Bring a little excitement to your water by infusing it with fruits or maybe some herbs...
We sometimes dread drinking good old plain still/tap water though we know its good for our health and skin. To keep well hydrated under our hot African sky we need to drink enough water. The argument of how much is enough is a never ending one, but for today I would just like you to try some water rather than no water. Here are a few tips and ideas...
You will need:
Fruit -- whatever kind you like (except no bananas);
make sure it's good and ripe for maximum sweetness and flavour. Citrus
and berries are lovely to use, pineapple and watermelon work well for
flavouring water. If you don't want to buy whole ones, many grocery stores
sell small containers of pre-cut fruit.
Herbs -- these are optional, but many herbs are a
surprising complement to fruit flavours; almost any herb will work
depending on your personal preference
Muddler or wooden spoon for
mashing fruit and herbs
Water - Use either filtered water or regular tap
water is fine if yours tastes good to you
Here are the different flavour to try
out.
All Citrus Flavoured Water (adds refreshing tartness to
water) -- slice 1 orange, 1 lime, 1 lemon into rounds, then cut the rounds
in half. Add to jar, press and twist with a muddler or the handle of a wooden
spoon. Press enough to release some of the juices, but don't pulverize the
fruit into pieces. Fill the jar with ice. Pour in water to the top. Stir it
with the handle of a wooden spoon or a chopstick. Put a lid on it, put it in
the fridge, and chill.
Raspberry Lime Flavoured Water (beautiful colour and mildly
tart) -- Quarter 2 limes; with your hands, squeeze the juice into the jar, then
throw in the squeezed lime quarters. Add raspberries. Press and twist with a
muddler to release some of the juices (don't pulverize the fruit). Fill the jar
with ice, then add water to the top. Stir, cover, and refrigerate.
Pineapple Mint Flavored Water (a hint of minty sweetness). Add
a sprig of mint to the jar--you can throw in the whole sprig; or, remove the
leaves from the sprig, if you prefer to have the mint swimming around and
distributing in the jar. Muddle the mint--the goal is to bruise the leaves and
release their flavour--don't pulverize them into bits. Add pineapple pieces,
press and twist with the muddler to release juices. Add ice to the top and then
water. Stir, cover, and refrigerate.
Watermelon Rosemary Flavoured Water (lovely flavour combo). Add a
sprig of rosemary to jar and muddle gently (rosemary releases a strong flavour
without much muddling). Add watermelon cubes; twist and press gently to release
juices. Fill jar with ice cubes, add water to the top, stir, cover and
refrigerate.
Enjoy....
