The #SundaySupper Free-for-All...Featuring Sugar-Free Strawberry Meyer Lemonade

This week, the #SundaySupper theme is Free for All...where we're sharing recipes that are fat-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free...you get my drift! We're being hosted by Beate at The Not So Cheesy Kitchen. Michael and I don't have any health issues that require us to eat a special diet, so I had to think a bit to come up with a recipe to share here today. We do have family members who are diabetic and watching their sugar intake, so I used that for my starting point. Then, an idea hit me: other than a glass of wine, I try not to drink calories. Lord knows being a food writer means I eat plenty of calories...no need to drink them too! 

I try to limit my intake of diet sodas and the like, but I do enjoy a Diet Dr. Pepper. One of Michael's favorite Summertime beverages is lemonade, so I decided to make a fun and tasty sugar-free lemonade featuring in-season strawberries and Meyer lemons. What I came up with was perfectly sweet-tart Sugar-Free Meyer Lemonade.

Nothing is better on a hot day than a tall glass of lemonade. Add in some juicy strawberries, and it's even better! I used a combination of regular lemons and Meyer lemons, because I had some Meyer lemons in my kitchen. They are less acidic than regular lemons, which makes for a very smooth lemony flavor. I sweetened my lemonade with Splenda, but feel free to use Equal or Stevia instead if that's the sweetener that you prefer. Just keep the ratio of sweetener to lemon juice and water the same. Wait until you hear my two secret ingredients for making this lemonade really POP with flavor!

Sugar-Free Strawberry Meyer Lemonade

adapted from Food Network's website

Step 1: Cut 1 pint of strawberries into quarters. You can puree them in your blender of food processor, but what I do is put the berries in the bottom of my pitcher and use my immersion blender to puree them. It's less messy and really easy! Feel free to push the blended berries through a fine sieve if you want, but I don't...I like the texture that it brings to this lemonade. This is what it looked like after I used the immersion blender to liquefy the strawberries.

Step 2: Add the following ingredients to the strawberries in the pitcher: the juice of two (2) large lemons and two (2) Meyer lemons, 1 cup Splenda that measures like sugar (comes in a large bag), 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste of vanilla extract, and 5 cups cold water. Stir well to combine, until the sweetener dissolves. Serve in glasses...straws are optional, but fun!

Man, is this lemonade a winner! There's no artificial aftertaste, and the ratio of sweet and sour is perfect. In case you missed it, my secret ingredient is a bit of vanilla bean paste. I love how vanilla matches with berries, and it worked really well here. It was very subtle, but I liked the background flavor. This is such a fruity and refreshing drink, and the color is absolutely gorgeous. 

Now for my other top-secret tip: to keep this lemonade from getting watered down by melting ice, I place 4-5 frozen strawberries in each glass before pouring the lemonade.  By the time the lemonade is gone, the berries have mostly thawed...leaving you with a strawberries to eat at the end! They look really pretty floating in the glass too...and a strawberry added to the rim of each glass lets your guests know why your lemonade is bright red.

I hope you'll give my sugar-free strawberry lemonade a try very soon. The only calories in this drink come from the lemon juice and the strawberry puree. I love it when something tastes fabulous, but doesn't make my waistline expand. To see what other "free" recipes the #SundaySupper participants are sharing today, click on the links below. Be sure to join us at 600 CST for our weekly Twitter chat. It's always fun and lively...so hope you can make it!

Breakfast

• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, Nut & Soy Free Brown Rice Breakfast Pudding by girlichef
• Dairy & Nut and Sugar Free Blueberry Tangerine Muffins byVintage Kitchen
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, Nut, and Soy Free Homemade Mango Jam Recipe by Masala Herb

Main Courses

• Gluten Free Nothing Missing Manicotti by Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Gluten Free Sun-Dried Tomato & Feta Meatballs over Courgette Noodles bySmall Wallet, Big Appetite
• Gluten Free Pizza by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Dairy, Egg & Nut Free Balsamic Portobello Burgers by Curious Cuisinere
• Dairy & Egg Free Raw Pasta with Tomato and Basil Sauce by Mama's Blissful Bites
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Nut Free Mushroom Risotto Bake by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Gluten Free Enoki Mushroom & Pine Nut Quinoa by Family Foodie 
• Dairy, Egg & Gluten Free Vegan Mac and "Cheese" by Webicurean
• Dairy, Egg & Nut Free Creamy Mushrooms on Pasta by The Not So Cheesy Kitchen

Sides

• Gluten Free Persian Cucumber Yoghurt by Shockingly Delicious
• Gluten Free Quinoa with Olives, Basil and Sun-dried Tomatoes by That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!
• Dairy Free Farro and Fruit Salad by Magnolia Days 
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Dairy Free Fattoush Salad by From the Bookshelf
• Gluten Free Chickpea Fritters by The Lovely Pantry
• Dairy, Egg, and Gluten Free Black Bean and Mango Salad by Soni's Food
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, and Nut Free Grilled Fennel Salad by Food Lust People Love

Breads

• Dairy & Gluten Free French Bread by Blueberries and Blessings
• Dairy & Gluten Free Crunchy Almond Sesame Crackers by Sue's Nutrition Buzz

Treats

• Dairy & Gluten Free Individual Chocolate Pavlova by The Girl in The Little Red Kitchen
• Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies by Juanita's Cocina
• Gluten Free Ghoriba by Maroc Mama
• Dairy, Egg & Gluten Free Apple Almond Butter Cookies by What Smells So Good?
• Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almond Flour by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Nut Free Lemon Cardamom Wedding Cookies by Gourmet Drizzles
• Dairy Free Chocolate Gelato by Growing Up Gabel 
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Sugar Free Cantaloupe Strawberry Coconut Gazpacho by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Gluten Free Meringue Kisses with Dulce de Lece by Basic N Delicious
• Dairy & Egg Free Vegan Everyday Chocolate Loaf by Gotta Get Baked 
• Gluten, Dairy, and Nut Free Coconut Macaroons by Happy Baking Days
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Soy Free Tastes like Chocolate Ice Cream byCookistry
• Dairy, Egg & Gluten Free Vegan Bread Pudding by In the Kitchen with Audrey
• Gluten Free Mousse & Cookies by Ninja Baking
• Gluten Free Brown Butter Snickerdooles by Pies and Plots
• Dairy, Egg & Soy Free Chai Spice Coconut Ice Cream by Daily Dish Recipes
• Gluten Free Lemondae Dip by The Messy Baker
• Fat Free Chocolate Angel Food Cake by Our Table for Seven

Drinks

• Gluten & Dairy Free Honey Bear Smoothies by Neighborfood
• Sugar Free Strawberry Meyer Lemonade by 

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