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Feast Your Eyes on…Flavored Water!

feast your eyes on flavored water1 @ nancyc

I’ve always liked drinking my water with a slice or two of lemon–that extra little touch of flavor just makes water more appealing to me. There are a lot of other ways you canflavor water naturally. You can get really creative with it! Here are some ideas…

  • Add a slice of your favorite citrus to a tall glass of ice water…try lemon, lime, or orange slices. Or combine them…slices of lemon and lime…orange and lime…or try all three together!
  • Fresh mint is always a great addition to a glass of ice water.
  • Combine lemon slices with fresh herbs in your water…try lemon with mint, rosemary, thyme, or sliced ginger root.
  • Cucumbers are great in water, too! Slice up a large cucumber and add it to a pitcher of water…it’s really refreshing. You can also try cucumber with some fresh thyme added in. Or cucumber slices with lemon or orange slices.
  • If you want a more intense flavor to your glass of water, squeeze the citrus and/or twist the herbs you are using before you add them to your glass.
  • Besides lemons, oranges, and limes, you can try adding other kinds of fruit to your glass or pitcher of water…a small handful of your favorite berries (or mixed berries) is a nice addition to a glass of ice water. Other fruits you can try alone or in combination are: watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, pineapple, grapefruit, grapes, and kiwi.
  • Jenny from An Oregon Cottage mentioned in a comment on this post that she likes to use orange and mint or strawberry and cucumber combinations to flavor her water–great ideas!
feast your eyes on flavored water2 @ nancyc

NOTE: I usually drink my flavored water the same day I make it…I think it tastes best that way. Depending on what you add to your water, it may get cloudy or bitter-tasting if stored in the refrigerator too long.If you’re wanting to make a pitcher of flavored water, you basically just slice or chop up some fresh fruit, cucumbers, or herbs and place in a pitcher, add cold water and chill several hours. The result is water infused with a light, natural flavor. It’s ready to serve over ice, garnished with a slice of fruit or clipping of an herb of your choice. Here are some other ideas and recipes for flavored water you may want to try:

CITRUS CUCUMBER WATER

  • 1 large lemon, sliced
  • 1 large lime, sliced
  • 1 large orange, sliced
  • 1 large cucumber, sliced
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Place all the sliced fruits and the cucumber in a glass pitcher and add water. Refrigerate for two hours to allow flavors to infuse, then serve in glasses over ice.

CUCUMBER–HERBAL WATER

  • 5 cups water
  • 10 thin slices of cucumber
  • 2 lemon slices
  • 2 sprigs of fresh mint
  • 3 sprigs of rosemary

Put water in pitcher and add lemon slices and cucumber slices. Crush mint and rosemary to release flavor, then add to other ingredients. Refrigerate for several hours. Serve over ice in tall glasses. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

CUCUMBER–MELON WATER

  • 1 large cucumber, sliced
  • 1/4 honeydew melon, cubed
  • 1/4 cantaloupe, cubed
  • 1 half-gallon water

Place cucumber and melons in a glass pitcher and add water. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then serve over ice. Garnish with melon balls skewered on a swizzle stick

feast your eyes on flavored water3 @ nancyc

HONEYDEW–LIME WATER

  • 2–3 slices of ripe honeydew melon
  • 1 lime, sliced
  • 4 sprigs of mint
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Add melon slices, lime slices and mint sprigs to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2–4 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Makes about 8 servings.

HERB AND BERRY–FLAVORED WATER

  • 1 cup fresh blueberries, lightly crushed
  • 2  4–inch sprigs of fresh rosemary. lightly bruised  (to release more flavor)
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Add blueberries and rosemary sprigs to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2–4 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Makes about 8 servings.

LEMON–LAVENDER WATER

  • 3 large lemons, sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh lavender
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Add lemon slices and lavender to pitcher; pour water over both and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve over ice and garnish with a sprig of lavender.

LEMON–MINT or LEMON-BASIL WATER

  • 4 lemons, sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups firmly packed fresh mint or basil leaves
  • 6–8 cups water
  • 6–8 cups ice cubes
  • Fresh mint or basil sprigs

Place lemon slices in a large pitcher. Rub the mint or basil leaves between the palms of your hands to bruise the leaves slightly. Add to the pitcher with lemon and pour in the water. Cover and chill 1–8 hours.

Strain lemon–water mixture and discard herbs. Divide lemon slices and additional fresh mint or basil sprigs equally among 6–8 glasses. In each glass, add 1 cup of ice cubes, then fill with lemon water.

feast your eyes on flavored water4 @ nancyc

LEMON, LIME AND ORANGE WATER

  • 1 large lemon, sliced
  • 1 large lime, sliced
  • 1 large orange, sliced
  • 1/4 cup cilantro leaves (optional)
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Add citrus slices (and cilantro leaves, if desired) to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Garnish with your favorite citrus slice (and a sprig of cilantro, if you’re using that). Makes about 8 servings.

FROZEN FRUIT WATER

  • 2 cups frozen apple chunks, grapes, or berries
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Add frozen fruit to a pitcher; pour water over fruit and let sit at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Stir to distribute fruit flavor and serve in glasses with some ice cubes. (Note: you can chop up the same kind of fruit, unfrozen, and follow same directions. You’ll need  to use more ice when serving the unfrozen fruit–flavored water).

ORANGE–MINT WATER

  • 3 large oranges, sliced
  • 10 mint leaves
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Put sliced oranges and mint leaves in pitcher and add water; refrigerate for 2 hours to infuse flavors. Pour over ice and garnish with a sprig of mint and orange slice.

WATERMELON–BASIL WATER

  • 2 cups seedless watermelon, cubed
  • 10 basil leaves
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Pour water over melon and basil; refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve over ice, garnished with a sprig of basil.

feast your eyes on flavored water5 @ nancyc

FRUIT WATER

  • 1 each of the following fruits: apple, lemon, orange, pear
  • 4 large strawberries
  • Handful of raspberries
  • Handful of mint leaves
  • 1 half-gallon of water

Cut large slices or thin wedges of each fruit; place them in a large glass pitcher and add cold water. Refrigerate 2 hours and serve over ice in tall glasses.

Various tips and recipes from Southern Living, eHow, Vegetable Gardener, About.com, Eating Well.

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187 responses to “Feast Your Eyes on…Flavored Water!”

  2. I do this all the time. Orange/mint is a favorite as well as strawberry/cucumber. It is such a great way to drink alot of water.

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    • Orange/mint and strawberry/cucumber sound like great combinations! Would you mind if I added that to my post–I’ll mention you suggested it!

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  4. Something I discovered the other night is just using a big of V8 vegetable (or even a V8 splash beverage) and mixing a small amount of that with tap water. It makes the water taste more mineral rich and it’s super easy to do.

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  5. […] It’s a beautiful day here, warm and sunny…woohoo! I stumbled upon a great blogpost for flavoured water recipes which would be so refreshing on a nice hot day! Toss that sugary frozen lemonade or sweetened iced tea and make something GOOD for you. This is also an inexpensive beverage to serve at BBQs or parties. Check this out: Feast Your Eyes on…Flavored Water!! […]

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  13. I need to try this! I wonder though–how long can you keep a bottle of this sealed in the fridge? It would be fabulous to make a couple different ones so you have a couple of choices for the succeeding days.

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    • It’s really best the day you make it. But it’s probably good for a few days. If it sits in the fridge longer than that, the water can sometimes get a bitter taste (that probably happens more if you’re using citrus fruits). It is fun to try different combinations–makes drinking water a lot more fun! 🙂

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      • It might also last longer if you remove the fruit after the first day. I have not tried it yet, but it would prevent the fruit from becoming mushy and gross while leaving in the flavor 🙂

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    • Sorry to hear that happened! I’m not sure why it did that. I’ve made water with fresh-picked mint before and kept it in the fridge until the next day without it turning brown. Usually when I make flavored water, though, I drink it the same day. It can get cloudy and bitter tasting if stored in the fridge too long, depending on what types of fruits you add to the water. I guess the best thing to do next time you make it is just make the amount you’ll be drinking for the day.

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      • Or can you freeze into cubes the unused water at end of day & add to something else the next day? Mix lemon cubes with strawberry water or something like that? What do you think?

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  15. I have had cucumber in water before and it is very refreshing. I certainly will try some of these other variations.

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  21. My husband’s and my favorite is stolen from the spa at the resort in Mexico that we honeymooned at–slice up fresh apples and put in a 1/2 gallon of water. So yummy and it keeps well for several days in the fridge!

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      • has anyone tried freezing the fruits in a large ice cube (like an o.j. container) so as it melts it stays cold? I’m thinking about trying that for a river trip I am doing over the 4th of July. As the ice melts, hopefully the fruit is still good and the water will be super cold and refreshing.

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  28. When I lived in India, we had to use a water filter to make tap water safe to drink, but it always left a strange metallic flavor in the water. The people I worked with said to leave any water-based vegetable in the water overnight, and it would taste better the next day. I would put a leaf of lettuce and few carrot slices in the water, and it worked really well. The water was fresh, but didn’t have the taste of vegetables.

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  29. I am not crazy about cucumbers…I can eat them but they aren’t among my favorite vegetables so when I first heard of the idea of putting a piece of cucumber in my water, I wasn’t crazy about the idea BUT I tried it and I loved it. It is quite refreshing.

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  31. I love these ideas. My family and I are learning to eat healthier and getting our water intake is a struggle. I can’t wait to start using some these ideas. Would you mind if I shared these ideas?

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    • You can if you want, Becca! The taste and flavor will vary depending on what kind of fruit is in your water and how long it’s been in the water.

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  33. I got a pitcher with a lid on it for our work fridge just for infusing water……..it’s so refreshing to have this to sip on while at your desk.

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  38. I like to use a French Press for my fruit water, that way once it’s finished infusing, the seeds, rosemary, etc are strained out. For a single glass, I use a loose leaf tea strainer. Fill glass 3/4s or so full of water, fill strainer with fruit and herbs, pop strainer into glass, pop glass into fridge for a little while, remove glass from fridge, remove strainer from water, add ice, drink and enjoy 🙂

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    • That’s a wonderful idea, using a French Press! And I really like your idea of using a tea strainer for a single glass, Emmelle!

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  39. Some of these idea sound wonderful. One other great choice is mango. I actually buy bags of frozen mango. When I get my ice for my water I drop 2-3 chunks of frozen mango in my glass as well. As it thaws it flavors the water so nicely, My kids love it so I go through a lot of it. Once piece of advice though, I tried cutting my own mango to freeze it but it all stuck together as it froze and I couldn’t get it apart for anything. It must be kept separate during the freezing process.

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  40. Thank you for sharing this! I cannot wait to try some of the recipes and to have my kids try them! I think they are going to love it and it is a great alternative to the sugary juices!

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  41. Thanks for some new ideas. My favorite is cucumber, lime and ginger root. I fix my waters at night and they are perfectly flavored for the next day. I use two quart size mason jars and once I discard the “additions”, I have my half-gallon daily recommended intake of water to enjoy.

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  43. I have also used hibiscus, cinnamon sticks, lemongrass, juniper berries, stevia leaves (if you want bit of extra sweetness) and fresh pineapple – sometimes along with everything else!! It tastes great 🙂

    The other thing I have used is chili pepper, only one, and it adds just the barest hint of zing to the water.

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    • Those are great ideas, Kay–I really like the idea of using those herbs and spices! I can see how the chili pepper would give the water a little zing, too! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

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  50. Love your ideas! I bought an infusion pitcher last year (definitely not a necessity) but made me keep up a pitcher of fruit water in the fridge instead of reaching for something else. Also, keeps the fruit together (no mush etc. landing in your glass). Check it out if it’s something you do a lot.

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  55. we just got back from a week in Kauai and they have daily water infusions and the one with cucumber in it was the best. They have it in a big glass urn for people all day! so excited to see the recipes

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  57. Just saw a fruit infusion pitcher for $20 at target. Going to get one tomorrow. I have diabetes and trying to drink more water. Can’t wait to try some of these. Thanks so much for the recipes.

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  58. I once saw a woman drink water with rose petals in it and tried it with violets myself. That was really yummy! I forgot that completly, but remembered it, when I saw your recipes – thanks for that.
    Maybee it would be a nice idea to freeze ice cubes of violet water for the summer, when they don’t bloom anymore.

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    • I never thought of using rose petals or violets in water–I’ll have to try that, Zora! That’s a great idea, too, to freeze the violet water!

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  59. I am going to use these recipes and ideas for an Infused Water presentation I’ll be doing for our Ladies Fellowship Seminar in July. Thanks for all of the wonderful info and recipes. I Just found 2 3-Gallon Infusion Dispensers with Cylinders and ice wells, Plus a glass one with a spigot & stand on Shopgoodwill.com, and another glass one on eBay. I’m all set. Will be trying these at home first. I can’t wait. Happy!!. 🙂 J

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  61. […] Feast Your Eyes on… Flavored Water from Nancy Creative – In the warmer months it’s important to remember that you need some serious hydration. Keep yourself from getting bored with plain old water by adding fruits and herbs as advised in these recipes. […]

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  62. the cafeteria workers have a special container that they’ve been “making” fruit water in…so far no cucumbers but strawberries, oranges, lemons, limes…love it all! It’s very refreshing.

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  65. Reblogged this on The Water Tiger and commented:
    Today I was talking to a friend about the evils of Crystal Lite drink mixes which are pure aspartame with a bit of chemical flavor. My worst migraine ever was about seven years ago after drinking some Crystal Lite. Here is a much better alternative. The Balkan Camp caterers are wonderful about providing flavored waters to drink at camp – this year my faves were the watermelon/basil and the one with fennel and I think it was cucumber. Headed to the store now to pick up ingredients. Try these – you’ll never go back to Crystal Lite or soda – I promise.

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    • I used to get headaches from drinking diet drinks with NutraSweet, or Aspartame, too–a friend told this artificial sweetener can cause headaches in some people, and it certainly did for me! Yes, flavored water is definitely the way to go!

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  66. I recently made a lemon and strawberry water and it tasted just like strawberry lemonade but I didn’t add any sugar the strawberries did all the sweetening

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  67. Love the flavor ideas. I will boil a pot of water to infuse it with some agave syrup and crystallized ginger.

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  68. I just made my first pitcher of infused water. Just opening the refrigerator and seeing the orange and lemon slices floating in the clear pitcher of cold water just screams healthy, thirst quenching and summer!

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    • Hi Susan–if you go to the bottom of the post, you’ll see a “Print Friendly” button–just click on that and it will bring up a printable page for you. If you want to print the post without the photos to save paper, click on the “Remove images” at the top. Thanks for checking with me!

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  85. Oh my goodness! So happy to have found this post. I’ve been spending loads of cash on Hint Water at Whole Paycheck, but it’s the only way I’ll drink water – plain water is just so boring. I’m going to have to try some of these. Gotta admit, as much as I love cucumbers, the idea of using them to flavor my water just isn’t all that appealing. I think I’m going to try and emulate a couple of my favorite Hint flavors, starting with Honeydew/Hibiscus.

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  86. I love apple water. Just cut thin slices, put them in the water and let it chill for a few hours. Better than than apple juice (and less sugar) 😉

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  97. Wonderful post! Perfect for getting healthy right before summer! When I visited my parents, my mom had started making cucumber/lemon water it is an amazing natural cleanse for the body! Thanks for sharing so many different and easy ways to make something so healthy 🙂

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  99. I make these almost daily and I really appreciate you sharing your recipes. Your photos are lovely and making me want to try more varieties. I am following you on Pinterest now – thank you so much for sharing!

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  103. Reblogged this on Bubble Gum for the Brain and commented:
    Although this summer hasn’t been especially hot so far, I’m always on the lookout for something interesting to drink besides plain water. I drink water most of the time these days, but even though it is good for you and doesn’t have any calories, it does get a little boring. I’m inspired by this blog post from Nancy Creative to try some flavored water. She says that the water is best drunk the day it’s made, but I think I could make a big pitcherful and strain or spoon out the fruit when it’s ready so it will keep longer. Do you make flavored water in the summer? Share your ideas in the comments!

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  107. Thanks for these amazing recipes and ideas. I’m hosting a baby shower next month and would love to serve a couple different flavored waters by the gallon. Would I have to double the fruit and herbs needed for a half gallon of water or just add more water?
    Thanks again. I’m so excited to keep these recipes handy for my husband and myself now that Spring is just around the corner.

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