The first step to admitting you have a problem is realizing there's a problem! So I started buying less soda and began purchasing water flavoring products (such as Crystal Light) instead. But you know what? The budget was still breaking! You see... I/we drink a lot! The taste of tap water is BOR-RING. After doing a little research on the internet on my quest to lose some weight, I came across a concept that is so simple I don't know why I didn't think of it all by myself. Fruit infused water.
I'm hooked. There are so many flavor combinations and there is something extra rewarding about making something yourself - developing something that you like. There are many health benefits to drinking infused water. First, it's all natural. There are no preservatives so all the beneficial vitamins go straight into your body. Second, it's calorie free. You see, you don't juice the fruits... you simply let the fruits infuse the nutrients into the water and you just drink the water. Third, it's cheap! Whether you buy the fruits fresh or frozen you can get a few uses out of them and tap water only costs pennies per quart. Fourth, the kiddos actually LOVE IT!
There are many combinations and lots of people use special pairings to do certain things. For instance, the combination of green tea, mint leaves and limes are said to assist in burning fat. Combining mint leaves, honeydew melon and limes are said to boost metabolism. Apples and cinnamon stick infused water is also a metabolism booster. Then there are just combinations that taste amazing! My personal favorite is oranges and pineapple. YUM!!
These drinks are super easy to make. You can use pitchers or quart jars. I use a combination of both. I like to have a gallon pitcher of fruit infused green tea and a couple quart jars with different flavor combinations just to change it up throughout the day. If you use a pitcher you'll want to use about a cup worth of fruit. You can add more or less depending on how strong you like it. It's all about personal preference!
If you are using quart jars then you only need about half of a citrus fruit sliced very thinly. If you are using something like frozen berries then you might only need about a 1/3 cup worth of fruit. You need to let the fruit sit in the water (in the fridge) for at least 2 hours - the bigger the vessel the longer it will take. I let my gallon pitcher go overnight before I drink it.
Once the water is ready, poor into a separate glass and refill the pitcher/jar with more water and put back into the fridge. I usually refill my jars 3-4 times before replacing the fruit but never let the fruit sit in the fridge longer than three days... it gets yucky! The only fruits that I use fresh are citruses such as lemons, limes and oranges. Everything else I prefer to buy frozen so it can keep longer. A couple items that are not fruits that add a nice flavor to the water (in addition to the fruits) are cinnamon sticks (ground cinnamon will NOT work) and mint leaves.
Make sure that you slice the citrus fruits with the rind still on! That's where most of the nutrients are and these fruits are full of vitamin C which is wonderful for boosting your metabolism and helping you lose weight!
Now there is a disclosure! *GASP*
It does need to be said that if you are expecting these infused waters to be sweet... you will be very disappointed. Unfortunately because you are not juicing the fruits none of the sweetness infuses into the water but you can sweeten the drink yourself and it tastes wonderful! I'll just add a stevia blend to my glass after the fruit has infused the water to keep the calories down or Splenda, honey and agave works too!
I've listed some combinations below that I find delicious to get you started! What can you come up with??
Orange and Pineapple
Lemon and Lime
Mixed Berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries) *Frozen
Green tea with mint leaves and lime
Honeydew melon with mint leaves and limes
Lemon and mixed berries
Green tea with raspberries
Oranges and Strawberries
Mixed Berries* with mint leaves
Green tea with Peaches
Mix it up and get FUNKY!!
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