Besides my morning coffee, water tends to be my beverage of choice with meals. However, I do occasionally crave something sweeter. But too much sugar causes me to break out like crazy and as much as I love Starbucks, my bank account can’t afford it all that often.
Fruit is a great way to add natural sweetness to beverages since fruits contain natural, healthy sugars and a ton of essential vitamins and minerals.
One of my favorite fruit flavorings is passion fruit, also known as Lilikoi. When I was studying in Hawaii, I fell in love with the tart sweetness that infused my butters, salad dressings, desserts and cocktails. I went on a mission to find the actual fruit at a farmers market since I’d never seen one in person. The round, hard passion fruit grow on vines and when opened, are filled with seeds and a yellow-orange pulp. While able to be eaten raw, lilikoi is very acidic and I prefer it infused into food, drinks, dressings, and baked goods.
My loved for lilikoi traveled back to the mainland with me and I tried anything I could find that said it was passion fruit flavored. That’s how I discovered Starbucks’ Passion Tea Lemonade. I searched online and tried a few recipes, modified them, and came up with my own recipe low in added sugar and calories but still just as tasty.
I really like Simply Lemonade. It has a strong flavor so I don’t need a full glass. I typically add 4-6 oz of lemonade depending on my glass size and then add 4-5oz of water to offset the sweetness. My teeth are super sensitive to cold beverages so I tend to not use ice in my drinks but you can totally add ice instead of the water.
Lastly, to give it the passion fruit flavor, I use a teabag of the Tazo Passion Tea. This is a super refreshing drink and doesn’t have anywhere near the calories of a store-bought juice or tea. Try it out and let me know what you think! Enjoy!
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