Whether you like your flavored water with just a hint of aroma or with a more powerful sweet taste, find out how to do it yourself with few or no calories and without any trace of preservatives, sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Discover what you need to start flavoring water right now and get the right taste without extra calories. Follow the simple steps on how to flavor water with few or no calories and you’ll be enjoying your creations in no time.
How to Flavor Water
Forget about sodas and other sweet drinks and create your own flavored water with just a few simple tools. You can use most fruits and herbs for your water, but the tools can make all the difference.
For delicious flavored water you’ll need:
– mason jars or pitchers, preferably 2 quart
– fruit infusion pitcher or French Press for filtering herbs
– wooden spoon or muddler
– water, filtered or tap
– fruits
– herbs, everything from mint and basil to rosemary and lavender
Choose your favorite fruit and herbs and muddle them at the bottom of the mason jar or pitcher, before adding water. When you’re learning how to flavor water, it’s always good to remember that the aromas from fruit take time to set in. Be prepared to let the water sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, preferably more than 8 hours for a stronger flavor.
Most fruits work well with water, but you need to use them fresh or frozen. Drier fruit don’t work as well, and bananas are a bad choice whether they’re fresh or frozen.
How to Flavor Water with Few or No Calories
Since the calories in a tablespoon of fruit juice are often in single digit territory, your flavor water will end up having very few calories. Avoid any artificial sweeteners and even agave and simply let the natural fructose from your chosen fruit provide the right sweet taste. Whether you use flat water or seltzer water, the results are usually delicious.
If you’re looking for a few delicious combinations that are tried and tested, try these simple recipes. In each case, muddle the fruit and the herbs in the jar or pitcher gently, to release some juice, but stop before they’re completely squashed. Add water and refrigerate and serve with ice cubes. Here a few excellent combinations to get your started:
Cucumber and Mint Flavored Water
– 1/2 sliced cucumber
– 1/2 sliced lime
– 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
If mint is too strong for your taste, you can also try rosemary, thyme or even tarragon.
Citrus Flavored Water
– 1 sliced orange
– 1 sliced lime
– 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
Mint and lavender are great additions if you find the taste of citrus water too tart.
Pineapple and Mint Flavored Water
– 1 cup cubed pineapple
– 1 spring of mint
Remember to bruise all the mint leaves to really help the flavor get into the water.
Raspberry and Lime Flavored Water
– 1 quartered lime
– 1/2 cup raspberries
Even if you’re just beginning to learn how to flavor water with few or no calories, you can always adjust quantities for the right taste.
Orange, Pineapple and Ginger Flavored Water
– 1/2 sliced orange
– 1/2 cup cubed pineapple
– 1 tablespoon ginger, freshly grated root
When ingredients are grated, you don’t need to muddle them again, so take it easy with the ginger.
Watermelon and Mint Flavored Water
– 1 cup cubed watermelon
– 1 sprig of mint (1/4 cup leaves)
You can always leave the sprig in if you’re in a hurry, you don’t have to detach the leaves, just remember to muddle them a bit.
Lemon, Strawberry and Basil Flavored Water
– 1/2 sliced lemon
– 1/2 cup quartered strawberries
– 1 sprig of basil (1/4 cup leaves)
From Flavored Water to Sweet Teas
Once you’ve got the basics on how to flavor water with few or no calories, but you’re looking for an even easier solution, you can always try a naturally sweet tea. You can use a single tea bag for a 2 quart pitcher for a more subtle aroma and plenty of teas have a natural sweetness to them.
Roiboos and Ooolong teas have a subtle sweet natural flavor and most white teas lack the touch of bitterness in green or black tea. Other good options are Hibiscus teas, along with Pu-erh, but only the aged variety, since this type of tea slowly loses its bitter edge in time.
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