Hydration is an important part of a healthy lifestyle – and something that we sometimes take for granted. I recommend half your body weight in ounces of water per day. If you drink coffee, it's important to replace that cup with 1.5 cups of water as coffee is a diuretic. It’s so important all year round and can help us feel more energetic, get our digestion on track, and help clear the skin, among other benefits. Filtered water and spring water are tasty and refreshing on their own, but sometimes we may want a little variety.
ENTER INFUSED WATERS!
Infused waters are so easy to make and can be as simple as adding some lemon or lime slices, or a combination of different fruits and herbs. You can really have fun and be creative with the flavors. A favorite thirst quenching combination is lemon, mint, ginger and cucumber. The lemon is bright, mint and ginger are cooling, and cucumber is refreshing. Sounds great, don’t you think?
Here are some tips for making your own:
➢ Decide on your ingredients. What are your favorite flavor combinations? You can use fruit such as lemons, limes, and berries. Then add in herbs and roots such as basil, mint, cilantro and ginger or turmeric and maybe some cucumber. I have infused pineapple and jalapeno, watermelon and cilantro, apple and cinnamon to name a few.
➢ Using filtered or good quality spring water will give you the cleanest taste, as well as eliminate the additives in many tap waters. Those of us fortunate enough to live in close proximity to McAllister spring water available in downtown Olympia get that extra boost of naturally occurring minerals that are essential for our bodies.
➢ The length of time you infuse the water will depend on the amount of flavor and type of ingredients you include. It can take from 2 hours to overnight to get the taste you want. After a couple of hours, give it a try to see if it’s to your liking.
➢ Enjoy! Infused water should last up to 3 days in the refrigerator, but it may taste so good, it’s gone in one day!
I'm sharing a few of my favorites to get your creativity and hydration flowing.
These links take you to three different flavor combinations that use RESTART® friendly ingredients.
What are your favorite combinations?