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Feasting on Fruit

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beverages, vegan, easy, paleo, fruit-sweetened, sweet · May 16, 2016

Fruit-Sweetened Lemonade

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This healthy lemonade recipe contains no sugar or artificial sweeteners. All it takes is fruit juice to make this summertime sip delicious and sweet!

Healthy Lemonade Recipe | 100% Fruit Sweetened

If you think about it, the phrase “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” is a bit close minded.

You could make lemon bars or lemon poppyseed muffins or lemon sherbet or lemon cake or lemon meringues even! Lemonade is not the only option.

Perhaps it was just written knowing that if we are having a sour day we are not likely to put much effort into making anything extravagant. Lemonade does wins for simplicity. So I guess it’s good that philosophical proverbs take laziness into account.

And another potential issue is what if life gives you lemons but no water with those lemons? Maybe you’re in a dessert. Or no sugar? What are you supposed to do now, make disgusting lemonade that would just make your day worse?

Despite all the holes I just poked in that phrase, I really do agree with the meaning. Optimism is most important when it is the hardest to muster.

Life didn’t give me lemons in the metaphorical sense, but I am making lemonade today. In fact no one gave me lemons. I had to buy them. “When you buy lemons from the grocery store, make lemonade”…nope doesn’t sound nearly as profound.

Healthy Lemonade Recipe | 100% Fruit Sweetened

The Sweetness in this Healthy Lemonade Recipe

Don’t worry, I didn’t put dates in the lemonade. (How hideous would that color be??) I know that’s what “fruit-sweetened” usually means around here, but this sunshine-colored sip is sweetened with a much juicier form of fruit: white grape juice!

White grape juice is one of the most neutral flavors of juice, and it’s quite sweet. It’s often concentrated and used to sweeten packaged things for just that reason. Replacing much of the water in your standard lemonade recipe with white grape juice makes for the perfect sweet tangy taste and not even a hint of grape. No sugar necessary.

I used a 2:1 ratio of white grape juice to water in this healthy lemonade recipe, but you can adjust the sweetness level quite easily by adding more or less grape juice. Just make sure you keep the liquid total at 3 cups per 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Did that just get way too confusing and math-y? I hope it makes sense.

The next best juice options if you can’t find white grape juice would be pineapple and apple. Those will both have a more pronounced flavor, but still taste good.

Healthy Lemonade Recipe | 100% Fruit SweetenedHealthy Lemonade Recipe | 100% Fruit Sweetened

Giveaway

The clever little lemon cover you see above and in the video is from a really fun and quirky little website called Catching Fireflies. They have lots of creative gifts, inspirational home decor, and clever kitchen gadgets.

So when your homemade lemonade ends up using the juice of exactly 3 and 1/2 lemons this little stretchy reusable food saver can take care of the other half. It’s also really helpful if you drink lemon water in the mornings and only use half a lemon to protect the other half from fridge funk till the next day.

They have tons of other fun kitchen things that caught my eye like magic soap to get the scent of onion and garlic off your hands, an oil-free microwave popcorn maker, a clip on dip holder for your hummus or guac, and this adorable spoon rest. You get the idea–fun stuff!

They were kind enough to do a giveaway for one of my readers, so enter below to win a $48 gift card to the Catching Fireflies online shop! (U.S. only)

Or you can use the discount code FRUIT to get 20% off any purchase from now until June 16.

Fruit-Sweetened Lemonade! No sugar. No artificial sweeteners. Just fruit makes this summertime sip healthy and sweetClick To Tweet Print
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Fruit-Sweetened Lemonade

★★★★★ 5 from 6 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 3 1x
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 cups white grape juice
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp lemon zest
  • Pinch of turmeric (optional)

Instructions

  1. Blend or shake or stir all the ingredients to combine.
  2. Enjoy! Keep in the refrigerator.

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Healthy Lemonade Recipe | 100% Fruit Sweetened

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In: beverages, vegan, easy, paleo, fruit-sweetened, sweet · Tagged: blender, juice, lemon, summer, turmeric, zest

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Comments

  1. Dori says

    May 16, 2016 at 4:56 pm

    Sounds delicious!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 16, 2016 at 5:33 pm

      Thanks Dori, it is!

      Reply
  2. Jenn says

    May 16, 2016 at 5:10 pm

    Love this!! White grape juice is a genius way to add sweetness without the sugar. I imagine apple would do the same. What a great idea. I definitely will be trying this as my son LOVES lemonade!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 16, 2016 at 5:35 pm

      Yep, I think apple would be great too since apples are what is used to sweeten most juicing recipes and it goes so well with lemon 🙂 Again with the kid friendly recipes, I just can’t help it lol!

      Reply
  3. Caitlin says

    May 16, 2016 at 7:42 pm

    Microwave popcorn

    Reply
  4. Lana says

    May 16, 2016 at 8:13 pm

    Great recipe! I love that you don`t need sugar for the lemonade. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Sb says

      May 19, 2016 at 2:19 am

      Yes it’s great! Can’t wait to try!

      Reply
      • Natalie says

        May 19, 2016 at 2:32 am

        I hope you love it!

        Reply
  5. Danna says

    May 16, 2016 at 9:01 pm

    Lemonade, the best cleanse for your body! Wonderful recipe as always 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 16, 2016 at 10:57 pm

      It certainly beats lemon water on taste, hopefully some of those great cleansing properties are still at work 🙂 Thank you Danna!

      Reply
  6. Linda @ Veganosity says

    May 16, 2016 at 9:31 pm

    SO SMART! I thought grape juice had added sugar. You just made me very happy. 🙂

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 16, 2016 at 10:55 pm

      I’m sure there are some that do have added sugar, they toss sugar into everything, but this was just the organic store brand stuff and it didn’t have any 🙂

      Reply
  7. Laura says

    May 16, 2016 at 11:48 pm

    I agree: why would you cut it off at lemonade! Love the way you think Natalie. And I love this fruit sweetened idea too. Where is summer so I can try this?!?!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 17, 2016 at 2:12 am

      No summer up there yet? Aww bummer! Come on weather, it’s May already! Well I hope it warms up soon and you can make all the lemony things 🙂

      Reply
  8. The Vegan 8 says

    May 17, 2016 at 1:58 am

    I LOVE white grape juice but it has been forever since I”ve had any! And you are right, it is so sweet. I can’t remember the blogger right now but she uses white grape juice to sweeten all her baked goods! My favorite juices to drink when I used to drink them was always lemonade and apple juice and grape juice. I only really buy apple juice now for use in baking and a few frozen desserts.! My hubby LOVES lemonade but we don’t drink juice but once in a blue moon, just mainly water, I typically sweeten with syrup but I’m thinking this summer would be a great time to make him some with white grape juice..sounds so dang good! That lemon cover thing is absolutely adorable too…I usually just use plastic wrap, lol.

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 17, 2016 at 2:17 am

      That’s so funny, and now I’m very curious who this blogger is, sounds like something I’d be into! Apple juice is great for baking too, but it has more of it’s own flavor. I never drink juice either. Even if I buy it I just never get around to it, water all day. Except now I have a 3/4 full big bottle of white grape juice, so I’ll probably be making some more lemonade soon 😀 It’s amazing how sweet lemonade tastes after you get used to drinking lemon water!

      Reply
  9. Margaux says

    May 17, 2016 at 3:47 am

    Hee! I had to laugh when you said you hoped it wasn’t too math-y at some point, because sometimes recipes can require some serious conceptualization, like when one deals with “dl” measurements.

    I can’t enter but just stopped by to say it sounds delicious! xx

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 17, 2016 at 2:41 pm

      Oh I know! Thank goodness for google’s conversion thingy lol! Plus I’m just not very good with exactness in recipes, I like more freeform style stuff where a little less or a little more won’t hurt anybody 😀 And yeah I’m sorry about the whole US only thing, it’s a bummer since so many of my readers are all over the world. But I appreciate your lovely comment anyways <3

      Reply
  10. Cadry says

    May 17, 2016 at 2:54 pm

    What a great idea to use juice instead of sugar! I have been in a big lemonade mood lately.

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 17, 2016 at 2:59 pm

      Gotta love those random recipe ideas that pop into your head while you are trying to go to sleep 🙂

      Reply
  11. Becky Striepe says

    May 17, 2016 at 3:14 pm

    That lemonade looks awesome, and what a cute little kitchen gadget that lemon cover is!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 17, 2016 at 3:44 pm

      Thanks Becky 🙂 It is a fun little thing, and there are other sizes too for jars or cans. Very handy 🙂

      Reply
  12. Kayley says

    May 17, 2016 at 3:45 pm

    I’m interested in trying their aromatherapy shower bursts.

    Reply
  13. audrey @ unconventional baker says

    May 17, 2016 at 3:55 pm

    This sounds amazing! I was actually contemplating grapes as a sweetener in a recipe recently, but never thought to use the juice. Hmmm… you just gave me ideas, you clever lady! 😀 And lol on the date sweetened lemonade color — maybe those would work for some sort of a homemade coke though…

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 17, 2016 at 10:19 pm

      Have you ever seen date-orade? It does look so much like coke in color, plus it gets really foamy if you blend it so thats a spot on comparison. Oooh grape juice in a dessert perhaps?? That is a really good idea actually, I should play around with that more too 🙂

      Reply
  14. Aimee says

    May 17, 2016 at 7:16 pm

    SO beautiful! I love your photos 🙂 And it sounds DELICIOUS

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 17, 2016 at 10:22 pm

      Thank you Aimee 🙂

      Reply
  15. Molly says

    May 17, 2016 at 7:26 pm

    Love your quote about optimism being the most important when it’s hardest to muster. And thanks for host g such a great giveaway!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 17, 2016 at 10:23 pm

      Thank you Molly 🙂 And thanks for entering!

      Reply
  16. Harriet Emily says

    May 17, 2016 at 9:03 pm

    Wow Natalie, this lemonade is gorgeous! The photos are so stunning! I love that this is sweetened with grape juice, such an amazing, healthy way to enjoy lemonade! I can’t wait to try this! <3 pinned!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 17, 2016 at 10:24 pm

      It was one of those ideas that just popped into my head in the middle of the night and actually worked out 🙂 I love lemonade too but I don’t like having to pour SO much sugar into it. And lemon is such a strong flavor, you really can’t taste the juice at all!

      Reply
  17. Jordan D. says

    May 18, 2016 at 2:50 am

    I’d love on the listography books or the coloring books. The wine glasses are cute, too!

    Reply
  18. Annamarie V says

    May 18, 2016 at 5:13 am

    So many great products but I really like the bathtub teas and they come in four different aromas.

    Reply
  19. Casey says

    May 18, 2016 at 4:35 pm

    Lemon has always and will always be one of my favorite flavors. Also, that little gadget is amazing. I am going to have to check out their website! Also loving the photos for this SO MUCH.

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 18, 2016 at 4:54 pm

      Mine too, in sweet or savory things! They are both better with a little tang 🙂 Thanks Casey!

      Reply
  20. Autumn Gwinn says

    May 18, 2016 at 7:39 pm

    I would absolutely love the lemon cover. 🙂

    Reply
  21. Kaila @ Healthy Helper Blog says

    May 19, 2016 at 12:25 am

    Awesome giveaway and AWESOME RECIPE! I never thought lemonade could be made without sugar! This is so cool. Great idea using grape juice! I bet this is so refreshing.

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 19, 2016 at 2:33 am

      Thanks girl! I know right usually when I make it I have to add SO much sugar to get it to taste right, but the juice totally took care of it 🙂 Yay for lemonade in my life again 🙂

      Reply
  22. Heidi says

    May 19, 2016 at 1:51 am

    I’m curious if you think this would work with limes as well? I was just given a dozen . ☺

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 19, 2016 at 2:34 am

      Yes for sure Heidi! What a lovely gift 🙂

      Reply
  23. Mandy says

    May 19, 2016 at 3:48 am

    Well how convenient is this…I JUST bought a couple bags of lemons! I am loving this bright, sunshine-y color!!!! We love making homemade lemonade during the summer, but I’ve never paired it with white grape juice! Such a great idea!! And how fun is that little lemon cover! What a great giveaway! 🙂

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 19, 2016 at 5:18 pm

      Perfect timing then!! We used to make it at home with meyer lemons…before that meyer lemon tree died haha! See terrible gardener I tell you 😀 But I was always shocked by how much sugar it took to sweeten. Although after getting used to drinking straight lemon water it probably doesn’t require as much sweetness to make me happy anymore. But juice works so well too! And makes it extra sunshine-colored I think!

      Reply
  24. Dana O says

    May 19, 2016 at 12:38 pm

    I like the cover blubber reusable food savers. I won’t need to store the other lemon half in a ziploc bag.

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 19, 2016 at 5:19 pm

      I know the random 1/2 a lemon is always a problem. Good luck!!

      Reply
  25. Amber says

    May 19, 2016 at 12:51 pm

    I never would have thought of using grape juice as a sweetener. What a great idea! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 19, 2016 at 5:22 pm

      I hope you try it, it’s surprisingly delicious and perfectly sweet enough! Thanks for your comment Amber 🙂

      Reply
  26. Carly says

    May 19, 2016 at 2:06 pm

    I am so excited about this recipe!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 19, 2016 at 5:20 pm

      Yay!! Me to Carly!

      Reply
  27. Sage says

    May 19, 2016 at 3:02 pm

    Definitely the bird spoon roast or the cover blubber reusable food saver. I always have half a lime or lemon leftover!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 19, 2016 at 5:23 pm

      Yep the pesky half lemon always floating around the fridge, it’s perfect for that! Good luck Sage 🙂

      Reply
  28. Ashley Mauceri says

    May 19, 2016 at 4:32 pm

    This mug is too cute! http://catchingfireflies.com/love-you-still-porcelain-mug/ Thanks for the chance to win!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 19, 2016 at 5:23 pm

      Aww that is adorable I agree! Good luck Ashley!

      Reply
  29. Annette says

    May 19, 2016 at 5:52 pm

    I like the mr right and mrs always right mug set.

    Reply
  30. Starla B says

    May 19, 2016 at 8:52 pm

    The lemonade looks delicious. If I were to win I would really love to have the flower nesting condiment bowl set!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 19, 2016 at 9:30 pm

      Those are so cute, I kinda want them too 🙂

      Reply
  31. Brenda says

    May 19, 2016 at 9:43 pm

    Will be trying this , this weekend. Sounds delish. Trying to find some great recipes for diabetics.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 19, 2016 at 10:00 pm

      Oh I hadn’t even thought of that, great idea! Enjoy 🙂

      Reply
  32. Sarah | Well and Full says

    May 19, 2016 at 9:50 pm

    This lemonade looks so refreshing!! White grape juice – who knew?? 😉

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 19, 2016 at 9:59 pm

      I know right! I used to love these gummy snacks that were sweetened with white grape juice, that’s kinda where I got the idea. It’s pretty neutral flavored, and works perfectly!

      Reply
  33. Maria G. says

    May 20, 2016 at 2:05 pm

    Great idea with the grape juice! I have been wondering how to make a sugar-free lemonade for some time, and now I know!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 20, 2016 at 3:54 pm

      I’ve been trying to figure it out for a while too because lemonade is the best! Grape juice is the key 🙂

      Reply
  34. Jackie says

    May 20, 2016 at 6:14 pm

    That’s such a smart little cover, I wonder if it would work for avocados too? Not that they taste nasty once they start to brown but a lot of people just throw them out at that point. I would love to get the cocktail tool and the wooden postcard for my husband (there’s a line in there about the jelly to my peanut butter and he HATES peanut butter lol). Can’t wait to try this lemonade!

    Reply
    • Jackie says

      May 20, 2016 at 6:17 pm

      Oh and the frog soap spitter…and the forked up stuff….ahhhhh tooo much awesomeness!

      Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 20, 2016 at 6:34 pm

      It is so handy to have around, and there are other sizes of those little covers too so I’m sure one of them would fit an avocado! They are also super helpful for closing cans when you use half a can of beans or pumpkin or something. Haha the postcard would be hilarious, there are so many fun things! I love the frog too 🙂 Good luck in the giveaway!

      Reply
  35. Steph says

    May 20, 2016 at 7:16 pm

    I haven’t enjoyed grape juice in years due to guilt!!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 20, 2016 at 10:07 pm

      Guilt?? :/

      Reply
  36. Philia says

    May 21, 2016 at 2:04 am

    I never even knew white grape juice existed! Now I’m curious to try it, your lemonade sounds amazing

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 21, 2016 at 3:11 am

      It’s not my favorite for just drinking, but very good for sweetening! I hope you enjoy it Philia 🙂

      Reply
  37. Bianca - ElephantasticVegan says

    May 21, 2016 at 6:05 am

    This is the prettiest lemonade I’ve ever seen! And I love that you’ve used white grape juice for sweeteners.
    But what I find so annoying is, that I have to check whether a fruit juice is vegan or not. Seriously, why wouldn’t every fruit juice just be vegan.. I don’t want to deal with that. Thankfully, many companies started to apply vegan labels on their products when applicable. That makes it much easier. Do you have a certified vegan label in the US on products? I haven’t seen it on the few US products I’ve had in my life.

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 21, 2016 at 4:16 pm

      How could fruit juice not be vegan?? Is it something with the way they process it? Or the “natural flavors”? How strange, I’ve never given it much thought really. We do have a V label here on vegan things, but only if the company cares enough to get it certified. So many accidentally vegan products do not have it. It would be so nice if it was a universal thing. If it’s just one ingredient like this juice then I just assume it is. And going with high quality organic brands makes me feel better too (but I could just be playing mind tricks on myself :D) Do you have good vegan labeling there?

      Reply
  38. Bianca - ElephantasticVegan says

    May 22, 2016 at 7:10 am

    Unfortunately, some fruit juices are clarified with gelatin or fish bladder (same as wine). Of course they don’t have to put in on the packaging, so there’s no easy way finding out if they’re vegan or not. At least, that’s how it is here. Maybe it’s just another geographical difference, just like the bone char thing in sugar. We don’t have that at all here. But it’s definitely worth checking, better to be safe than sorry 🙂

    We pretty much have the same vegan label here – it’s optional for brands and of course, all the vegan-friendly brands make sure they put on the label. But recently, many brands with accidentally vegan products put it on too, which is really nice. Now we have super cheap vegan puff pastry dough with a vegan label. Vegan labels for the win! 🙂

    Reply
  39. Ally says

    May 22, 2016 at 5:17 pm

    I LOVE the dip clip!

    Reply