one thing I can say we’ve done well in our household: Our refrigerator hasn’t been stocked with so much as one bottle of processed, artificially flavored soda (Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, etc., etc.) in a long, long time.
I can’t remember the last time we bought soda.
My husband Chris and I mainly just drink water.
Plain old water does get boring though.
So recently I decided to make a fresh, summery homemade soda pop.
Full of fresh basil and watermelon, it’s a nutritious drink you can feel good about.
And it definitely offers a sweet, refreshing, flavorful break from plain old water.
Bonus: this drink just tastes like summer!
Here are the only four ingredients (yes, only four ingredients!) you’ll need for this recipe.
Begin by scooping out all the fruit from half of a seedless watermelon using a large spoon or melon baller.
Watermelon is made up of mostly water, so it makes perfect sense to use in a flavored summer drink.
But it also makes for an extremely nutritious drink - watermelon contains a lot of Vitamin A (to protect your vision), Vitamin C (for a strong immune system), Lycopene (to help prevent cancer), and Potassium (for a healthy heart).
Place the watermelon in a food processor and pulse until it’s completely puréed.
You may need to work in batches to purée all the fruit.
Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and pour the puréed melon through the strainer.
The strainer will catch any pulp and seeds – discard them.
Pour the strained watermelon juice into a large pitcher.
Add some fresh basil leaves.
Use a wooden spoon to press the basil against the bottom of the pitcher, releasing the basil flavor throughout the drink.
Add some sparkling water.
If you’re like me, you’re finished here!
I like my watermelon soda just like this, with just the slightest hint of sweetness from the watermelon.
But if you’re more like my meat-and-potatoes-guy and you like your soda pop the traditional way (i.e. a lot sweeter!), add some 100 percent pure pear juice for extra sugary sweetness.
Stir everything one last time and then pour into glasses and serve.
Side Note: because of the extremely fresh ingredients, this drink is best served immediately, not stored.
This fizzy drink has a lot of watermelon deliciousness, with a hint of sweet, fresh basil flavor.
Refreshing and unique.
Summer in liquid form.
One sip and you’ll feel pure,nostalgic, ‘hot-and-humid-last-day-of-school-before-summer-vacation’ joy wash over you.
Here is the complete recipe:
