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Generally speaking, we could all do with drinking more water. Drinking water promotes healthy, youthful skin, balanced bodily fluids, smoother digestion; and it can even promote weight loss. However, what do we do if we want something more interesting to drink?

If you want to jazz up your drink, there is an easy and delicious way to make your own flavored water, complete with a hint of sweetness. This homemade “vitamin water” is extremely versatile and can provide a variety of vitamins and antioxidants from an infusion of fruits and herbs.

Vitamin waterUse a wide mouth glass canning jar of just about any size. Either quart or pint size is easy to have ready and waiting in the fridge or carry with you. Or use a glass pitcher. Fill the container ¼ to ½ full with a combination of chopped fruit and/or herbs (organic is ideal for this). Then fill the container to the top with water, cover, and leave in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours, or up to a full day, to infuse. When you’re thirsty, strain out the fruit and herbs, and enjoy the fresh flavored drink. Most of the time, I strain the infused water from the fruit once and refill the jar or pitcher for one more infusion.

The best part? After a refill, eat the fruit. If you like your drinks with a bit of sweetness, try using oranges or pineapples first. If you like more of a subtle, refreshing flavor, cucumber or apple would be good choices. Once you choose a fruit to infuse, try mixing in a bit of fresh herbs as well. Some unlikely contenders such as basil, thyme, rosemary, or sage are delicious when paired with fruit. This is an especially good way to use up extra seasonal fruit or fruit that is ripe and needs to be used. You could also use frozen fruit from earlier in the season.

Flavors pictured are Pineapple Mint, Strawberry Cucumber, and Orange Lemon. Other flavor combinations are Strawberry Basil, Apple Mint, Melon Thyme, Blackberry Sage, Mango Lime… Basically any combination you think will be tasty. Try ginger, cinnamon, lime, peaches, cherries, nectarines, all types of melons, kumquats, or pomegranate.

Fredrika Syren

Fredrika Syren is an environmental activist and writer. In 2016, she founded the website Green-Mom.com where she shared her family’s journey of living zero waste. She lives in San Diego, California with her husband James and their children Bella, Noah, and Liam. Fredrika and her family were recently featured in the documentary Zero Time to Waste. Fredrika is also the author of Zero Waste for Families - A Practical Guidebook (which you can buy on this site)

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