In my quest to live a healthier lifestyle, I decided to cut out almost all soft drinks and juices out of my life and drink a lot more water. In the beginning that was such a struggle for me because I love flavored waters and I would cringe at the thought of having to drink plain water. But I am not the only person in the world that feels that way. Some of my family members actually drink water like you would drink a tequila shot, closing their eyes and making an awkward shudder like somebody just made them drink the most horrible drink in the world.
But there's an easy way to add a little twist to your plain old boring water by infusing fruit flavors into it. Infusion is the process of extracting flavors into a liquid of some sort, in this case into water. This really is not a difficult thing to do at all and you can use whatever fruits or even herbs you have on hand to add flavor into your water. Think of it like tea but instead of hot water you are using cold water and instead of tea bags you are using whole fruits and herbs. In order to make infused waters you just let the fruits/ herbs sit in the cold water for maybe about an hour or more to let that water take on those flavors. The longer you let your fruit and herbs sit in the cold water, the more flavor it will take on.
When choosing what fruits or herbs to put into your water do not limit yourself. Experiment with different flavors! One thing that I put into all my infused waters is lemon slices but that's because I love lemon. The other fruits I use differ depending what I am in the mood for and what I have on hand. I have done blueberries/blackberries, strawberry/kiwi, strawberries/raspberries, cucumber , etc. really whatever you want. So far, my favorite is the strawberry lemon infused water which tastes just like strawberry lemonade without the extra calories.
Please do not think that infused waters are a good substitution to eating your daily intake of fruits because the only way to truly get all those nutrients is by eating the fruit in its entirety. While you do receive some nutrients from infused waters it really is not enough to replace your daily fruit intake. But drinking naturally infused water does help meet your daily water intake and of course, quench your thirst.
I think I'll take my love of lemon past the water stage and into my food with the help of The Chopping Block's Lemon Lovers cooking class offered at both Lincoln Square and our Merchandise Mart locations in March. Lemon also plays a big part in the Green Smoothie recipe featured in our Clean Eating: Getting Started guide. Download it for this recipe plus many more that will help you avoid processed food and invite more natural foods into your diet.
