Boost Nutrition and Flavor with Enhanced Water
If you are drinking a lot of water (and you should!) you might get a bit bored with it. But with a few enhancements you can make your water taste delicious, as well as adding to its nutritional profile. Making enhanced water is easy, in most cases you simply need a large water pitcher and a few ingredients.
Benefits of Enhanced Water
Why drink enhanced water? For one, it can help you drink more water to stay hydrated and keep your body functioning optimally. But there are other benefits, such as:
- Improves mood
- Helps regulate appetite
- Assists with digestion
- Helps to flush toxins
- Increases energy
Different recipes can have different effects; it’s a good idea to experiment with a few water-infused recipes to find a few that appeal to you – both from a health and flavor perspective.
Hot Enhanced Water
For cooler days, you might prefer hot enhanced water (sort of like herbal tea). All you need is boiling water and a few ingredients. Typically whole, dried spices are going to work the best as they offer the most flavor, but you can test fruit and other ingredients to explore other tastes. Avoid ground herbs and spices as they will float on top and will be difficult to strain out. Here are a few suggestions:
- Apple + cinnamon sticks
- Lemon + ginger
- Pear + rosemary
- Carrots + lemon + ginger
- Cranberry + lemongrass
Preparation: Boil a large pot of water. Place ingredients in a large glass pitcher. Top with hot water and let steep for five minutes. Pour through a strainer into a large mug, or thermos to keep it hot longer.
Cold Enhanced Water
Refreshing! Making cold enhanced water is even easier than making the hot recipes, and as an added bonus you can refill your jug/pitcher as many times as you like over a 24-36 hour period. Try out these great recipes:
- Cinnamon sticks + apple
- Apple + grape
- Cucumber + lemon + ginger
- Grapefruit + lavender
- Strawberry + mint
- Blood orange + basil
- Cucumber + rosemary
- Carrot + sage
- Cherry + lime + mint
- Pineapple + tart apple
Use fresh herbs to get the biggest benefit out of your enhanced water, while riper fruit will offer more flavor. To make cold infused water, simply add your ingredients to a large pitcher and cover with water. The flavor will infuse more quickly at room temperature, but consider refrigerating for long-term enjoyment.
Tips for Infused Water
To ensure you get a great infused water experience, follow these few tips:
- Use filtered water if possible.
- Rinse all fruit, vegetables, and fresh herbs before adding to the jug/jar.
- Slice fruit and vegetables into small slices or cubes (this helps the flavor infuse more quickly)
Try out new recipes, if you stick to a limited amount of recipes you might find you tire of the flavor, much the same as just drinking water all the time. Enjoy!
