If you struggle to drink as much water as you should, try these tasty fruit-infused water recipes. They are full of flavor and easy to make.
We all know that it is important to stay well hydrated and to avoid drinks with lots of sweeteners or additives. But whilst plain water may be a healthy choice, there’s no denying the fact that it’s boring!
But there’s an easy way to add lots of flavor to water WITHOUT adding any sugar or artificial ingredients – and that’s by infusing it with fresh fruit!
It is an incredibly simple process that involves ‘muddling’ – or breaking up – fresh fruits like strawberries or blueberries, covering them with water and leaving their fresh flavors to infuse into the liquid.
You can use just about any fruits you can think of – in any combination you like – and you can even enhance the flavors by throwing in fresh herbs like basil and mint.
Tips for making fruit-infused water
For the very best flavored water, there are a few basic guidelines to follow.
1. Use filtered water if you can. This is especially important if you use well water or live in a hard water area, where the water can sometimes have an aftertaste which may mar your results. But if it’s hard for you to use filtered or distilled water – or you are happy with your tap water- then feel free to go ahead and use it.
2. Always prepare the flavored water in a glass vessel rather than plastic. Plastic has a nasty habit of leaching into liquids and affecting their flavor.
3. Wait for a minimum of 3 hours. It can be very tempting to start drinking your fruit-infused water sooner, but the flavors won’t have had a chance to properly infuse into the liquid before the 3 hours is up. Even better, leave the water to infuse overnight – the flavors will have developed even further!
4. Be careful with citrus fruits. Orange, lemon and lime peel can be very bitter, so remove them from the water after 4 hours.
5. Remove all fruits and/or herbs from the water after 24 hours. By this time, all of their flavor will have infused into the water, so there is no benefit in leaving them for longer. Most will begin to break down after this time and may even make the water taste bitter.
More delicious drinks to try…
Recipes for Fruit Infused Water
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Fresh Blackberries
- 2 sprigs Fresh Mint
- 4 cups Water
- 1/2 medium Lime sliced
- 1/2 medium Lemon sliced
- 4 cups Water (filtered)
- 1/2 cup Sliced Strawberries
- 1/2 cup Cucumber Slices
- 4 cups Water (filtered)
- 1/4 cup Blueberries
- 1 large Orange sliced
- 4 cups Water (filtered)
Instructions
- Place the fruits and/or herbs for your chosen recipe into a glass pitcher or clean, lidded glass jar.
- Break the fruits and/or herbs up with the back of a spoon to release thier flavors then pour in the water.
- Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours before drinking (or wait for 12 hours for maximum flavor).
- Remove the the fruits and/or herbs after 24 hours to avoid bitterness, then store in the fridge for up to 3 days.