We all know we need to drink more water. Stay hydrated. This becomes especially important when working out a lot or trying to lose weight. But sometimes water is, I don’t know . . . boring. Sometimes I just want a little flavor in my day or I’m trying to avoid the soda machine but ugghh, another bottle of water. In this post I have 3 recipes to add a little flavor to your water – all sugar free or flavored with fruit juice!
A Twist of Lemon With Cherry (or pineapple or orange)
Recently my brother gave me bags of cherries from his cherry tree. I found those bags that had been washed, frozen, and then thawed were full of cherry juice. I poured that juice in a jar with a tiny bit of monk fruit sugar and while I wasn’t sure what I would going to do with it at the time, I could envision it in a nice mixed drink of some sort (water evidently was not on my agenda at the time). It was hot one day and I was looking for something to spice up my water (so to speak) and came up with this lovely concoction. If you don’t have cherry juice at the ready, I’ve also blended whole cherries and used that. I’m guessing you could use unsweetened pineapple juice and even orange juice. Just make sure you get unsweetened – there’s no need to add any more calories to your day than necessary.
- A twist of 1/4 of a large lemon
- About 1/4 cup cherry juice
- 1 to 2 tsp of Monk Fruit Sugar (0 calories, doesn’t elevate blood sugar) or a splash of honey
- Add to 16 ounces of ice water
- Enjoy!
Before I leave this recipe, let me just remind you of the benefits of lemon in your water. Lemon isn’t just to change up your water flavor – Lemon helps curb your appetite, promotes clear skin, helps with bloating, aids with digestion, provides a potassium and Vitamin C boost, and even helps prevent kidney stones. What’s not to love about all that?!
My Favorite Water Bottle
Of all the water bottles I’ve been given, gifted, and purchased, this one is my go to, daily water bottle. Why?
- It’s metal and keeps things cold longer.
- The lid is spill proof so I can use it on my bicycle, throw it in a bag, toss it in the car, and never worry about the lid coming open accidentally.
- It’s 24 ounces so I can easily measure how many I need to drink each day.
- Has a carrying handle on top so I can attach it with a carabiner to my backpack, inside my purse, or on my bike so I don’t have to worry about losing it.
Check out all My Favorite Health & Wellness Products in My Amazon Store.
Honeysuckle Tea
Did you know there are a number or herbs and plants you can make a tea from? It’s summer as I write this and my honeysuckle vines are in full bloom. Honeysuckle vines are prolific (and even invasive) so you can probably walk close to a wooded area and find them growing wile. When I was a kid, we loved finding honeysuckle vines and sucking the sweet nectar from the flower. So I wondered . . . could I make a tea from those honeysuckles? Turns out the answer is yes. You do need a lot of flowers to make a tea but this might be a fun activity for the kids to help with. Here’s how I make it.
- Pick a big bowl of honeysuckle flowers
- Wash well
- You could cut off the end of the flowers for easier access to the nectar but that just sounds like a lot of work to me so hey, do you.
- Put all those flowers in a pan of water, allow to come to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.
- Use a strainer to strain the flowers out
- Let cool or pour over ice
- Add monk fruit sugar, stevia, or a dash of honey, lemon, lime, or mint to change it up
Iced Green Tea with Mint
There are so many benefits to drinking green tea! It improves brain function, increases fat burning, may protect the brain from aging, and even helps with bad breath. Seriously. Google it. It’s like the freaking tree of life! So, yeah, we should be drinking this all damn day! But I don’t think it tastes all that great so I’ve had to play around with variations on how to get my green tea in. Note: all green tea is not created equal so do your homework and find the best one for you. One variation that has worked really well is adding Spearmint to my green tea which I have growing all over the yard. Any mint will do, I just happen to like the Spearmint.
This recipe is easy.
Brew your green tea like you normally would.
- Brew your green tea like you would any cup of tea.
- Add mint leaves while tea is brewing and allow them to steep with tea.
- Pour over ice or mix into a larger cup of ice water.
- You could even add a touch of sweetener if you like or a twist of lemon.
This drink is probably the most beneficial on the list. You get the benefits of drinking both water and green tea.
Hey, let me know if you have flavored water recipes we should try!
