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
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
Excellent! I also love putting one fruit tea bag (Celestial Seasonings, etc.) into a 16-20 oz glass, pouring in hot water and drinking when it reaches room temp. Can be done in the fridge overnight, as well.
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