We all know it’s important to hydrate, but sometimes plain water seems a little bit boring. So I’ve been exploring natural water flavourings using fruit, herbs, and spices. These healthy all natural ingredients can all go a long way towards making water taste better, without any added sugar or artificial sweeteners.
A couple of general tips before I get to the monster list:
- Sparkling water can be used instead of still water for a bit of that bubbly goodness
- Fruit infusions are best if they’ve been allowed to steep for at least four hours
- Freeze any of the following into ice cubes
- Making your infusions with to make it easier to filter out herbs, spices and other bits you don’t want to drink
Now let’s get on to the monster list. Got any other ideas? Add them to the comments!
32 Natural Ways to Flavor Water
- Citrus fruit – Lemons, lime, oranges, grapefruit. Flavor is just a squeeze away!
- Tea – A tea bag works just as well in cold water as it does in hot water. Just steep it for longer. (Thanks, Leisureguy!)
- Ginger – Steep slices of ginger in hot water. Pour over ice.
- Sliced cucumber – ’nuff said
- Mint – Break apart the leaves to release the flavor. Also good with vodka and lime. =)
- Unsweetened fruit juice – this is even easier if you have a juicer. Check out my DIY Vitamin Water.
- Fresh pomegranate seeds – Here are step-by-step instructions that explain How to Cut and De-Seed a Pomegranate.
- Wine – I must say I love this idea from Wisebread. They recommend plum wine or umeshu: “It is a very sweet Japanese liquere made from green plums so I drink it with a lot of water. The distinct sweet flavor still comes through when there is one part umeshu in ten parts water. I am sure the same can be done with other syrupy liqueres.
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Peaches
- Pineapple
- Sangria water – Mix the following and let steep for four hours: 1 quart filtered water; 4 slices each of lemon, orange and lime; 1 ripe peach, cut into quarters; 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
- Fresh stevia leaves – Stevia is a naturally sweet non-caloric leaf that is usually sold in packets, but it also makes a nice houseplant. You can easily buy Stevia seeds online. Read more about growing Stevia.
- Mixed fruit – Orange, lemon, lime, strawberrys, and cucumber go well together
- Lemongrass – Let a sprig of lemongrass steep sit in a glass of water for a few hours.
- Parsley – Break apart the leaves to release the flavor.
- Sliced cucumber and lemons
- Ginger and lemon
- Strawberries and mint
- Citrus fruit ice cubes – The sweet and sour kalamansi orange can be frozen whole and used as ice cubes. You could do the same thing with mandarins, clementines or satsumas.
- Salt – An interesting tip from Wisebread: “I am sure you have heard of the term “electrolytes” in the marketing for energy drinks. Actually electrolytes are just ions that can be found in common table salt. Adding a little bit of salt to water helps your body absorb the liquid more quickly. As long as you don’t go overboard with the salt the water should be very quenching and it would be great for workouts since the body loses salt through sweat.”
- Vinegar – Again, from Wisebread: “Adding vinegar to water is similar to adding citrus. You will get sour water that has vitamin C. When I was a kid I liked adding apple vinegar to water and then drinking it.”
- Hibiscus (Red Zinger) tea. I used to drink buckets of stuff at The Spider House Cafe in Austin, Texas. It’s easy to make, just put four bags in a pitcher for a few hours.
- Cubed honeydew melon with cucumber
- Lavender buds – Put them in a small muslin bag and let it steep for a while.
- Angostura bitters – This stuff is often used in martinis and other boozy drinks, but it’s also good in ice water. Just add a few dashes. If you’re feeling more adventurous, check out the Angostura website for more recipes.
- Spiced Ginger and Citrus Infusion – Steep the following over hot water for 5 minutes, then drink it hot or on ice: 1/2 in of peeled ginger, a couple of cloves, a small piece of cinnamon stick, and a couple of slices of citrus fruit. You can add honey if you like as well.
- Watermelon juice – Thanks again to Leisureguy for the idea!
- Herb Infused Water made with cucumber, lemon, mint and rosemary.
- Sun Tea – This is an old favorite of mine that my fam used to make with Lipton tea bags and sliced lemons served over lots of ice. Here is a basic recipe for Sun Tea. You can make it more interesting by adding mint, fresh fruit, lemons, whatever you fancy. It’s SO refreshing on a hot summer day.
Cheers to staying hydrated!
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in the THERES N OTRYING ONLY DOING vein Im gonna do a bunch of these this week.
and avoid the propel 🙂
I managed to cut out the coke, but still drinking lemonade. That needs to stop.
I have to say, I don’t find the majority of those options too appealing, but I’m going to try a few of them out. The ginger ones look like a decent place to start 🙂
I just tried frozen blueberry and lemon. Not bad. But I admit, it doesn’t quite satisfy like an ice cold 7-Up. Hopefully I’ll get over that in time. =)
Sliced cucumbers in water is fabulous!!
Thanks for putting this list together – great ideas! 🙂 I’m going to try pineapple and cucumber (separately). I’ve had something like the sangria water at a few parties and remember it being wonderful. Someday…
Also try these w carbonated water! I make sure it is the sodium free kind. Love the bubbles!
I have seen the sodastream system and wondered how it would be for good healthy drinks~ you can buy diet or use fruit flavors
Crystal light has that artifical sweetener and not good for you. I found stevia is good to sweeten water…but I like Monk Fruit to Go even better. Just a little squirt container that would be by the Stevia and such. NOT over with the squirt or papertubes of Kookaid or Crystral Light….
Don’t forget that adding lemon juice and cayenne pepper to water is also delicious.
Good call, Paul!
Watermelon + mint 🙂
What good is using stur?
Mixed fruit and lemongrass is my favorite
Hi there, I have always enjoyed lemon water but I have found that my teeth feel very sensitive. Is it possible that the lemon water has caused this, if so what’s your take on the sugar content with the fruits in the water? Would this have an impact on any sort of damage to the teeth and hinder any weight loss journey?
Thanks
I drank lemon water for years and wound up with eroded teeth, ulcers and an eroded esophagus. Mind you I was drinking about 80oz of lemon infused water a day for years. To this day if I so much as have a sip of water with lemon in it, the ulcers in my stomach are immediately activated and my throat instantly feels as if acid was poured into it. Lemon water is only to be drank in moderation a glass or two a day the rest should be water without acidic fruit in it. Hope that saves someone the suffering and surgeries I went through.