Infused Water Recipes

John 4:14         
But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

I admit it. Getting my daily water intake has to be the most difficult thing in my quest for wellness.  After all our bodies are bodies of water :).  Your body needs water for all it's functions.  Water is your body's principal chemical component and makes up about 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. 

So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake (AI) for men is roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day. The AI for women is 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.


Functions of Water in the Body



Drinking water infused with fruit or herbs is a smart and tasty way to hydrate and cleanse without getting overloaded with sugar and calories. I’ve always liked the Hint waters that are just slightly flavored with natural ingredients, but there’s really no sense in spending a few bucks on a bottle of water when you can make an entire pitcher of infused water for a fraction of the price (and drink it all day long!).

Some people know it as spa or hotel water.  We went to Charlotte this weekend and there was a new infused water each day in the hotel lobby.  We filled our refillable water cups all day from it.  We made friends with all the staff in the lobby because they knew what we were coming for ha ha! There are so many ideas and mixtures that you can make, all with different health benefits.

Infusing water is simply adding fresh fruits and herbs to the water to give it flavor.  You can slice up what you like, dump it in the water, and then pour a glass from it and enjoy.  To get the most flavor, let it infuse for about 2 hrs prior to drinking.  They have some really cool pitchers and dispensers out there for infusing water without getting little pieces of the fruit or herbs in the water.  I, personally, like the little bits floating around so I don't own one of those.  So here are some ideas...

Today, I cut up strawberries, oranges, lemons, and threw some basil in...

I keep it in the fridge but it is not necessary to do so if you like your water room temperature. 

Would you be worried if you left a lemon or some raspberries out overnight at room temperature? Probably not. Fruit immersed in water will not change its chemical structure or cause bacteria to grow.

Here are some recipe ideas:

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.

Brandy Kisner
Health & Wellness Coordinator