Hellobee

I’ve always been a big time water drinker – I guess my hydration needs are higher than your average mama bear? This pregnancy has increased my intake further, and I’m sure my thirst won’t let up when baby girl arrives in another month or so.

But all that water consumption gets…boring. Enter naturally-flavored waters. I’ve been making an assortment of fruit- and herb-infused waters each week because they’re refreshing and keep me motivated to stay hydrated throughout the day. They’re ideal for pregnant women, nursing moms, those exercising (or chasing around little ones), or really anyone looking for inspiration to up her daily water intake. Beyond that, infused waters are an easy special touch for a party or any gathering.

Making infused water is as simple as throwing some fruit and/or herbs in a pitcher or jar and topping with cold water, but here are some tips to make your concoctions extraordinary:

• Beyond adding a few slices of cucumber or lemon to your glass, start with others’ recipes (like the ones below) as a starting point, then feel free to tweak and experiment based on your personal taste.
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (overnight works too) before serving so the fruit and herbs have time to infuse. If your produce is fresh, the refrigerated waters should last about a week.
• When you finish the drink, you can add more water and get another batch out of the same fruit and herbs, but I wouldn’t recommend doing this outside of the week time frame. My preference is to eat the fruit and herbs as I work my way through the jar.
• Some ingredients, like berries, mango, and herbs, will release more flavor if muddled before infusing – that is, using a muddler or handle of a wooden spoon to give them a few good presses against the glass, pitcher, or jar before topping with water.  I’m usually fine with the flavor extracted through an overnight infusion without muddling, except in the case of rosemary, which always seems to need some help releasing its potent flavor and aroma. Add-ins with a high water content, like citrus and cucumbers, don’t require an extra hand to flavor water.

Now that you know the basics, here are some recipes I’ve been enjoying.

DIY Infused Water Recipes

for berry-basil
1/4 c blueberries
1/4 c raspberries
1/4 c loosely packed basil

for mango-ginger
1/2 mango, peeled, sliced, and muddled
5 slices fresh ginger
3 slices lime (not pictured, but really good)

for cucumber-mint
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1/4 c loosely packed mint
3 slices lemon

for grapefruit-rosemary
1/2 red grapefruit, sliced
1 sprig rosemary, muddled

Add the ingredients of your selected flavor to a quart-size jar. Top with cold water and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Store up to 1 week in the fridge.

What’s your favorite way to stay hydrated? If you have any infused water combinations you love, please share them in the comments!