09/22/2026
For the past 2 years, I have been buying a hydration drink mix and have wondered whether there was a natural, healthy version.
After some research, I found the hydration drink that works for me.
I steep it for 30 minutes, then put it in a container in the fridge to sip all day.
🌿 Homemade Fruit & Herbal Hydration Drink
For 1 quart, or 32 ounces, of water, I would start with:
1 tablespoon banana powder
1 tablespoon whole freeze-dried tart cherries, lightly crushed
1 tablespoon whole freeze-dried strawberries, lightly crushed
1–2 teaspoons whole freeze-dried beets, crushed
1–2 teaspoons whole freeze-dried goji berries, crushed
1 teaspoon whole freeze-dried elderberries OR ½ teaspoon elderberry powder
½ teaspoon dehydrated dandelion leaf, crumbled
A very small pinch of pink Himalayan salt
A very small pinch of black Himalayan salt, aiming for about 1/16 teaspoon total salt to start
You can adjust the fruit amounts for flavor after trying the first batch.
🍌 Banana
Banana contributes potassium and carbohydrates, along with smaller amounts of magnesium and other nutrients.
Potassium is important for fluid balance, muscle contraction, nerve signaling, and normal heart function. The natural carbohydrates also make the drink a little more useful when you're drinking it after activity because you're getting water, electrolytes, and some energy together.
If yours is powdered, 1 tablespoon per quart is a reasonable starting point. It will make the drink cloudier and may settle, so shake it before drinking.
🍒 Tart Cherry
Tart cherries contain anthocyanins and other polyphenols with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Tart cherry has been studied particularly in relation to exercise recovery, muscle soreness, and sleep, although the amount used in research may be considerably higher than what you'd get from an infused drink.
I'd use about 1 tablespoon of lightly crushed freeze-dried cherries per quart.
Tart cherry juice can help improve sleep quality and duration by naturally boosting melatonin and tryptophan levels in your body.
How Tart Cherries Help Sleep:
Melatonin: Tart cherries (especially Montmorency varieties) are a natural source of melatonin, the hormone that regulates your sleep-wake cycle.
Tryptophan: They contain tryptophan, an amino acid that helps your body produce serotonin and melatonin.
Enzyme Blockers: Compounds in tart cherries prevent tryptophan from breaking down too quickly, allowing your body to use it longer.
Magnesium: They provide magnesium, a mineral that supports physical relaxation and sleep.
Lower Inflammation: Their antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties help calm the body for a more restful state.
How Much to Take: Serving size: Drink 4 to 8 ounces of 100% unsweetened tart cherry juice or take a tart cherry supplement.
Timing: Sip the juice about 30 to 60 minutes before bed, or mix it into a nighttime drink like herbal tea.
Watch the sugar: Choose unsweetened juice to avoid added sugars that can disrupt rest.
🍓 Strawberry
Strawberries provide vitamin C, anthocyanins, and other polyphenols. Vitamin C supports normal immune function, collagen production, and antioxidant defenses.
Use about 1 tablespoon of lightly crushed freeze-dried strawberries.
❤️ Beet
Beets are particularly interesting because they're naturally rich in dietary nitrate. The body can convert nitrate into nitric oxide, which helps blood vessels relax and supports blood flow and cardiovascular function. Beet products have also been studied for their potential effects on exercise performance and blood pressure.
I'd start with 1–2 teaspoons of crushed freeze-dried beet per quart. Beet can quickly take over both the color and flavor, so you probably won't need much.
🔴 Goji Berry
Goji berries provide carotenoids, polyphenols, and other plant compounds. They're especially notable for zeaxanthin, a carotenoid associated with eye health.
I'd use 1–2 teaspoons of lightly crushed freeze-dried goji berries per quart.
One important caution is that goji can interact with warfarin and potentially some other medications, so it isn't an automatically appropriate ingredient for everyone.
🫐 Elderberry
Elderberries are rich in anthocyanins and other polyphenols and are best known for their potential role in supporting the body's response to some upper-respiratory infections. Evidence is still limited, however, so I wouldn't describe elderberry as preventing or curing colds or flu.
Because yours is concentrated, use either 1 teaspoon of whole freeze-dried elderberries OR about ½ teaspoon of elderberry powder per quart. You don't need both.
There is an important safety issue here: raw elderberries shouldn't simply be freeze-dried and added to cold water. Raw or unripe elderberries can contain cyanogenic compounds that may cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Proper cooking/heating is used to reduce that risk. If yours were raw when you freeze-dried them, I wouldn't put them directly into this cold hydration drink.
🌿 Dandelion Leaf
Dandelion leaf contains potassium, vitamin K, and various plant compounds.
It has traditionally been used to support digestion and urinary function and as a mild diuretic.
The purpose of your drink is hydration; I'd keep this ingredient fairly small at about ½ teaspoon of crumbled dehydrated leaf per quart. There's no particular benefit to making the dandelion especially strong in a hydration beverage.
🧂 Pink and Black Himalayan Salt
Both are still primarily sodium chloride, despite their different colors and trace minerals. Sodium and chloride are important electrolytes involved in fluid balance, nerve impulses, and muscle function.
The trace minerals in specialty salts aren't present in quantities large enough that I'd rely on them as a significant source of minerals.
Since you're combining pink and black salt, I'd start with about 1/16 teaspoon total per quart, roughly half pink and half black. You can increase this somewhat when you're using the drink specifically to replace fluid lost through significant sweating, but more salt isn't automatically more hydrating.
💧 Putting it together
You can lightly crush your whole freeze-dried cherries, strawberries, beets, goji berries, and elderberries. Put them and the crumbled dandelion leaf into your quart of water and allow them to infuse for 15–30 minutes.
Then add your banana powder and salt, shake thoroughly, and refrigerate.
If you've rehydrated homemade fruit and plant material, treat this as a fresh beverage rather than a shelf-stable product and keep it refrigerated. Shake it before drinking because some of the banana and plant material will naturally settle.
Before creating your own homemade hydration drink, please research your ingredients to see how they will affect you, each other, and any medication you are taking.
Elizabeth Ann
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