Name: Easy Dragon Fruit Lemonade
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 4 Whole Lemons; 1/2 Cup Dragon fruit (Pitaya), cubed; 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup; 5 Cups Water; 1/4 tsp Turmeric (optional); 1 Pinch Cayenne Pepper (Optional); 1 scoop Ice; 1 spash Sparkling water (Optional)

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Pink dragon fruit Lemonade is as refreshing as it is delicious. Not only is it beautiful but it’s satisfying. Lemonade is the perfect remedy to cool down on a warm sunny day. Honestly, this pink dragon fruit Lemonade is also a perfect recipe to use up those lemons.

Typically we like to add turmeric, cayenne, and fresh fruits like blueberries or strawberries into the mix. Since living in Hawaii we’ve enjoyed our fair share of tropical fruit. Dragon fruit is one of our go to fruits.

One day we decided to add dragon fruit to our lemonade. It was seriously so delicious! It was slightly sweet and tart, and not to mention the most beautiful ombre color of yellow, orange and pink. You are going to love how simple this recipe is to make.

Eat the Rainbow

Simply put, eating the rainbow means consuming fruits and veggies of different colors daily. Plants contain different pigments, or phytonutrients, which give them their color. Each color is composed of different nutrients. The more colors consumed, the more diverse the range of nutrients.

According to a 2009 America’s Phytonutrients Report (based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys), 8 out of 10 people in the US are falling short in virtually every color category of phytonutrients.

How are Americans falling short in phytonutrients?

69% are short in green phytonutrients
78% are short in red phytonutrients
79% are short in yellow and orange phytonutrients
86% are short in white phytonutrients
88% are short in purple and blue phytonutrients

Food Colors and Their Benefits

Red – anti inflammatory, may help minimize sun related skin damage, may help lower risk of certain cancers, reduce the risk of diabetes, help lower risk of blood pressure and heart disease and contains antioxidants. For a yummy red recipe try Watermelon Agua Fresca.

Yellow/Orange – contains antioxidants, known to support eye health, anti-inflammatory properties, improves immune function and may help lower risk of certain cancers and heart disease. For a warming yellow recipe make this Vegan Golden Milk Latte. For a fun orange recipe definitely enjoy this Immunity boosting Juice.

Blue/Purple – contains antioxidants, help reduce inflammation. A really fun way to get blues and purples in as a snack if with a tall delicious Blueberry Cauliflower Smoothie.

White/Brown – may help lower risk of colon cancer and heart disease, contains antioxidants, keeps bones strong and other anti-inflammatory properties. For a great way to get white into your day try this Easy Homemade Cashew Milk. Also check out this Spiced Iced Mocha: coffee and dairy free or Vegan Chocolate Cherry Frosty as an easy healthy way to get brown into your day!

Green – boost immune system, help detoxify the body, help restore energy. An easy green snack that goes great with this Pink Lemonade is this epic Avocado Rose Toast!

Dragon Fruit

This recipe is a great way to get in some red and yellow colors easily into your day. If you want to experiment with more colors try adding your favorite colorful fruits in this Pink Dragon Fruit Lemonade.

Dragon fruit, also known as pitaya, is a native to South and Central America. These visually captivating fruits are actually cactus fruits. Today pitaya is grown all over the world including the Caribbean, North America, the Pacific Islands and Asia.

There are three different species of dragon fruit. One variety has pink flesh and the other white flesh. Dragon fruit with white flesh can have outer skin colors of pink or yellow. While the dragon fruit variety with pink flesh comes from a pink skinned variety. All have their own unique flavor distinctions but for the most part similar flavors. All varieties are very nutritious.

Dragon fruit texture is somewhat similar to kiwi. Its flavor can almost be described as an earthy watermelon.

Dragon fruit is a good source of vitamin C, antioxidants, iron, fiber and magnesium.

Depending on where you live Dragon fruit can be found at farmers markets, and some grocery stores. It is also pretty common these days to find frozen dragon fruit chunks in the frozen fruit section of many grocery stores. To make this pink Dragon Fruit Lemonade we bought a bag of frozen pitaya chunks from Costco!

Pink Dragon Fruit Lemonade Ingredients

Dragon fruit aka pitaya: Our most colorful, exotic ingredient. Dragon fruit comes in 3 varieties. For this recipe we used the variety that has pink skin and pink flesh. The pink fruit has honestly the most beautiful bright magenta-pink color. It is absolutely fantastic. Dragon fruit has a beautiful texture as well as flavor. The flavor is not overpowering but contains a distinct sweetness.

Ice cold lemonade is honestly one of the best summer drinks. For this recipe we used frozen pitaya chunks we purchased from Costco. This recipe would be just as lovely if the fresh fruit was purchased and cut into cubes. We chose the frozen chunks since we need less ice to our lemonade which melts and dilutes the flavor.

We have also tested this recipe by using dragon fruit juice instead of fruit chunks. We were able to collect the juice from melting frozen dragon fruit chunks. We poured about 1-2 tablespoons into the lemonade. This is a great option for anyone opposed to having fruit chunks in their summer drinks.

Lemons: Fresh lemons are definitely a must for this recipe! There is nothing that comes close to fresh lemon juice. Not even the concentrated lemon juice products available at the grocery store. In general, yes, concentrated lemon juice can work (5/8th cup of lemon juice is roughly 4 lemons).

Personally, we find it easy to tell if lemonade was made from powder or concentrate. The aroma is light to non-existent and the flavor is okay…use fresh lemons they make a world of a difference.

Maple syrup: For this recipe, as most of our recipes, we like to sweeten our creations with refined sugar alternatives. Pure maple syrup is the perfect sweetening component for our lemonade. It is sweet, but not too sweet and it is also dissolvable. The main reason we use a blender instead of mixing by hand is to ensure the maple dissolves into the lemonade. Substitutes for maple would include agave, coconut sugar or if necessary, cane sugar.

Ice: Warm lemonade is not nearly as refreshing as cold lemonade. Ice is definitely a must! If you don’t have an ice maker at home, pour the lemonade into a large container or individual glasses and place them in the fridge until cold. Sometimes we like to speed up the cooling process by adding drinks into the freezer for no longer than 20 minutes.

Warning

Do not forget drinks left in the freezer! They can expand and become rock solid. This may tear open their container. This is especially dangerous for glass! We know from experience. Set a timer when to remove them.

An easy replacement for ice cubes would also be more frozen dragon fruit chunks or cubes.

Turmeric: Turmeric is such a lovely ingredient. Not only does it have wonderful anti-inflammatory properties but its color is also magnificent. We add the turmeric in the blender with the water, lemon juice, and maple so the turmeric blends equally. When added to lemonade the turmeric really accentuates the yellow lemonade color.

When poured over the pitaya the colors blend to form a distinctive ombre yellow, orange, pink color. This ingredient is optional, as some don’t prefer the taste of turmeric. We only added a small dash but feel free to add as much to your liking!

Cayenne: Cayenne pepper is one of those detoxifying spices that gives this lemonade a kick. This is completely optional and won’t make or break this recipe. If you do use it be sure to be mindful of how much is added. It can be quite powerful and spicy! We personally like only a small pinch. If you go for it, add it along with the lemon juice and other ingredients for the blender.

Sparkling water: If you’re really looking to jazz up this pink lemonade, top off your glasses with some sparkling water. This ingredient is optional but a wonderful twist to regular lemonade.

If you’re looking for another delicious tropical drink recipe be sure to checkout our Passion Fruit Refresher (Lilikoi) Drink.

If you tried one of our recipes or found our articles helpful, let us know in the comments below how it turned out!

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Peace,
Luna & Nate