Sunday, June 8, 2014

Fruit Infused Water

A few months ago, I started drinking fruit infused waters. I started primarily to ensure that I was getting an adequate daily water intake, knowing that I would drink more if the water had some flavor to it.


Since changing over to this, even the kids and my husband have started drinking it. I haven't bought juice aside from orange juice in months. Even sports drinks have been pushed aside for the fruit water here.

I've noticed that it is already helping me combat swelling in this pregnancy a ton.

As for the nutritional value of these waters, it isn't my area of expertise. I don't add sugar to them at all and any sugar comes from the fruit itself, which is pretty substantially diluted.

I have two jars that we use for the water. A one gallon sun tea jar is what I use when making small batches, then we have a larger two gallon jar for the weekends when everyone is home all day. I fill them and add the fruit first thing in the morning. The longer it sits, the better it is. There are some combinations with teas and vegetables as well.

I empty and wash the dispensers at night.

The idea is to just try different combinations out and see what you like the best.

I add one lemon/lime/orange/peach (or other larger fruit) and a handful of berries at a time. If you squeeze the fruit or bruise the herb leaves slightly, the flavors will come out quicker.

These are some of the combinations we have tried here:

- Lemon blackberry (my personal favorite)
- Lemon raspberry
- Orange lemon raspberry
- Kiwi strawberry
- Peach strawberry
- Orange blueberry
- Lemon cucumber
- Lemon kiwi
- Apple peach
- Cantaloupe lemon
- Watermelon strawberry

I've added passion fruit tea, chamomile tea and black tea to them in different combinations as well. The passionfruit works best with lemon and berries. The chamomile works best with lemon. Black tea works best with oranges. Fresh herbs such as mint, basil and cilantro can be added as well. Mint blends well with berries and melons. Cilantro brings a fresh flavor when mixed with citrus.

Citrus fruits are known for helping detox your body and fight swelling, so I include some kind of citrus every day.

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