For a long time, my go-to hydration drink was Gatorade Zero—grape flavor, specifically. I filled my bottles with a packet for each long bike ride. That sweet, slightly tart purple drink hit the spot. It was sugar-free, packed with electrolytes, and easy to pack. My family and I would by the packets by the case (12 boxes of 10) and eventually went through a case every 3 weeks. But then something shifted: the price started creeping up.
By mid-COVID, the grape Gatorade Zero we loved had nearly doubled in cost. I suspect it was tied to supply chain issues—maybe the grape flavoring was harder to source, or production took a hit. Whatever the reason, other flavors like fruit punch or lemon-lime didn’t see the same steep increase. We stuck with it for a while, but as the price kept climbing, I started questioning why we were shelling out so much for something with artificial sweeteners anyway. Sucralose, the fake sugar in Gatorade Zero, isn’t the best for your mind or body.. It was time to look for alternatives.
That’s when I looked further into LMNT, a company focused on clean, no-BS hydration. What caught my eye wasn’t just their pre-made electrolyte packs, but the fact that they openly share a recipe for making your own electrolyte drink at home. You can find it on their site here. It’s a simple mix of salt, potassium, and magnesium.
- 2,500 mg sodium chloride (for 1,000 mg sodium)
- 385 mg potassium chloride (for 200 mg potassium)
- 390 mg magnesium malate OR 265 mg di-magnesium malate (for 60 mg magnesium)
Add some flavor if you want, and you’re done. I figured it was worth a shot, especially if it could save us money and cut out the artificial sweeteners.
I’ve since made several batches, playing with lime and orange flavors. I multiply the recipe by one hundred to have enough for my food scale to work. My wife and daughter love the lime. I’m partial to the orange, especially for long bike rides. It’s less acidic than the lime, which keeps my stomach happy when I’m out pedaling for hours. I keep sugar out of my bottles but did fill my USWE with my homemade orange LMNT and about 200 grams of turbinado sugar for mountain bike races at Leadville and Austin Rattler. Sometimes eating gummy bears or GUs is a chore on the mountain bike.
Switching from grape Gatorade Zero to this homemade LMNT recipe has been great. I don’t miss the artificial aftertaste or the inflated price tag. It’s way cheaper. An LMNT packet is $1.50 for a single serving, and the homemade version with a flavor is about $0.06 a serving and I love that I can tweak the flavor or saltiness to suit my needs.
Here is your LMNT shopping list
- Food Scale – (if you don’t already have one)
- Salt – I am using this Himalayan Pink Salt
- Potassium Chloride from Bulk Supplements
- Magnesium Malate from Bulk Supplements
- Orange Powder from Bulk Supplements
- Lime Flavor from True Lime
Instructions
How to Multiply the LMNT Recipe by 100
Since I make big batches to use my food scale (and save time), here’s how I scale the original recipe up by 100. This gives you enough mix for about 100 servings—perfect for a few weeks. Just multiply each ingredient by 100 and measure with a precise scale:
- Sodium Chloride: 2,500 mg x 100 = 250,000 mg (250 grams)
- This provides 100,000 mg (100 grams) of sodium.
- Potassium Chloride: 385 mg x 100 = 38,500 mg (38.5 grams)
- This provides 20,000 mg (20 grams) of potassium.
- Magnesium Malate: 390 mg x 100 = 39,000 mg (39 grams) OR
- Di-Magnesium Malate: 265 mg x 100 = 26,500 mg (26.5 grams)
- Either option gives you 6,000 mg (6 grams) of magnesium.
- Orange Powder: 500 grams
- Or Lime: 48 grams of True Lime
Steps:
- Weigh out each ingredient using a food scale.
- For Orange, use the entire 500 gram bag since it recommends 5 grams per serving.
- For Lime, use 60% of the recommended serving size (.48 grams) so it’s not too acidic.
- Mix them thoroughly in a large, dry container (I use a high tech Ziploc bag).
- Store the dry mix in an airtight container.
- To make a single serving, scoop out 3-4 grams of the mix and add it to your water bottle.
This bulk method keeps things precise and easy, especially if you’re prepping for a busy season of rides or sharing with others.