Sunshine Lemonade

Its been 17 days since my last drink.  
 
I've finally given up my very addicting, unhealthy habit.  




I QUIT drinking...soft drinks! No regular, no diet, no nothing!!


I've never been a big water drinker.  But I wanted to make some changes to my diet, and water was the one thing I was defiantly missing.   We have a nice water filter but I still didn't love to drink it.  I tried adding the powdered drink mixes and squeezing a little lemon in it, still didn't love drinking water.  I had a ton of oranges and lemons in the fruit basket and thought I'd give them a try in my water.  I loved the combination! I would slice an orange and a lemon and put them in my water pitcher and the longer it sets the better it tastes.  






I'm trying desperately to get the boys into this new habit with me.  I would love to see them drinking more water.  They like the lemon/orange water but still want something a little sweeter.  So I decided to experiment with my lemonade recipe, cutting back on the sugar and adding some orange to replace it.  Winner!! They loved it! It is the perfect combination of sweet and tart refreshment! Perfect for the hot summer days ahead!! Enjoy!!

Sunshine Lemonade

Ingredients:  

4 1/4 cups water, divided
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 teaspoon grated orange peel

Directions:

In a saucepan, bring 1-1/4 cups water and sugar to a boil. Stir to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and add grated lemon and orange peels, cool. Transfer to a pitcher; add lemon and orange juices. Stir in the remaining water. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve over ice. Garnish with lemon if desired. (If your family does not like the grated peel in the drink, you can strain it before pouring into glasses.)