This year, I’ve made it a goal to drink more water. That sluggish, headachy, a little “off” feeling seemed to hit me when I wasn’t properly hydrated. To make the resolution stick, I’ve had to go beyond ‘trying to remember’ to drink more and take specific actions to make it a habit.
First, I bought my own special water bottle and started carrying it with me wherever I go. Then I found a way to make water a bit less boring and more like a treat. Making your own infused water is practically calorie free and gives you a refreshing way to stay hydrated. So if you hate water because it’s boring, this is for you!
We know sugary drinks aren’t good for us because they are high in calories, and they don’t really hydrate us all that well. Caffeinated beverages like soda and coffee can actually leave us more dehydrated. Infused waters have been on the market for years, and quite often what you find on store shelves contain additives and “natural flavors.” Well, I don’t know what natural flavors they put in there, but I prefer the natural ones I can select from my fruit bowl.
Believe it or not, you really can infuse water easily with fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices. This goes beyond the classic ubiquitous lemon slice in water. It’s one of those things where you can get super creative and think outside the bottle. The possibilities are endless!
How to Make Infused Water
You can infuse water with any number of herbs, spices, edible flowers, fruit and even vegetables! Here are some ideas:
- Herbs: Rosemary, thyme, mint, basil, cilantro, parsley
- Spices: Cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, fresh ginger, cloves, vanilla bean
- Edible flowers: Rose, lavender, citrus blossoms, hibiscus, pansies, violets (or any that are 100% pesticide free)
- Fruit: Berries (fresh or frozen), melon, tropical fruits, citrus, apples, pears
- Vegetables: Cucumber, celery, fennel, carrots
- Water: Filtered water is great, but if you don’t have a filtration system, tap water is fine too.
Gather ingredients
Gather ingredientsI like to use large glass bottles or jars with lids. Give the add-ins a good wash or rinse. You can leave the fruits or veggies peeled or unpeeled. That’s up to you. Try to use organic if you can. Avoid any fruit that’s bruised or overly ripe, or herbs that don’t look fresh. Add the fruit, herbs, spices or whatever you want to use into a bottle of cool water. Or you could add it to the bottle and then fill it up with water. Use thin slices or small cubes because the flavor will infuse more quickly.
Be patient
Let the water sit for a few hours to allow the flavors to infuse. The longer it sits, the more flavorful the water will be. Some fruits or herbs will infuse more quickly than others. Citrus is pretty instant. Herbs take a little longer. Berries take a few hours and will also release color into the water. I put the infused water in the fridge immediately after I make it, but it doesn’t hurt to let it sit at room temperature for a little while. However, you should keep it in the fridge or put ice in it if you aren’t planning on using it right away.
Drink + refill
Pour a glass and enjoy! You can refill the water a few times and let it infuse again, but the flavors won’t be as pronounced.
Here are 5 of my favorite flavor combinations.
1. Blueberry Lemon Mint
2. Citrus Cilantro
2. Citrus CilantroIf you don’t have cilantro, then use mint or basil instead.
3. Green Apple Raspberry Rosemary
3. Green Apple Raspberry Rosemary4. Pineapple Cucumber Mint
4. Pineapple Cucumber Mint5. Kiwi Blackberry
5. Kiwi Blackberry10 more tasty infused water ideas
10 more tasty infused water ideas- Orange Chai Spice: sliced oranges, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, allspice
- Vanilla Basil Strawberry: vanilla bean (remove seeds first), handful fresh basil, 1 cup sliced strawberries
- Fennel Pear: thinly sliced fennel bulb plus a few green fronds, thin slices ripe, but firm pear
- Basil Melon: sliced or cubed melon, handful basil leaves
- Ginger Lime: sliced fresh ginger, sliced limes
- Blueberry Cucumber Basil: handful fresh blueberries, sliced cucumber, handful basil
- Lemon Lavender: slices of lemon, a few teaspoons lavender (tie in cheesecloth)
- Raspberry Rose: handful of raspberries, organic fresh rose petals
- Mango Pineapple Mint: sliced of firm-ripe mango, slices of pineapple, handful fresh mint
- Apple Cinnamon: slices green or red apple, a few cinnamon sticks
What are your tips for upping your water intake?
P.S. More infused water ideas perfect for summer right here!
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It looks terribly pretty, but I’m wondering if there isn’t a way to do this and still be able to eat the cranberries? Maybe with toothpicks? And at the end of the party you just slice the wreath and each guest takes a slice home? It’s just that I hate wasting food, plus cranberries, if I manage to find any fresh ones, are horribly expensive in France…
My favorite is very ripe Kiwi & fresh mint from my Garden.
Mix in water & refrigerate till chill.
5oz. to cover that needy desire for a sweet drink.
Thanks for the yummy recipes!!Interested to try these out. I find water very boring and this is exactly what I needed!
CAN I ADD ORANGE PELLS INSTEAD OF ADDIBG ALL THIS FANCY CRAP. COUKD I USE ORANGE OEELS TO ADD THE SAME TASTE. OR CIMMON POWDER OR LINE AND LEMONS
I’m in tears crying from this comment LMAO!!!
Your in serious need of help
Admin delete this festy comment!
I laughed so hard It hurts
I tried this it really works! Thanks!
Can u use a regular jug to do fruit water in and how long it take for the favor
A container is a container. Your hold up is figuring out what to put some water and fruit in, really? You may have larger challenges.
Hi. Will it be okay if i leave the water without ice in room temperature? And for how long can i keep it? I just got a 4 litre dispenser and i wanna know if i could just leave it on my kitchen countertop. And put ice when i need to drink it.
I wouldn’t leave it at room temperature for too long – a few hours up to a day at most.
Had no clue that you could do this!! But I <3 it, no calories, you can refill multiple times, and have all these different flavors.
Infused water is delicious but you’re missing out on all the actual fruit nutrition.
I have found a company who freeze dry and grind up all the fruit so that you actually consume it. It means you get all the standard good hydration, the delicious taste and the added nutrition benefits of berries.
If you’re interested you can check them out at http://www.hakhealth.com
I have a water bottle that’s part juicer, so you can juice the fruit, empty the fruit mush into,the bottom of the bottle and then fill it up.
You know you can do that with a blender on your own but then it would
be a smothi, also if you prefer to
pay alot of money for a little piece of dried fruit (loose of vitamins already) then keep in mind that those ingredient as well as any kind of smothi will plague your teeth. I mean if you prefer to add those bags you would ned your theets a god shrub after consuming because of fructose and tiny bits that could stick between. while infused water is just water. and if you are going to tell me that the content of his package is dissolved by water then it’s not natural ;) and still has bunch of stuff in it you wouldn’t want in your body.
easiest way to have both benefits. infuse water at night make a smothi with left ofer ingredients from the water plus some freshly added one and start your day with the smoothi instead of coffee and drink the water trough out the day :P
How do u keep the water clean & clear? The fruit seems to make the water dirty & when u drink it u get residues from the fruit in ur mouth.
I freeze the fruit at least the night before if not longer. That way the water stays cold longer wth the dozen fruits and no soggy fruit. And I still has that fresh fruit taste.
seriously you are asking this question ? You have major food issues.
Unbelievable!!!
You simply purchase an infuser water bottle or container. Mine can hold 24 ounces of water. It comes with a removable infuser; a cylinder with holes in it. You fill the bottle with filtered or sparkling water. Next you add your ingredients to the infuser, then screw the cap on. You place the infuseri back into the water. Then you place the lid on the bottle and you are done. The infuser allows the juices to pass from the fruit to the water without pieces of the fruit getting out. Also, the water passes through the infuser so it acts as a filter too, keeping the pieces of fruit from coming out while you drink the water but also providing even more flavor. They range in price from $12 to $60; at least, that’s how much you will pay for a good one. There are cheaper ones but they don’t work as well or last as long. You can get them on sale for a bargain at TJMaxx, HomeGoods, or Marshall’s. I hope this helps. I love my infuser water bottle.
I made one with basil leaves yesterday and it was in fridge over night and some of the leaves are brown but not all of them, is water safe to drink?
Yes it is safe i guess, cs the leaves got withered. But i suggest u use fresh leaves ?
Well no?
I put sliced lemon,lime and orange in a pitcher with water. I wonder how many times I can use the same fruit before it goes bad?
Ever considered using Essential Oils instead? Ive created some very tasty infused water recipes many without having to sweeten with Raw Honey (NEVER sugar)
wouldn’t add essential oil to your daily water. Yes it’s great if you have something you want to treat. But remeber essential
oils are either based oil or alcohol or both and those are things that don’t b long into
daily water. Especially don’t advice it if you don’t know if the person is trying to get away from alcohol. as a tiny dripple really can be enough to make a person who is years dry carve and giv in to alcohol. I know it from first hand my neighbor had a terrible draw back because of essential oils.
Pampered chef has a brand new Infusion water bottle and salad in a Mason Jar Set. Check them out on my web page:
http://Www.pamperedchef.biz/lisakniceley
They all looked nice! Most especially the Green Apple Raspberry Rosemary. Now I only need an infuser water bottle so that I can take this drink with me wherever I go.
Pampered Chef just came out with an amazing infusion water bottle! Check it out at my Website Pamperedchef.biz/lchris
A peach-basil-lime infusion was popular at my office today. So was strawberry-mint. Hoping to make it a regular thing for my coworkers and myself!
Yes. Strawberry have a lot of nutrions but to me it where i reside in Malaysia. It cost a bomb
Please email me the recipes, would like to all these…
Greatly appreciated…
Residing in Malaysia, fruits like kiwi and raspberry are quite costly. Normally i get fruits that are available locally and infuse it.
These sound lovely!
http://www.eatwearwander.com
Natural here is not only healthier without additives but also more dollar friendly. Thanks.
We use cucumber and mint or strawberry and mint, love this as it gives us a few more ideas! Thanks xx
Strawberry and mint is my fave!
Can you leave the water on the counter to steep or does it have to be refrigerator?
My husband and I make them and let them chill for 4 hours in the fridge and then we drink them. But we like ice cold water. Leaving it out won’t hurt but the fruit only keeps for about 2 days.
Do you have to use herbs or can you just use fruits?
You can use either or both together.
How often should you change the fruits/herbs?
I would like to keep a 2-3 liter dispenser tabletop in my kitchen so I can drink more water and less soda.
But I’m guessing I should change very thing out at least every 3 days?
I love thyme and lemon!
Can I just put cardamom seeds in my cold drinking water
Great suggestions here, Lindsey – I’m always looking for ways to keep healthy while avoiding the monotony of things like tap water while I’m traveling. This is the perfect balance! #5 on your list sounds like it’ll be the winner for me (BIG blackberry fan), but I’ll probably try them all.
Thanks for the post!
Jordan
Founder of http://howitravel.co
How many glasses do you drink if you want to lose weight??
I drink a quart or a little more a day plus the hmr 120 protein shakes and I loose 4-6 pounds a week…3-4 a week if you are just gonna drink the water
Once in a while I enjoy a soda but usually prefer water.
One day at the store I saw a fruit flavored water. I could hardly wait to try it but was soon disappointed after I took a drink and tatasted the dreadful artificial sweetener!
The next time I found one with no sweeteners, and it was exactly what I wanted. But wasn’t long and I could no longer find it. This scenario happened to me several times.
Now, thanks to this post I can have flavored water ANYTIME and what ever flavor I WANT!
Thank You so very much, I can hardly wait to try this!!!
Those look delicious! I discovered recently a company that do infused water on the go with delicious flavour as well. Check out http://www.zpirit.com
Hey Lindsey, Thanks you for sharing with us the great ideas, I have to try some of them later. Thank you again!
Very good point!
Can you use frozen fruit or does it have to be fresh?
You can use either frozen or fresh fruit
I ordered a citrus infusing water bottle from Brookstone (it’s called the Citrus Zinger), and I love it. The Citrus zinger is super easy to use, just pop half a lemon or lime or orange in the bottom and fill up the top with water. They also make one called the Aqua Zinger which allows you to infuse water with other fruit instead of just citrus which would be perfect for these recipes. I used a coupon to help with the price (since I also bought a couple other items) and shipping was free. If anyone else is interested in ordering you can get discounts on your order if you visit the Brookstone coupon page (http://www.brookstone.com/brookstone-coupons) and use one of the current coupon codes. Just thought I’d share!
If you would like a Zinger in Australia try naturalbodybasics.com.au ;)
Great tips and post! I love staying healthy with all natural and easy to prepare recipes. I am sure this will be my new favorite kind of water from now on!
Infused water is the perfect idea for those of us that struggle drinking their daily 8 glasses of water. Basically, you can throw in whatever you have handy and experiment for yourself until you find some recipes that you love. Great combinations, the lemon and lavender one must taste amazing!
Perfect for summer coming up! I’ve just tried the basic ones like lemon + cucumber + mint.
I want to try them all. <3 Thank you for sharing!!! :)
Hope you can reply Lindsey! Thanks! :)
Hi Lindsey! I was wondering if we could just squeeze the juices out into the water instead of dropping slices of them into the water? Say, lemon juice instead of lemon slices? Would that make a difference? Or matter?
It looks beautifull as well.
can you leave it out of the fridge for like 7 hours or so, because i have school and like to do that and i normally put ice in my drinks (hot/warm days) but can u have it without ice and no fridge for that long of a period?
Is there a such thing of putting too much mint where you would have side affects.
when using fruit, how much of the fruit juices do you think actually is released into the water? I know you wouldn’t know exactly, but any thoughts?
I have severe hypoglycemia and cannot eat fruit, except for lemons and limes due to the sugar. I suppose I could just try this and see, but I wondered if you had any thoughts.
thanks for the great ideas!
Hi Olive, I don’t think the juice actually makes it into the water as much as the flavor, though the fruit does become pretty waterlogged, so some may escape into the water. But when I drink the infused water, I’m not tasting extra sweetness from fruit, if that makes sense. Just the essence. My advice would be to stick to fruits like lemons and limes, and maybe berries that are lower on the glycemic index (I’m pre-diabetic, so I watch it too!). I do think you could make tasty combos using fresh herbs, fruit peels (apples maybe?), and even veggies. Cucumber is one of my favorites, but I think you could do carrots, celery, jicama, beets, bell peppers, etc. Maybe worth a try! Great question though. I wish I had a definitive answer for you on the juice question though!
Thanks for your thoughts!! I really appreciate it.
I just started and I learned after letting it infuse over 12 hours and taking out the fruit the first time is awsome and last longer. I have two choices in the frige most of tge time and one with me. After reading this I find my choices are limitless…thanks.
I was so excited to try this but all I had in the fridge was lime and cherries. I did cut the cherries in half to remove the seeds. Can’t wait to try it.
Do you cut or poke the blueberries first?
I haven’t done that, but you certainly could.
What is the amt of water to cucumber/mint ratio?
I usually use roughly one quart of water plus 1/2 to 1 whole cucumber sliced and a good handful of mint. In the picture, that is a pint jar, so it’s half of that.
am currently making the same water, this post gave me lots of inspirations :)
lifevsstyle.com
Thank you for the personal response. I truly appreciate the time and effort you took to do this.
Do you use the rind of the citrus or the actual fruit?
You can use either/or. I have done both.
How long does the water stay good in the fridge?
Hi Kerri! It kind of depends. I’ve kept it for two to three days, any longer than that and I worry about mold. Some fruits will last longer than that. Berries only last about a day or so. Cucumbers and lemons will last quite a bit longer. You can also infuse the water, remove the fruit, veggie, or herb, and store it in the fridge for longer. Great question!
I didn’t even think to take the fruit out. Haha, so silly of me! I am going to try cucumber and lemon first!
I would never have thought to try most of these ideas, but now I am going to give them all a go :)
I’m partial to Watermelon and Lime infused water, myself. I’ve heard Blackberry and Grapefruit is also good.
Love! Right now I put my leftover fixings from making cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, lemon and black pepper hot tea into a glass jar and fill with water and do that several times before switching out the goodies. I also have another with just lemon slices, but I’m definitely going to take a cue from this page and put in some fresh sprigs of herbs from the garden, thanks!