Turn boring water into a delicious, refreshing treat following some simple methods. These recipes will not only give your drinking water some flavor, but will spare you the additives and calories you find in some commercial drink mixes or sugar-sweetened drinks.
What?s in Your Drink?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched Rethink Your Drink campaign to encourage people to look closely at the nutrition labels and ingredients of their drinks. The site provides tips on which ingredients to be on the lookout for, but suggests water and sparkling water as the lowest-calorie choices. While many people look to food choices to cut calories and slim down, changing what you drink can be an easy way to cut hundreds of calories from you diet.
Quick Tips
If you?re not a big water drinker, it can be hard to make yourself like it. Adding herbs, fruits, or veggies to your water lets you have as much or as little flavor as you like. Flavoring your water naturally goes beyond a lemon wedge on your glass. Follow these quick tips to get the best results from the recipes:
? If your favorite fruit is out of season, it?s less flavorful. Try frozen instead.
? Muddle herbs gently, so you release the flavor without having smashed chunks of herbs floating around.
? When serving, pour the water through a strainer or use a container with a strainer lid if you don?t want pieces of herbs and fruit in your drink.
? For each recipe, put herbs in first and muddle, then add fruit, ice, and top with water.
? Use filtered water for best results.
? Refrigerate for at least two hours before drinking for full flavor.
Recipes
These recipes will get you started on making delicious, naturally flavored water, but don?t be afraid to create your own combinations, too. The following recipes all make half a gallon (2 quarts) of water.
Cucumber Melon Water
1 large cucumber, sliced
1/4 honeydew melon, cubed
1/4 cantaloupe, cubed
Add all to a container with ice. Top with water.
Raspberry Lime Water
2 limes, quartered
1 cup raspberries
Squeeze the limes before adding them. Muddle the raspberries gently. Add to your container with ice. Top with water.
Sweet-tart
2 cups pineapple chunks
1 cup fresh cherries, halved and pitted
3 granny smith apples, cored and thinly sliced
Add all to a container with ice. Top with water.
Slightly-Spicy
2 cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced
Put both ingredients in a pitcher with ice. Top with water.
Blackberry Sage Water
15 medium fresh sage leaves
2 tbs. granulated sugar
1 cup boiling water
6 oz. fresh blackberries
Put sage and sugar in a container, muddle the sage leaves. Pour boiling water on top, then stir until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Puree blackberries with 2 cups cold water, strain into pitcher. Strain sage into pitcher. Top with water, stir, add ice.
Cucumber Lemongrass Water
? cucumber, peeled
1 stalk lemongrass
Use the peeler to make ribbons of cucumber, instead of slicing it. Peel off the outter layer of the lemongrass, then slice it in half. Crush it with a rolling pin before placing into pitcher.
Lime Rosemary Water
2 limes, cut to ? inch slices
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, broken into small pieces
1 orange
Add all three to pitcher, top with ice and water.
These recipes are a glimpse into the interesting flavors you can create with just a few ingredients. They?ll bring more excitement to your water and hopefully help you replace some less healthy drinks as well.