Mandy

Today I’m sharing my favorite tricks to drink more water. Being a mom of five makes for a hectic schedule especially during the school year. I try to do little things for my body and my spirit everyday to fuel my best self. One main way I take care of my body is by making sure I drink enough water.

I have to tell you that I used to be one of those people that would cringe when I heard the words “drink more water.” Plain water doesn’t excite me. It doesn’t taste good to me. In fact, it used to make me angry to have to drink it. I have spent most of my life downing a few glasses like medicine a few times a day and then merrily sipping my favorite flavored beverage of choice.

How I learned to Drink More Water

One day I was at the spa with my sister and they had the most refreshing lemon mint water on tap. I absolutely could not get enough. It was my AHA! moment, and I realized that I would totally drink more water if I started adding fruit to my water at home.

I realized that I would totally drink more water if I started adding fruit to my water at home.

Later I also discovered that certain fruits can actually have extra health benefits. For example I was reading a study in a medical journal about how drinking lemon water on an empty stomach (like in the morning) activates digestive system and helps detoxify the body.

Since then I’ve incorporated lemon water as part of my daily routine. First thing in the morning, I grab whatever size lemon I happen to have on hand, chop it in half and squeeze both sides into about 16 ounces of water.

While I love the extra benefits of lemon water, don’t limit yourself to just one fruit. Almost every fruit and even some veggies can be sliced up and infused into water to make it more appealing. Along with the flavor of those fruits, some of the minerals and nutrients will be seeping into the water. Plus my kids actually drink more water when I make up a big pitcher of fruit-infused water in the morning.

If you have more of an on-the-go lifestyle, you can make your flavored water ahead and keep it chilled with you all day inside a thermal flask like a HydroFlask.

Favorite Fruit-Infused Water Flavors

Here are the fruits and veggies I’ll often use to make fruit-infused water; plus some of my favorite combinations.

Cucumber
Strawberry
Peach
Orange
Lemon
Mint
Lime
Pineapple
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Mango

Don’t be afraid to mix them together too and perhaps even add some herbs. Try cantaloupe + cucumber for a summer treat. Mix mango + mint for a mojito-inspired refresher. Watermelon with a few mint and rosemary leaves smashed up is amazing. My favorite detoxifying blend is Cucumber, Lemon + Mint.

If you want to get ALL THE FLAVOR and goodness of your mix-ins, you can also run them quickly through the blender. Then leave the juice on ice to enjoy all day. Forget about sugar and teach your palette to just enjoy flavor.

One last thing to know about fruit water is that you’ll need to keep it iced or refrigerate, and you’ll want to toss out any extras after 24 hours.