Homemade Energy Drinks

Real-Food Energy & Hydration Drinks

Homemade fuel for long training days — rebuilt to actually match how your body absorbs it

I first put these recipes together for a dear friend who trains professionally — six to eight hours a day — and needs a lot of liquid calories to keep going. By popular request I’m bringing the post back, but this time I’ve gone back and rebuilt everything so the recipes line up with what sports-nutrition research actually says about hydration and fueling during exercise. The old versions tasted fine, but they were too concentrated to absorb well mid-workout. These are better. If you have a favorite of your own, I’d still love to hear it in the comments!

First, the science — in plain English

Here’s the whole thing in a nutshell, and once you understand it, you can build or fix any drink yourself:

• Keep it around 6–8% carbohydrate. That’s about 6–8 grams of sugar per 100 mL (roughly 14–19 g per cup). Drinks in this range empty from your stomach quickly and hydrate you well. Go much higher and the concentration actually slows everything down, leaving you sloshy and under-hydrated. This was the main thing my old recipes got wrong — they ran close to 10%.
• Combine two sugars. Your gut absorbs glucose and fructose through two different doorways, so a mix lets you take in more fuel with less stomach upset. Honey and 100% fruit juice both naturally supply that glucose-plus-fructose combo — which is exactly why they belong here.
• Add salt. You lose sodium in sweat, and replacing some helps you hold onto fluid and ward off cramps on long, hot days. Aim for roughly 300–700 mg of sodium per liter — more if you’re a heavy or salty sweater.
• How much, how often: sip steadily — about 500–750 mL (one to one-and-a-half water bottles) per hour of hard effort, rather than gulping it all at once.
• How much fuel: for efforts under an hour, water is plenty. Past that, aim for about 30–60 g of carbohydrate per hour, working up toward 90 g/hour only on the very longest, hardest days (that’s where the two-sugar trick really earns its keep).
• One honest caveat: this is fuel for people burning through hours of hard training. It’s a lot of natural sugar, and it’s meant for during-exercise hydration — not an everyday sipping beverage.

• • •

The everyday training sipper

Base Recipe — makes about 1 quart (32 oz)

Right around 6% carbohydrate — the sweet spot.

3 cups filtered or spring water

1/2 cup 100% grape juice (or tart cherry, or pomegranate)

2 Tbsp raw honey

1 tsp blackstrap molasses

Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 Tbsp)

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Optional: 1–2 drops food-grade Metabolic essential oil blend, for flavor (see the note at the bottom)

Stir or shake until the honey dissolves. Chill.

~230 calories

~58 g carb (~6%)

~575 mg sodium

+ potassium & magnesium

Use: sip about one bottle (500–750 mL) per hour of hard training. The honey + grape juice give you the glucose-fructose combo; the molasses quietly adds potassium, magnesium, iron, and calcium; the salt covers your sodium.

The big-day batch

For 6–8 hour days — makes about 3 quarts (~96 oz)

9 cups water

1 1/2 cups 100% grape juice

6 Tbsp raw honey

1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses

Juice of 1 1/2 lemons (about 3 Tbsp)

3/4 tsp fine sea salt

Optional: 3–6 drops Metabolic blend

~690 calories total

~174 g carb (~6%)

~575 mg sodium per liter

Drinking roughly 600–750 mL per hour, this batch keeps you hydrated and delivers about 30–45 g of carbohydrate an hour — a great steady baseline. On the longest, hardest hours, when you need to push toward 60–90 g/hour, don’t just make the drink stronger (that backfires). Instead stack real food alongside it: a banana, a few dates, an extra spoonful of honey, or a small concentrated “flask” to sip between bottles. Because you’re still pairing glucose with fructose, your gut can handle the higher load. And please — practice your fueling in training, never try something brand-new on a big day.

• • •

Mix-and-match add-ins & swaps

Coconut water

A lovely natural base — rich in potassium and light on sugar. One thing to know: it’s fairly low in sodium, so for long or hot sweaty efforts, add a pinch of salt so you’re actually replacing what you lose. A friend of mine swears by a case of it from Costco over the fizzy stuff, and I don’t blame her.

Green powders & fresh juiced greens

We love a good greens powder (Ormus Greens from Sun Warrior is a favorite around here), and freshly juiced greens are wonderful when you have the time. Think of these as a nutrient boost rather than performance fuel — a nice add to the recipe above, or stirred into water on a travel day when you just want something green and restoring. Years ago my husband traded his Red Bull habit for herbal alternatives and never looked back.

Herbal teas in place of lemon

Steep a strong pot of spearmint (refreshing) or peppermint (invigorating), cool it, and use it as part of your water. A single drop of peppermint oil makes any of these taste cool and crisp on a hot day.

Other fruit juices

Grape, tart cherry, pomegranate, or a puree of strawberries, pineapple, mango, or raspberries all work beautifully in place of the grape juice — just keep the total carbohydrate near that 6–8% target so it still absorbs well.

A word on baking soda

My old recipe included a little baking soda. I’ve left it out of these, because the small pinch mostly just adds sodium (salt does that job better), and the larger doses some athletes use as a performance buffer commonly cause real stomach upset. If you’re curious about it, that’s a conversation to have with a coach or sports dietitian, not something to freelance mid-run.

• • •

For recovery & heavier fuel

These are richer in fat and protein, which is wonderful after a session but will sit heavy during one, so I’d save them for recovery or a liquid meal:

Milk & molasses

Milk with a spoonful of molasses makes a genuinely satisfying recovery drink (and a great answer to a fast-food craving). One honest safety note: if you love raw milk, please know it can carry bacteria like Listeria, E. coli, and Salmonella — pasteurized milk is the safer choice, especially when you’re depleted and your guard is down. (I had to say that! I love raw milk from dairies that test every batch!)

Almond or rice milk “chocolate” recovery

Use almond or rice milk as your base and stir in cacao, carob, or lucuma for a chocolate-milk feel — chocolate milk is a well-loved recovery drink for a reason. Sweeten with a little honey and molasses, and warm it up with cinnamon, nutmeg, or a tiny kick of cayenne. (Almond milk runs about 60 calories per 8 oz, rice milk about 120.)

Spirulina

A solid plant protein and mineral source. It’s strong-tasting and best in a recovery smoothie rather than your during-workout bottle — you don’t need much protein during exercise, and it can slow things down when you do.

Aloe vera juice

Many people enjoy a couple of tablespoons for its soothing quality. Choose a purified, food-grade inner-leaf aloe (the kind labeled decolorized or purified), since unpurified aloe can have a laxative effect — not what you want on a run!

• • •

Bonus: Rejuvelac (a probiotic tonic)

This fermented, slightly fizzy tonic was popularized by nutrition pioneer Ann Wigmore. It’s more a gut-health tonic than a workout fuel, but you can use it in place of the water in the base recipe for a probiotic-rich twist.

Rejuvelac (GLUTEN VERSION)

2 cups organic soft spring wheat berries

Filtered water

Cheesecloth or a sprouting screen; a half-gallon (or two quart) glass jar

Place the wheat berries in the jar, cover with water, and top with cheesecloth secured by a rubber band. Soak 8–10 hours, then drain, rinse, and drain again. Tip the jar at an angle and let the berries sprout for 2 days, rinsing 2–3 times a day. Rinse well, fill the jar with water, and soak 48 hours. Pour off the rejuvelac (it should be pale, cloudy, tart, and lightly fizzy — not sour) and refrigerate in glass; skim off any white foam. You can make a second batch (soak 24 hours) and a third (another 24 hours); after that, scatter the spent berries outside for the birds.

Fermentation safety: use clean jars and taste as you go. It should smell fresh and tart. If it ever smells genuinely rotten or grows fuzzy mold, pour it out and start again.

Rejuvelac (GLUTEN-FREE VERSION)

Making it gluten-free

Traditional rejuvelac is not gluten-free, since it’s made from wheat berries — so as a fellow celiac, this is the version I make. The wonderful news is that the process is exactly the same; you simply swap the wheat for a naturally gluten-free “pseudo-grain” like quinoa, millet, or buckwheat. Quinoa is my easiest starting point.Sprout: Rinse and soak your gluten-free grain in filtered water until tiny tails appear (quinoa sprouts quickly — often within a day).

• Ferment: Cover the sprouted grains with fresh filtered water and let them ferment at room temperature for about 2 to 3 days, until the liquid turns pale, cloudy, tart, and slightly lemony.
• Finish: Strain off the liquid and store it in glass in the refrigerator. That’s your gluten-free rejuvelac — lovely as a probiotic health shot or as a base for culturing vegan cheeses.

If you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, make it yourself so you control everything: start with certified gluten-free grains and use clean, dedicated equipment to avoid cross-contamination. Buckwheat and millet can carry stray wheat from shared facilities, so look for the certified label. When in doubt, quinoa is the safest bet.

• • •

What to skip during exercise, and why

You’ll notice I steer away from soda and sugary caffeinated energy drinks during training — but not for the scary reasons that get passed around online. Plain sparkling water isn’t going to harm you. The real issues during exercise are simpler: the bubbles cause fullness and bloating that keep you from drinking enough, the sugar is usually far above that 8% sweet spot (so it absorbs slowly), and big doses of caffeine and additives aren’t what a working body needs mid-effort. Real-food fuel at the right concentration simply works better.

A few honest reminders

• Everyone’s sweat rate, sodium loss, and gut tolerance are different. Use these as a starting point and adjust — and if you’re training or competing seriously, a sports dietitian can dial in numbers for your body.
• Test every drink in training first. Race day is never the day for experiments.
• If you have kidney, heart, blood-sugar, or blood-pressure concerns, check with your doctor before adding sodium or high-sugar drinks to your routine.

So next time you’re staring down a long run, a long ride, or a long drive, mix up a batch of something real. I’d truly love to hear your own versions in the comments.

With much love,

Steffanie

A few notes: I’m a wellness educator, not a doctor or a registered dietitian, and I share these from my own experience and reading. This isn’t medical or individualized nutrition advice. If you use essential oils in a drink, use only a food-grade oil labeled for internal use, add just a drop or two, and mix in glass or stainless steel (never plastic). The Metabolic blend I mention is a proprietary essential oil blend of grapefruit, lemon, peppermint, ginger, and cinnamon; here it’s used simply for flavor. I’m an independent doTERRA Wellness Advocate, so if you purchase oils through me I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Essential oils are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.