Fruit-Infused Water

I have trouble getting Turbokid to drink water. His father has a juice habit and it has rubbed off on him. I've been encouraging him do drink more water by trying two different things. I either mix just an ounce of juice in with seven ounces of water in his sippy to give the water flavor, or I make up a pitcher of fruit-infused infused water. This is also good for people who need to drink more water but don't like it plain.

When I was pregnant with Messy Mouse, my midwives always had a huge pitcher of infused water out on the counter at the birth center. Every appointment, they had a different flavor. We had to avoid some of them because they contained mango or cherries, but the ones we could drink were greatly enjoyed by Turbokid. He especially liked any combination with strawberries. I dealt with morning sickness all nine months, so the ginger infusions were particularly refreshing.

Infused waters are easy to make. All you do is combine thinly sliced fruits and herbs in a pitcher, cover with filtered water, and let sit for 8 hours or overnight. Then just strain out the fruit and enjoy the water. You can even make smaller quantities in jars if you have a couple slices of fruit leftover from another cooking project.

It is fun to experiment with different combinations of fruits and fresh herbs or just combinations of fruits if you don't have fresh herbs on hand. Here are some tasty combinations to add to a pitcher (approximately two quarts) of water:

Lemon-Cucumber
1 sliced cucumber
1 sliced lemon
10-12 mint leaves
1 Tbsp thinly sliced ginger

Lemon-Basil
1 sliced lemon
1 sliced cucumber
8 basil leaves

Strawberry-Orange-Ginger
4 sliced strawberries
1 sliced orange
1 Tbsp thinly sliced ginger

Raspberry Lemonade
handful of raspberries
1 sliced lemon

Rosemary-Citrus
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sliced limes
1 sliced orange

Peach-Basil
1 sliced peach
handful of raspberries
8 basil leaves

Ginger-Pear
1 sliced pear
1 Tbsp thinly sliced ginger
1 cinnamon stick

Strawberry-Citrus
5 sliced strawberries
1 sliced lemon
1 sliced orange

Broiled Grapefruit

Looking for a quick, light, hot breakfast without all the grains or a fruit to compliment a heartier meal? I had one lonely grapefruit left so I made this. Broiling the grapefruit mellows the tartness, so even people who don't normally like grapefruit may like it this way.

Broiled Grapefruit

1 red grapefruit
1 tsp coconut oil or Earth Balance
3/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the broiler on your oven. Cut the grapefruit in half. With a small knife or grapefruit knife, score the fruit along the membranes and rind. This will make it easier to scoop out after cooking.

In a small bowl, stir together the coconut oil or Earth Balance, sugar, and cinnamon until well combined. Spread the mixture over the grapefruit halves and place the halves on a cookie sheet.

Broil for 3-5 minutes. Serves one, but the recipe can easily be multiplied to serve more.