Easy Homemade Drinks for Kids: Healthy and Refreshing Beverage Ideas for Your Child

Introduction

Summer requires constant hydration to make up for the loss of water due to excessive sweating. For kids, proper hydration is critical to ensure that there is no loss of necessary electrolytes from the body. However, making kids drink glasses and glasses of water throughout the day can be a bit boring for them.

To make summer hydration a bit more exciting and zestier, parents may introduce some fresh and flavorful drinks so that kids stay hydrated throughout the day. However, the selection has to be made keeping in mind that these drinks have enough vitamins and minerals and are also easy to make at home. If you are looking for the perfect summer libations for your child to keep them hydrated and revitalized, then your search is over.

Easy to Make Homemade Drinks for Your Kids

Here is a list of some easy-to-make summer special drinks that parents may make at home to keep their children hydrated.

• Sattu Drink

Sattu drink or sharbat is a hydrating and extremely flavorful summer refresher made from sattu. Sattu is a coarse powder made from roasted chickpea or channa. This powder is mixed with lemon juice, mint leaves, a splash of chilled water and some kala namak to make a soulful elixir for kids. One of the best parts about this drink is that it's highly nutritious and also gives a lot of energy to kids, which is a must in summers. Because of being light, it can be consumed multiple times throughout the day.

• Kokum Sharbat

Kokum Sharbat is a sweet and tangy concoction of dried pieces of kokum that are soaked in water until they soften, jaggery, cardamom, black pepper, and cumin seeds. It's an aromatic libation that is generally a bit dense in concentration and has a great shelf life. It can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 months easily and can be an instant fix to your child's hydration needs. Another great aspect of this drink is that parents can experiment with various ingredients such as lemon juice, mint leaves, and cucumber to elevate the flavors of this dish even more.

• Badam Sharbat

Badam Sharbat can come to the rescue when the heat becomes intolerable, and you want to avoid making your child consume packaged drinks. This versatile drink can be made by mixing almond syrup with either milk or water. Apart from almonds, the seeds of musk melon are also an important component of this drink. Because of such nutritious ingredients, the drink is a great source of vitamins A, C, and E. To make this at home, you can simply mix almonds, melon seeds, cardamom, honey, lemon juice, and saffron with water in a mixer. If available, you can simply add almond syrup instead of almond pieces. The drink will be ready in no time to satiate your child’s craving for something refreshing and hydrating.

• Green Mango Lassi

Summer without mangoes is incomplete, and what better way to enjoy them than by making creamy and rich lassi. Lassi is made of curd, which is good for the gut, especially during summer because of healthy bacteria and vitamins. Combining lassi with green mango pulp helps in getting a very smooth blend of goodness that kids may love. A great aspect of this drink is that there is no artificial source of sweetness, which makes it even better. The drink is tangy, velvety, and extremely satisfying. To make it a bit sweet, parents may add honey or a spoonful of sugar.

• Amla Shikanji

Nimbu ki shikanji is a popular drink throughout India, but amla ki shikanji offers no less flavors and nutritional benefits. To make this sweet and tart drink, parents can simply take amla pulp and mix the pulp with water and sugar to make a runny juice-like libation. In this mixture, one may add black salt, mint leaves, and lemon juice to make it even more refreshing. Before serving the drink, remember to sieve it to extract any seeds or leaves that might be left. Overall, it is extremely nutritious to the body and also offers a yummy dose of flavors.

• Pineapple Lime Drink

This drink is an intelligent combination of pineapple and sweet lime, both of which are naturally hydrating and full of essential vitamins and minerals for the body. It's extremely rejuvenating and has sweet and sour flavors that your kid might enjoy. To make this at home, you have to simply take out the pulp of sweet lime and mix it with pineapple pieces in a mixer with water. You may add honey or sugar syrup to sweeten the drink a bit. Additionally, you may also infuse some mint leaves to give it that extra boost of freshness. Serve it chilled to your child.

Conclusion

As the sun begins to shine brightly and the heat is intense, it is a sign for parents to modify their kids' diet and make it more appropriate as per the season. Fluid consumption during this time becomes necessary to compensate for the loss of water because of high temperature. Instead of giving kids artificially flavored and sweetened drinks, such healthy and easy-to-make libations can be a great way to make your child’s summers fun and full of hydration.

References

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2908954/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6356561/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340640816_Kokum_Garcinia_indica_Fruit_A_Review

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33233252/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7146189/

https://www.myfoodresearch.com/uploads/8/4/8/5/84855864/_43__fr-2022-161_chaudhary.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318360553_Lemon_A_Versatile_Fruit_of_Multiple_Uses

https://globalresearchonline.net/journalcontents/v24-2/25.pdf