Healthy Recipes: Watermelon Lemonade

Here in Houston, it's just hot!  So why not take advantage of the beautiful ripe produce flooding the grocery stores and farmer's markets and make some refreshing watermelon lemonade?

While it may have a little sugar in it, watermelon lemonade is pretty healthy.  All red fruits like watermelon, tomatoes, and pink grapefruit contain lycopene - a phytonutrient that is important for cardiovascular health.
Lemon juice, too, has many health benefits.  For starters, it is very high in vitamin C.  It's important to get vitamin C daily because our bodies cannot store it.  In addition, fresh lemon juice purifies the blood, cleans the kidneys, and help clear out the digestive tract.So let's get started with that refreshing watermelon lemonade:

Ingredients:

1 4-5 pound watermelon
3 cups water (add more or less as needed)
1 cup sugar (adjust for sweetness as necessary)
1 1/2 cups lemon juice (you will need about 6-8 lemons)

Directions:

• Cut the watermelon up into cubes.
• Run through a juicer.  Alternatively, you can blend up the fruit and strain to get the juice.
• Put sugar and water in a saucepan.  Stir to dissolve sugar.  Bring to a boil and remove from heat.  Let cool completely.
• Juice lemons.
• Combine watermelon juice, lemon juice, and cooled syrup in a large pitcher.
• Stir well and serve ice cold.