Basil Seeds Lemonade

A Simple lemonade with basil seeds – a pleasant, healthy, and incredibly cool summer drink to keep you hydrated on the hottest of summer days. This super-simple lemonade is just the right combination of sweet and tart flavors.

Why use basil seeds?

Basil seeds provide numerous health benefits. It is high in antioxidants, cools the body, improves digestion, and treats constipation, colds, skin infections, and respiratory problems. Basil seeds are good for summers as they can help in reducing your body temperature.

According to Ayurvedic scriptures, it has many additional medical properties. When soaked in water, basil seeds expand to resemble tapioca and have a brittle texture with a neutral flavor. The blossomed seeds can be added to practically any drink, beverage, or dessert of your choosing. It adds contrast to an otherwise homogeneously textured beverage.

These little black seeds that resemble black sesame seeds may compete with flax seeds and chia seeds. They’re derived from Sweet Basil and are extremely popular for their ability to bolster immunity.

Summers are hard to conceive without a cool glass of lemonade! Here is an easy-peasy lemonade recipe for you to kill summer heat.

Notable Ingredients at a Glance:

Soaked Basil Seeds: Make sure to remove any grits or stones from the basil seeds and wash them thoroughly. Then soak the seeds in lukewarm water and allow them to germinate. Within 15-30 minutes of bathing, you will witness swelling of the seeds. A transparent jelly-like coating is formed on the seed.

The soaked basil seeds resemble chia seeds, which are also highly nutritious. However, the health benefits and textures of these are not the same.

Mint leaves: Mashed mint leaves in a lemonade add to the refreshing aura and fragrance of the drink. However, Mint leaves are optional, if you do not have mint leaves in your freezer there is no need to rush to the market.

Also, mint is high in vitamin C, B complex vitamins, and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, zinc, and copper. Mint has antibacterial and cleansing qualities as well.

Honey: I am using honey as a replacement for sugar. Honey, a natural sweetener, has a lower GI value than sugar, which means it does not spike blood sugar levels as quickly. It’s also sweeter than sugar, so you may need less of it, but it has slightly more calories per teaspoon, so I constantly watch my portion amounts.

Lemon juice: I have used 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. However, the quantity can vary depending on your choice of tanginess of the drink.

Lemon slice: You can add one or two slices of lemon to make your drink look more refreshing. The outermost part of the peel also contains the lemon oils that give the drink a fresh aroma.

Water: Add water in proportion to the amount of lemon juice used. You can also use sparkling water at times instead of regular water.

How to prepare basil seeds lemonade?

Soak the basil seeds in lukewarm water for an hour or unless you see the seeds swelled up.

In the meantime, take a masher and mash some mint leaves in a mortar and pestle.

Once the basil seeds have swollen up and are ready to use, in a glass, add the basil seeds, mashed mint leaves, honey, and lemon juice.

Pour chilled water and give it a thorough stir.

Add some lemon slices to garnish and your drink is ready to be served.

Some expert tips for preparing basil seeds lemonade.

• Like we have used honey you can use any other natural sweetener or sugar.
• Adjust the quantity of lemon juice and sugar to your liking.
• You can use ice cubes, cooled water, ordinary water, or sparkling water, anything is acceptable.

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