Vegetating with Leslie: When Life Gives You Lemons...

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons."  - Alfred E. Newman

I squeeze a lot of lemons every day.  After five years of daily lemon squeezing, I finally purchased a professional lemon squeezer, the kind they use in fairs.  It's an incredible technological advance in my life.  I love it!

Still, my lemon squeezer is a single function tool. It squeezes lemons for salads I make every day in my vegetarian cafe.  It needed a larger purpose in life.

One day I put a little unfiltered sugar in a cup, squeezed a half lemon over it, tossed in the rind, swished it around, filled the cup with ice, added water, clapped a lid over the cup and shook.  I handed the result to my employee.  She drank, looked stunned and said, "Amazing."  She shared her drink with friends, who performed similarly.

This employee is 40 years younger than I as are her friends.  Noting her ecstasy over the drink, I wondered if it was possible she had never had real lemonade before?  Sure enough, prior to this moment lemonade for her was something made with water and canned powder.  She had no idea you could just make lemonade from . . . well, real lemons.

Have you ever compared the ingredient list on a lemon with the ingredient list on one of those cans of lemonade mix?  Here is a typical powdered lemonade mix ingredient list: Sugar, Fructose, Citric Acid, Less Than 2% Of Natural Flavor, Ascorbic Acid, Maltodextrin, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Citrate, Magnesium Oxide, Calcium Fumarate, Artificial Color, Yellow 5 Lake, Tocopherol.

Compare that list to: Lemon.  A lemon, with its nutrients, micronutrients and phytonutrients, with its fiber and its ability to lower the glycemic index of accompanying foods. Most of all a lemon with all of its taste.  A plain lemon, packaged in its own beautiful (integrated) yellow self.

It turns out real lemonade is not only more nutritious and about as easy to make as lemonade from a powdered mix -- but tastier.  According to the 20+ set, it is "Amazing!"

Forty years ago, I began a campaign to bring back real food.  I raised my kids on it.  Today I feed it to my customers.  Everybody loves it!  Why did we ever give it up?  What did real food ever do to us but keep us healthy and happy?

Real Lemonade
0 - 2 TB Unfiltered Sugar
Juice of 1/2 LG Juicy Lemon
1/2 Lemon Rind
Ice
Water

Wash one lemon.  Add sugar to taste to the bottom of a drink mixer or cup with a cover.  Squeeze over it the juice of 1/2 lemon, reserving the rind.  Swish sugar and lemon juice until mixed.   Add ice to the top of the shaker or cup.  Fill shaker or cup with water.  Secure the lid, and shake.  Enjoy your lemonade!

Healthy, happy eating!