Imagine you are out on your bike (or running, rock climbing, extreme gardening - whatever you like to do) on a hot day. You’re sweaty and tired, and feeling like you need a boost of energy. The question is, do you reach for a bottle of Gatorade and a squeeze of Power Gu, or are there less expensive, less heavily packaged alternatives? Ok, leading question.

In planning long distance bike rides, Hazon has found it particularly challenging to find kosher-certified sports drinks (who knew this would be such a problem?) that fall in line with our larger food values. But during a typical NY Ride we probably go through about 100 gallons of the stuff! For the last several years, we have used powered Powerade (OU certified) , which we’ve purchased in bulk and mixed with water in big, sturdy coolers. It keeps cyclists happy and at least avoids the plastic bottle pile up. This year, we will probably switch to CLIF’s version (KSA-certified), because powdered Powerade is for some reason harder to come by since the company was purchased by Coca Cola.

For now, and honestly for the sake of convenience, Hazon will stick with the powdered stuff for our bigger rides - but let’s get back to you. There are lots of alternatives for quick homemade power drinks that deliver all the salt and sugar that your body needs after a good sweat without the “tougher-than-thou” image, fake food dyes, or landfill potential.

Here are two recipes to try:

Lemon-Lime Power Drink
* 1 can orange juice
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon lime juice
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* water

Honey-Lemon Power Drink
* 1/2 cup honey
* 1/2 teaspoon lite salt
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* water

As you can see, making your own version of these sports drinks is pretty easy. The ingredients are mostly items that you already have around the house, making these recipes a very cheap alternative to expensive sports drinks.

Enjoy the refreshment - and feel free to share your own variations and recipes. And if you’re looking for a reason to drink these delicious concoctions, register here for the 2008 New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride over Labor Day Weekend as crew or as a rider.

Recipes from Tyler Cooper, Road Cycler
Power Drink image: Time