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.
Wow! They look so refreshing (and way better than plain water!) Love this idea!!!
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I do this all the time. Orange/mint is a favorite as well as strawberry/cucumber. It is such a great way to drink alot of water.
Orange/mint and strawberry/cucumber sound like great combinations! Would you mind if I added that to my post–I’ll mention you suggested it!
Who knew you could make water look so beautiful?
Something I discovered the other night is just using a big of V8 vegetable (or even a V8 splash beverage) and mixing a small amount of that with tap water. It makes the water taste more mineral rich and it’s super easy to do.
Great idea-I’ll have to try that!
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I nneeeeeed to try some of these! Great incentive to drink more water!
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Add the same stuff to perrier
Great idea!
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I need to try this! I wonder though–how long can you keep a bottle of this sealed in the fridge? It would be fabulous to make a couple different ones so you have a couple of choices for the succeeding days.
It’s really best the day you make it. But it’s probably good for a few days. If it sits in the fridge longer than that, the water can sometimes get a bitter taste (that probably happens more if you’re using citrus fruits). It is fun to try different combinations–makes drinking water a lot more fun!
I made mint water and it turned brown by the next day. Any idea what went wrong?
Sorry to hear that happened! I’m not sure why it did that. I’ve made water with fresh-picked mint before and kept it in the fridge until the next day without it turning brown. Usually when I make flavored water, though, I drink it the same day. It can get cloudy and bitter tasting if stored in the fridge too long, depending on what types of fruits you add to the water. I guess the best thing to do next time you make it is just make the amount you’ll be drinking for the day.
Or can you freeze into cubes the unused water at end of day & add to something else the next day? Mix lemon cubes with strawberry water or something like that? What do you think?
It sounds like a great idea! I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. Let me know when you try it what you think!
I have had cucumber in water before and it is very refreshing. I certainly will try some of these other variations.
I really like cucumber water, too. Have fun experimenting with other ingredients!
Wonderful blog post.. thank you so much for sharing.. I can’t wait to try some of these.
Thanks Michelle! Hope you enjoy the different water recipes!
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Just made orange water today! Makes me think on being in a warm climate instead of the cold
Thank you for posting all the interesting recipes!
Lauren Turton
http://www.laurenturtonphotography.com
I’m glad you liked the fruit water, Lauren! You’re right–drinking it does make you feel like you’re in a warm sunny place!
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My husband’s and my favorite is stolen from the spa at the resort in Mexico that we honeymooned at–slice up fresh apples and put in a 1/2 gallon of water. So yummy and it keeps well for several days in the fridge!
That sounds really good, Ali! I’ll have to try that!
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I do sliced oranges and a vanilla bean for water that tastes like a creamsicle!
That’s a great idea–sounds really yummy!
Love this! Sharing!!
Thanks, Tara, and thanks for sharing it!
When I lived in India, we had to use a water filter to make tap water safe to drink, but it always left a strange metallic flavor in the water. The people I worked with said to leave any water-based vegetable in the water overnight, and it would taste better the next day. I would put a leaf of lettuce and few carrot slices in the water, and it worked really well. The water was fresh, but didn’t have the taste of vegetables.
That’s a great tip, Shannon–I hadn’t heard that before! Thanks for sharing it!
That’s a great tip, Shannon–I hadn’t heard that before! Thanks for sharing it!
I am not crazy about cucumbers…I can eat them but they aren’t among my favorite vegetables so when I first heard of the idea of putting a piece of cucumber in my water, I wasn’t crazy about the idea BUT I tried it and I loved it. It is quite refreshing.
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I love these ideas. My family and I are learning to eat healthier and getting our water intake is a struggle. I can’t wait to start using some these ideas. Would you mind if I shared these ideas?
Hi Bre–Glad you like the water recipes! Please feel free to share my post or link back to it if sharing from your blog!
Do you eat the fruit after?!
You can if you want, Becca! The taste and flavor will vary depending on what kind of fruit is in your water and how long it’s been in the water.
I got a pitcher with a lid on it for our work fridge just for infusing water……..it’s so refreshing to have this to sip on while at your desk.