The Paleo Isotonic Super Booster

Well with such a boring picture I had to give this an interesting name! This is the ultimate Paleo sports performance drink!

When I first got back into running after having my first two kids I started to drink those awful sugary isotonic drinks, and well I started to learn that they were actually no good for performance and I would often burn out fairly fast. I deecided to switch back to regular water and up my salt intake. This did work well but not well enough. Fast forward 5 years and going strong on the Paleo diet I started to become more familiar with chia seeds and their benefits within sports performance. I also started to become more aware of the roles of carbohydrates, citrus and sea salts aiding in hydration and electrolyte/isotonic balance. That’s when I came up with this little number.

It is super quick to make and will help you blast out a good endurance run or hour and a half of intensive exercise.  This is best consumed about 30 minutes before you do exercise but you can also drink this first thing in the morning as it will hydrate you and help get those adrenals going!

This drink is also ideal for kids – my kids love this because it is nice and fizzy from the bicarbonate of soda! But this drink isn’t just for athletes and kiddies it is great for the elderly and anyone who is suffering from the flu or a stomach bug with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.

So what is so great about all of the ingredients in this drink and what do they do?!

• Carbohydrates from the raw honey will help to replenish your muscle glycogen whilst increasing the intestinal water absorption rate. It also contains fructose, glucose and maltose which all absorb into the bloodstream at different rates thus making it the ultimate energy source for sports performance.
• The Himalayan pink salt contains 84 minerals and trace elements including the electrolytes sodium, magnesium, potassium & sulfate.
• The bicarbonate of soda contains sodium chloride which again aids in topping up your electrolytes.
• The lemon and lime juice is a great substitution for potassium citrate as it contains high levels of both potassium and citric acid. It also chelates calcium which basically means that it stays firmly attached for better absorption.
• On to my favourite little power houses – chia seeds. Chia seeds are hydrophillic meaning that they love water, so much so in fact that they can hold up to 12 times their weight in water! This again extends your timeframe for hydration. Chia seeds are also hight in omega-3 fatty acids, dietary fibre, protein and antioxidants. These beauties were used by the ancient aztecs and I have never turned back. They fuel you for a good hour or so of exercise.
• Water… well yes I think we all know what water is good for!

But anyway now onto the actual recipe! Just to let you know these make excellent freeze pops too for the summer!

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

400ml filtered cold water
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tbsp raw honey (or maple syrup for Vegan substitution)
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp milled or whole chia seeds

Method:

1. Start by pouring your water, lemon juice & lime juice into a large glass container and stir.
2. Add in your raw honey and Himalayan pink salt and leave to sit for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in your bicarbonate of soda and chia seeds and leave to sit for another 10 minutes to allow the chia seeds to absorb the water thoroughly.
4. Alternatively you can place all of the ingredients except for the bicarbonate of soda into a blender and blend for a couple of minutes before leave to sit the 10 minutes. You can then stir in your bicarbonate of soda at the end before drinking otherwise the gases will build up and you will be likely to have a little explosion on your hands!!!

DRINKmaple Review

That’s right DRINKmaple is now available in the UK as of today! How very exciting. I was lucky enough to recieve 3 250ml cartons of the yummy pure maple water (yes pure! nothing else!) from the wonderful DRINKmaple EU team to guzzle my way through. And boy did I guzzle.

Touting the motto ‘Mother Nature is the best chemist’ I was instantly sold by this company.

DRINKmaple was founded by the two health conscious Ironman triathletes Kate and Jeff after they had a chance run in with some maple water whilst competing in a triathlon in Mont Tremblant. They were so impressed that they wanted to find a convenient way to bottle the stuff up for people to consume in their hometowns rather than paying the added cost of an imported item.

Kate and Jeff believe that chemicals belong in the science lab and not in our food and drink, and I’m sure that anyone reading this probably will be along the same line of thinking. If you’d like to read more about their story then click here.

So I guess a lot of you are wondering what an earth maple water is…

Quite simply maple water is the sap from the maple tree, not to be confused with maple syrup which is the sap that has been heated and reduced down into a syrup.

DRINKmaple taps the sap straight from the maple trees to the bottle meaning that it is in it’s purest form and there is therefore no nutritious breakdown.

Don’t worry though no trees are harmed during the process and the sap can only be tapped when it is ready to flow upward. Over time the sap collects nutrients from the soil, once the warmer weather approaches the sap begins to deliver the nutrients to the tree by running vertically up the tree. It is then that the sap can be collected. This means that it is a sustainable product and can be tapped for years on end. So yes this is an eco-friendly product you’ll be happy to know!

So what is so special about DRINKmaple maple water?!

Well, where an earth do I begin?

• DRINKmaple is the ultimate superfood, it contains 46 nutrients: vitamins, minerals, amino acids, polyphenols, antioxidants, electrolytes & prebiotics.
• It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, non-GMO, Paleo and Vegan.
• It is super hydrating due to it’s high electrolyte content. It contains the electrolytes calcium, magnesium and potassium, all of which help to maintain the function of your heart, muscles and the electrical impulses sent to your nervous system. If you want to boost the electrolyte content even more for your own performance drink and squeeze of lemon, and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda and Himalayan pink salt will go a long way! Otherwise this is the perfect post workout hydration.
• Maple water contains more manganese than a cup of kale! Manganese helps to absorb vitamins and magnesium so all the natural components of this drink work in unison. Manganese also improves thyroid and bone health, controls blood sugar levels, and eliminates nasty free radicals from the body.
• One 250ml carton contains only 20 calories (if you count those things) and is low in sugar – in fact it contains half the sugar content of coconut water.
• It contains Abscisic Acid (ABA) which helps to regulate blood sugar which would be particularly beneficial to those suffering from type 2 diabetes.
• It can help to boost your metabolism. If you want to make this into your own metabolism powerhouse of a drink just add the juice of half a lemon with 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper! If you’re not so brave just add a pinch.
• So as I mentioned before it contains a lot of polyphenols. Polyphenols are a type of nutrient with anti-carconegenic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. That basically means they help to lower the risk of contracting things like heart disease and cancer. With the anti-inflammatory properties you may even see an improvement of your skin – fab!

Ok this maple stuff sounds pretty impressive but I bet it tastes pretty gross?

Nuh-uh my friends. Not at all, it pretty much tastes like water with the slight sweetness and hint of a maple syrupy taste. I would say that this is probably more appealing to people than coconut water due to that fact alone. Although I do love coconut water myself.

What was your overall verdict then?

I love this stuff! I tried drinking a carton pre and post workout and found that it did hydrate me faster than water did. It was very pleasant to drink, in fact it almost seemed thinner and lighter than regular water so it didn’t fill me up too fast.

As the taste isn’t too strong I can imagine this being the best hangover remedy yet or even if you’re a bit under the weather from the flu or a stomach bug. It’s super refreshing and subtly tasty.

Most of all though I love the simplicity and honesty of this brand. The packaging alone depicts this. It’s modern but it’s not pretentious and it’s just simple and beautiful like Mother Nature herself.

My only criticism is that I would love to see some larger carton sizes and for it to be available in more locations. Not really a criticism of the product and considering they only launched in the UK 1st January I really can’t complain!

So yes, I am in love with this drink and will be purchasing many more for my workout supplies! If it’s good enough for the indigenous people of North America then it is more than good enough for me!

But enough of me harping on go out there and try for yourself!!!

 So where can I buy this glorious stuff from and will it break my bank?

So the DRINKmaple shop has a lot to offer! You can buy 6x250ml cartons for £10 which comes to around £1.67 a carton, quite dear buuuuut if you buy 12x250ml cartons it will only set you back £18 which is a modest £1.50 per carton.

It is currently only available in the following Harvey Nichols; Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool & London. So if you fancy hitting the high street for a swish refreshing bevvy go there!

If you’d like to follow DRINKmaple online then check out the links below:

Website: http://drinkmaple.eu/

Twitter: @drinkmapleeu

Facebook: @drinkmapleeurope

Instagram: @drinkmapleeu