If you’ve been a fan of Natural Living Ideas for a while now, you’re probably used to reading our favorite piece of natural health advice: “Drink more water.” In fact, if there were one substance – one ultimate panacea – to cure every disease, address any weight-loss concern and set every natural health mishap right, water would be The One. That said, it was only a matter of time before good ol’ H2O made its way up the chain from regular (albeit quiet) cameo appearances into the center stage spotlight.
In a survey of over 2800 people in 14 different cities, researchers at Rockefeller University discovered that only around 34% of people drink enough water on a daily basis. That means that nearly 2 out of every 3 people is living in a constant state of dehydration. Even more alarming: 10% of the individuals who took the survey reported not drinking any water at all on an average day!
While the reasons for not drinking enough water are many, there is one excuse which stands out far more prominently than any other.
“Water is boring.”
So, as part of our unrelenting mission to bring you better health and a longer, happier life; we’ve scoured the internet, as well as our own brains and kitchens to compile the best, brightest and tastiest ways to take the ‘boring’ out of drinking water and replace it with ‘interesting, tasty and fun’ – in true natural living style!
1. Toss in Some Fresh Fruit
Slice or cube up some fresh organic fruit and drop it into your water for a little flavor and color. Berries, mango, watermelon, pineapple, kiwi and orange are just a few of the colorful fruits which make great additions to a glass of cool water.
2. Or Just the Peels
For a blast of citrus flavor without the pulp and seeds, swap out your lemon, orange or lime slices for just the rind. Citrus fruit peels contain potent oils which will add both flavor and a fresh aroma to your drinking water.
3. Add Fragrant Herbs
Fresh herbs such as basil (for a licorice-like taste), lemongrass (for a kick of citrus), lavender (floral aroma), peppermint or cinnamon can quickly lend a lot of flavor to your water. Get creative with your herbs and try different combinations to keep things interesting.
This technique is especially good for those who grow potted herbs as you’ll always have a fresh supply when you need to jazz up a glass of water!
4. Infuse It Overnight
Get more flavor out of your fruits and herbs by adding them to a pitcher of water and leaving it in the refrigerator overnight. Come morning, your fresh produce will have infused the water with both their flavor and nutrients.
5. Muddle Your Fruit & Herbs
If you want the added flavor of infused water without the wait, try muddling your fruits and herbs in the bottom of a glass before topping them with cool, refreshing water.
You can muddle with a spoon, or pick up one of these fancy water infuser bottles to simplify the process.
6. Try It With Cucumber Slices
Just like they do in a lot of day spas, you can toss a few slices of cucumber into your water for a mild yet stimulating and refreshing flavor. You can also pair a fresh slice of lemon or lime with your cukes for an interesting and tasty combination.
Because cucumbers are so mild, they work very well with the overnight infusion method, too!
7. Add a Splash of Juice
Add color, flavor and nutrients to your water with a splash of your favorite no-sugar-added juice. Lemon, lime, grapefruit, cranberry and pomegranate are some excellent choices.
You can also pair up juices with complimentary fruit slices to make your water even more interesting. (Try cranberry juice with a fresh lime slice – one of my personal favorites!)
8. Mix Up Some “Sassy Water”
Try this recipe for “Sassy Water” from prevention.com which combines ginger, cucumber, lemon and mint for delicious flavor plus some incredible health benefits which can seriously improve your weight-loss results – especially when it comes to burning off stubborn belly fat!
9. Try Japanese Plum Wine
Xin Lu on wisebread.com recommends flavoring your water with umeshu, a Japanese wine made from green plums. One part umeshu to ten parts water is her suggested mixing ratio.
10. Have a Cup of Tea
Drinking tea can count toward your daily water total, too (just so long as you don’t spike it with sugar!) Mix up some herbal tea like any of these 17 delicious and nutritious varieties. Green tea is another great option which also makes a perfect substitution for caffeinated beverages.
11. Low-Sodium Broth
For a warm, tasty treat that will also hydrate you better than plain water, drink a mug of low-sodium broth. The nutrients and proteins in broth also make it one of the best foods for combating a cold or the flu!
12. Mix In Apple Cider Vinegar
Spice up your boring water and get a daily dose of ultra healthy apple cider vinegar at the same time. About a tablespoon of of ACV added to an average-sized tea cup full of water is a good ratio to start with, though you may need to experiment with more or less to find the flavor which suits you best.
13. Toss In Some Rose Hips
If you grow your own roses or know someone who does, consider harvesting a few rose hips and adding them to your drinking water. Rose hips are loaded with vitamin C – one of the richest natural sources on the planet, in fact! (You can read more about them here.)
14. Add a Drop of Natural Food Coloring
If you’d like to give your water a splash of color, but can’t stand the taste of watered-down fruit juice, try adding a drop or two of natural food coloring instead.
You can also sweeten your colorful water with a pinch of organic stevia powder to create an interesting and healthy replacement for sugary beverages.
15. Make Colored Cubes
Add a drop or two of natural food coloring to water in a glass measuring cup or pitcher full of water. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze to create fun colored ice cubes that not only look pretty when you first drop them into the glass, but will also create nifty color patterns in your water as they begin to melt.
16. Trade Ice For ‘Iced Fruit’
Another cool way (pun intended) to jazz up your boring water is to swap out those boring ice cubes for some iced fruit. This could be as simple as breaking out the frozen berries and dropping a few in the glass. Or you can get creative by adding berries or pieces of fruit to the compartments of an ice cube tray before filling them with water. Once frozen, fill a glass with your homemade iced fruit cubes and top off with water to give the illusion that colorful bits of your favorite produce are suspended throughout the liquid (instead of sitting blandly at the bottom of the glass!)
17. Or Try Iced Herbs
Just like fruit, you can also make iced herb cubes (which is also a great way to preserve your fresh herbs.) Try them with mint leaves to give summertime beverages a fresh kick with a splash of color!
18. Cleverly-Shaped Ice Cubes
Take interesting ice a step further by using unconventional ice cube trays. Some nifty ideas:
The ice globe maker gives you big spheres of ice which keep drinks cooler longer by melting more slowly. These clever trays give ‘brain freeze’ a whole new meaning. You’ve heard of a barrel of monkeys… But what about a glass of swimming sasquatch? Then there’s my personal favorite: polar animals on icebergs.
19. Carbonate It
Pick up a Soda Maker and add bubbles to your drinking water at your leisure. Carbonated water combines well with a many of the other ideas on our list. Try it with citrus rinds (as mentioned in #2) for a fresh, fruity treat. Or add your fun, fruity and colorful ice cubes to fizzy water for a truly visually-stimulating hydration experience!
20. Try A Fun Project
Adding a small pinch of salt and a splash of juice to drinking water helps your body to absorb it better so you’ll feel rehydrated faster – just like mixing your own sports drink.
Stirring a pinch of salt into carbonated juice-water also creates a brief and exhilarating reaction (physical, not chemical) where lots of carbonation is released from the liquid very rapidly. This can be fun to watch, especially for children. Just be sure to only fill your glass partially full (about an inch from the top should be enough) before adding the salt, to prevent your kitchen science experiment from overflowing!