Bored with water?

Herb-Infused H2O
 

 

Especially for summers, this is a super easy way to make your water even more refreshing. All you have to do is add some tasty herbs to your water. I used spearmint and mint herbs because they give that extra umph and they also make for outstanding breath. Follow these easy instructions:
What you need:

• 10 mint leaves
• 10 spearmint leaves
• 1 large pitcher of water (1/2 gallon or more)

What you do:

• Put the herbs into the pitcher.
• Pinch some of the leaves to release their flavor.
• Let soak overnight and enjoy your water

Taken from http://www.foodheavenmadeeasy.com/ please visit them they are a wealth of information

 Flavored Water!

I’ve always liked drinking my water with a slice or two of lemon–that extra little touch of flavor just makes water more appealing to me. There are a lot of other ways you can flavor water naturally. You can get really creative with it! Here are some ideas…

• Add a slice of your favorite citrus to a tall glass of ice water…try lemon, lime, or orange slices. Or combine them…slices of lemon and lime…orange and lime…or try all three together!
• Fresh mint is always a great addition to a glass of ice water.
• Combine lemon slices with fresh herbs in your water…try lemon with mint, rosemary, thyme, or sliced ginger root.
• Cucumbers are great in water, too! Slice up a large cucumber and add it to a pitcher of water…it’s really refreshing. You can also try cucumber with some fresh thyme added in. Or cucumber slices with lemon or orange slices.
• If you want a more intense flavor to your glass of water, squeeze the citrus and/or twist the herbs you are using before you add them to your glass.
• Besides lemons, oranges, and limes, you can try adding other kinds of fruit to your glass or pitcher of water…a small handful of your favorite berries (or mixed berries) is a nice addition to a glass of ice water. Other fruits you can try alone or in combination are: watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, pineapple, grapefruit, grapes, and kiwi.
• Jenny from An Oregon Cottage mentioned in a comment on this post that she likes to use orange and mint or strawberry and cucumber combinations to flavor her water–great ideas!

NOTE: I usually drink my flavored water the same day I make it…I think it tastes best that way. Depending on what you add to your water, it may get cloudy or bitter-tasting if stored in the refrigerator too long.

If you’re wanting to make a pitcher of flavored water, you basically just slice or chop up some fresh fruit, cucumbers, or herbs and place in a pitcher, add cold water and chill several hours. The result is water infused with a light, natural flavor. It’s ready to serve over ice, garnished with a slice of fruit or clipping of an herb of your choice. Here are some other recipes for flavored water you may want to try:

CITRUS CUCUMBER WATER

• 1 large lemon, sliced
• 1 large lime, sliced
• 1 large orange, sliced
• 1 large cucumber, sliced
• 1 half-gallon of water

Place all the sliced fruits and the cucumber in a glass pitcher and add water. Refrigerate for two hours to allow flavors to infuse, then serve in glasses over ice.

CUCUMBER–HERBAL WATER

• 5 cups water
• 10 thin slices of cucumber
• 2 lemon slices
• 2 sprigs of fresh mint
• 3 sprigs of rosemary

Put water in pitcher and add lemon slices and cucumber slices. Crush mint and rosemary to release flavor, then add to other ingredients. Refrigerate for several hours. Serve over ice in tall glasses. Garnish with a lemon wedge.
CUCUMBER–MELON WATER

• 1 large cucumber, sliced
• 1/4 honeydew melon, cubed
• 1/4 cantaloupe, cubed
• 1 half-gallon water

Place cucumber and melons in a glass pitcher and add water. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then serve over ice. Garnish with melon balls skewered on a swizzle stick.

HONEYDEW–LIME WATER

• 2–3 slices of ripe honeydew melon
• 1 lime, sliced
• 4 sprigs of mint
• 1 half-gallon of water

Add melon slices, lime slices and mint sprigs to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2–4 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Makes about 8 servings.
HERB AND BERRY–FLAVORED WATER

• 1 cup fresh blueberries, lightly crushed
• 2  4–inch sprigs of fresh rosemary. lightly bruised  (to release more flavor)
• 1 half-gallon of water

Add blueberries and rosemary sprigs to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2–4 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Makes about 8 servings.
LEMON–LAVENDER WATER

• 3 large lemons, sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh lavender
• 1 half-gallon of water

Add lemon slices and lavender to pitcher; pour water over both and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve over ice and garnish with a sprig of lavender.
LEMON–MINT or LEMON-BASIL WATER

• 4 lemons, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed fresh mint or basil leaves
• 6–8 cups water
• 6–8 cups ice cubes
• Fresh mint or basil sprigs

Place lemon slices in a large pitcher. Rub the mint or basil leaves between the palms of your hands to bruise the leaves slightly. Add to the pitcher with lemon and pour in the water. Cover and chill 1–8 hours.
Strain lemon–water mixture and discard herbs. Divide lemon slices and additional fresh mint or basil sprigs equally among 6–8 glasses. In each glass, add 1 cup of ice cubes, then fill with lemon water.

LEMON, LIME AND ORANGE WATER

• 1 large lemon, sliced
• 1 large lime, sliced
• 1 large orange, sliced
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves (optional)
• 1 half-gallon of water

Add citrus slices (and cilantro leaves, if desired) to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Garnish with your favorite citrus slice (and a sprig of cilantro, if you’re using that). Makes about 8 servings.
FROZEN FRUIT WATER

• 2 cups frozen apple chunks, grapes, or berries
• 1 half-gallon of water

Add frozen fruit to a pitcher; pour water over fruit and let sit at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Stir to distribute fruit flavor and serve in glasses with some ice cubes. (Note: you can chop up the same kind of fruit, unfrozen, and follow same directions. You’ll need  to use more ice when serving the unfrozen fruit–flavored water).
ORANGE–MINT WATER

• 3 large oranges, sliced
• 10 mint leaves
• 1 half-gallon of water

Put sliced oranges and mint leaves in pitcher and add water; refrigerate for 2 hours to infuse flavors. Pour over ice and garnish with a sprig of mint and orange slice.
WATERMELON–BASIL WATER

• 2 cups seedless watermelon, cubed
• 10 basil leaves
• 1 half-gallon of water

Pour water over melon and basil; refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve over ice, garnished with a sprig of basil.

FRUIT WATER

• 1 each of the following fruits: apple, lemon, orange, pear
• 4 large strawberries
• Handful of raspberries
• Handful of mint leaves
• 1 half-gallon of water

Cut large slices or thin wedges of each fruit; place them in a large glass pitcher and add cold water. Refrigerate 2 hours and serve over ice in tall glasses.
Various tips and recipes from Southern Living, eHow, Vegetable Gardener, About.com, Eating Well.
Linked to Foodie Friday and Sundae Scoop.