Power thirst
Submitted by Mephysteaux
Hey you! Do you want to feel SO ENERGETIC!?!?! Back on topic. I'm in college, I go to the gym pretty much every day, and I like to take a bottle of my favorite sports drink with me. My school sells Powerade for $1.80 per bottle, which adds up when you need to get 5-6 of them a week. So I developed a way to make a better sports drink cheaper.
Ingredients[edit]
You will need:
- A 32 ounce (1 quart, approx 1 Liter) bottle
- Gatorade or Powerade mix
- 2 packets of Splenda (or sugar if you so choose)
- Some salt
- Water
Procedure[edit]
This is the easy part. First, add your mix. You only need to use half the recommended amount. So, the mix I use says to use 3 scoops for a quart, I only use 1 and 1/2. Add the 2 packets of splenda, and a few shakes of salt. Fill the bottle the rest of the way with water, cap, and shake until all the dry ingredients are dissolved. Put in in the fridge.
Protip: Put it in the freezer about an hour before you need it. When you take it out, it'll be just starting to freeze, very refreshing.
The Advantages[edit]
The first and most obvious advantage is financial. If I'm buying Powerade from my school at $1.80 per quart, that works out to $7.20 per gallon. I bought a can of the mix, says it's enough to make 6 gallons, by my recipe makes 12, for about $8. Water comes out of faucets for free, Splenda packets can be jacked from your local coffee shop, and salt packets from your local fast food establishment if you don't already have it on hand. All considered, that works out to about 67 cents a gallon, which is about 91% cheaper.
The other advantage is that it allows you to have better control on your intake. A bottle of Powerade has 240 calories, and if you're going to the gym then cutting your calories is something you probably want to do. Power Thirst only has about 112 calories in a bottle. Conversely, if you feel you need more energy for your workout, substitute splenda for real sugar and add more. Salt brings out the flavor of the mix more, and also acts as an electrolyte, which you're losing when you dilute the mix. If you're on a low sodium diet, cut the salt, or consider substituting for lower sodium sea salt.
