Doctors always say to drink water and drink a bunch of it, 64 oz or more daily in fact! This makes sense because the human body is made up of over seventy percent water; therefore, drinking fluids to maintain and replenish water levels is vital for basic human functions. While you may be able to slurp down the first few glasses with ease, the final push toward hydration can be boring and bland.
The infused water craze could be just the trick for you to stay hydrated as we get into the warmer and longer days of summer! There are many different recipes and ingredients to use to spice up your water. Some even have benefits to help tackle specific health issues that you or your clientele may be experiencing. The most popular recipes found include berry mixes with raspberries, blueberries, and pomegranate seeds (these help with anti-aging and have anti-oxident properties). Other recipes include grapefruit, which may help with fat burning, or mint, which may help speed up your metabolism.
Before you jump into an infused frenzy, here are some best practices, general directions, and prepping tips for how to get started!
Best Practices:
Pesticides, chemicals, and other residues may be on the products that you purchase so be sure to wash all produce and rinse herbs prior to ingestion!
Use cold or room temperature filtered water! Infuse the water at room temperature for about 2 hours or 3-4 hours in the fridge. Hot water can destroy the enzymes and vitamins that are beneficial to your health.
If you don’t drink the water within a 24 hour window, remove the solids by straining the liquid and refrigerate for up to 3 days to prevent bacterial growth.
Melons, citrus fruits, cucumbers, and mint can flavor water very quickly; however, ingredients such as apples, cinnamon, ginger root, and rosemary need to soak in the fridge overnight. Ginger infused water and lemon infused water are popular ones at MAT™ Headquarters, they put these two ingredients together for an afternoon energy kick after lunch!
Frozen fruits, although they do not release as much juice and often fall apart in your water, can be used. Dried fruit is not ideal as the flavor will not be nearly as satisfying as fresh produce, spices, or roots.
Prepping Tips:
Softer fruits like citrus fruits and certain berries can be sliced thick, thin, halved, or quartered because they will infuse quite quickly. Fruits that are harder like apples should be sliced very thinly because they take longer to release flavors and completely infuse in the water.
Use a muddler, wooden spoon, or the bottom of a glass cup to crush fibrous ginger root, rosemary, mint, basil, cilantro, and lemongrass to speed up the infusion process, generate a stronger flavor, and to help release their oils.
Loose herbs and flowers, such as lavender, rose petals, and dried hibiscus can be placed in a tea infuser to keep you from ingesting them while enjoying your drink.
Check out these simple health facts about lemon, ginger root, and peppermint as you experiment with different infused water recipes at home!
