Refreshments, Juices, Smoothies

Purple Lemonade Recipe (Healthy and Anti-cancer)

Jainey
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Purple Lemonade Recipe (Healthy and Anti-cancer)
Clitoria ternatea, also known as Asian pigeonwings, bluebellvine, blue pea, butterfly pea, or Blue Ternate
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This Purple Lemonade Juice is oh so healthy! It’s also Anti-Cancer according to studies..

Did You Know how healthy is this Blue Ternate or Butterfly Pea Flowers? From now on, make it a habit for your Lemonade. (No worries, I bought my dried blue ternate in Lazada/online shop for just 60 pesos). This flower is amazingly healthy in many ways! The flower has the ability to heal and feed the body with helpful enzymes that other plants are unable to.

Numerous Studies have been made since 1950 and found numerous claim for its good benefits. Blue Ternate (Clitoria ternatea L.) is a good source of phytochemicals and hormones with nutritional and useful benefits.

Butterfly Pea Flower or also known here in the Philippines as “Blue Ternate” has high anthocyanin content which gives the tea its characteristic bright blue color and medicinal properties. These antioxidant compounds can help alleviate inflammation, and they are known to PREVENT CANCER cell growth.

It can improve heart and brain health. It also has anti-diabetic properties. Anthocyanin is a water-soluble pigment that can give fruits and vegetables their red, blue, or purple hues. It is also regarded as a secondary metabolite that is more potent than vitamin E as an antioxidant. In abundance, anthocyanin is present in butterfly pea flowers.

According to Science Direct: “Butterfly pea or telang flower (Clitoria ternatea L.) has the potential as antioxidant (Widowati et al., 2022a), anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic because it contains flavonoid compounds such as delphinidin, rutin, kaempferol, malvidin, and quercetin (Verma et al., 2013).” 

Benefits of Butterfly Pea

  • Contains antioxidants 
  • To help reduce the risk of blood clots
  • To help the Immune System:  Defending your body against disease-causing microorganisms.
  • Boost brain power : Used for centuries in traditional Ayurvedic medicine as a memory enhancer.
  • Help increase blood flow.
  • Improve eyesight
  • Strengthens the hair for healthy hair growth.
  • Slow down aging and wrinkles.
  • Lower Blood Pressure: Reduce your blood pressure quickly and naturally.

IT CONTAINS:

  • anti-depressant
  • anticonvulsant
  • hypolipidemic (lowers cholesterol)
  • anti-inflammatory
  • analgesic
  • antipyretic qualities
  • local anesthetic
  • purgative
  • anti-diabetic effects

TYPICAL USE:

  • Use as Ingredients for food or dessert. 
  • Use as food coloring
  • Use in many products as ingredients, such as blue shampoo, etc.
  • Hot drink: Drink it as a tea. Put dried Butterfly pea flowers (4-5 flowers) into a cup of hot water. Wait for 3-5 minutes and you will get the blue water. If you like it sweet- Add some sugar or honey for good taste. (Cold drink: add ice up to your taste)
  • The dried flowers, when steeped into hot water, is a beautiful shade of dark blue and then when you add acid (lemon juice) it “instantly and magically” changes to a shade of purple! 

Blue Ternate Tea, it becomes purple when squeezed with little lemon.

*I bought my Dried Blue Ternate at Lazada/Shopee for just around 60 pesos for 100g.

Serving Size: 1 Liter

Purple Lemonade Recipe (Healthy and Anti-cancer)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 pcs dried Blue Ternate (Butterfly Pea Flowers)
  • Dried/fresh mint leaves (optional)
  • ½ cup hot water (to steep the Butterfly Pea Flowers)
  • 3 large lemons or 2-3 ounces lemon juice (you can use bottled lemon juice but fresh tastes best)
  • Sugar/Stevia/honey to sweeten – it’s up to you 
  • Ice Cubes ( to fill ½ half full of a pitcher)
  • 1 Liter chilled Water 

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Steep the dried butterfly pea flowers in hot water for 5-10 minutes. After the flowers have brewed, strain the flowers out of the hot water and discard them. The flowers will give the tea a beautiful vibrant blue color. Do the same separately, if using dried mint leaves.
  2. Next, add the lemon juice into the pitcher
  3. Fill it half way with the ice cubes.
  4. Add the blue tea in little amount first and watch the magical color change occur!
  5. You can add more blue tea if you want a stronger purple hue (you may steep 4-6 pcs butterfly pea flower for dark purple)
  6. Add water to top off the pitcher.
  7. Then sweeten to taste with sugar or stevia or your preferred sweetener of choice.
  8. Stir it well, best served when chilled. (If using sugar, it is best to dissolved it first in hot water, before adding to the lemonade).
  9. Don’t forget to soak 1 whole lemon slices. Let chill for a few hours before serving.
  10. Serve and enjoy a nutritious lemonade with so many benefits for everyone. It’s yummy when soaked longer and sweet!

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