Berry Lemon Water Infusion

This was my first time infusing water at my new apartment and I discovered a trick to seriously increasing the flavor: Frozen Fruit. I would suggest using the frozen fruit if you have a pitcher with an insert, as the fruit gets very soft when it melts. If you don't have an infusion pitcher, just know that you may be getting some berry chunks when you sip your H2O.

Berry Lemon Water Infusion
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
Water
1 cup frozen mixed berries
4-5 fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2- 3/4 lemon, sliced

Step 1: Press Frozen berries into fruit insert. Put Lemon and strawberries into body of the pitcher. Fill with water, leaving room for the infusion insert.

Step 2: Add insert and lid, refrigerate, and let sit for a few hours. The longer the fruit is in the water, the stronger the flavor will be. I thought the flavor was best after leaving the water overnight.

Refill pitcher as many times as you please until the fruit begins to go bad. The flavor will be more diluted than the first time you filled it.

Enjoy!

Creative Hydration

Because of the ballet intensive I've been in for the  past two weeks I've been seriously slacking on my blogging duties. I honestly have not cooked at all, mainly because I didn't want to be on my feet any longer than necessary. As a result, I sat on the floor icing my feet while my mom whipped up dinner. Despite my lack of food experimentation, I was able to mess around with hydration.

I am definitely not an avid water drinker. I tend to stick with teas, Vitamin Water Zero, Zevia, Kombucha etc. I simply don't find water particularly interesting, which results in me not drinking it as much as I should. Lately, though, I've been trying to avoid the vitamin water and hit the regular water... but in an tasty way: Infusion! The basic idea of infusing water? Combining flavorful fruits and herbs in water to make it more interesting and enticing. I've read a lot of articles and have found many websites providing yummy recipes (One good one is fruitinfusedwater.com). I even purchased a special pitcher that has a place to put fruit, herbs, vegetables, and whatever else I may want to use to flavor my water. I haven't made any set recipes yet, because there really isn't a set recipe to use! Here are a few flavor combinations that have been good so far.

Cucumber and Watermelon Infusion
~ Combine lemon juice, about 1 cucumber, sliced, and chunks of watermelon in a pitcher of cold water.
~ You can mash up the watermelon a little to help the flavor spread
~ Let the water sit for a few hours, and enjoy!
~Water will last for a while an you can refill the pitcher a few times, leaving the same ingredients. Just keep an eye on the fruit, making sure you toss it before it starts to rot/ taste bad.

Cucumber, Lemon, and Rosemary Infusion
~ Combine slices of fresh lemon, cucumber, and a few sprigs of rosemary to create a refreshing summer drink!

Here are a few other ingredients that I plan to mix and match in the near future...
~Oranges
~Strawberries
~Lime
~Raspberries
~Basil
~Mint
~Ginger
~Grapefruit

Hope this helps make hydrating a bit more interesting!