In an attempt to get more water into their diets, many people are making fruit infused water. Adding fruit flavors by slicing open fruit and dropping it into some water is a healthy way to make water more interesting. Drinking 64 ounces of water a day never looked so pretty.
Lemon water has been a classic tactic in diets and workout plans for years, but things are getting more interesting in the water world. More recently, kiwi, strawberry, oranges and limes have been making appearances in more colorful attempts to flavor water. Other than being Instagram-worthy drinks, they also promise flavor without additional calories and sugars like drink syrups.
But what about all of that (expensive) fruit you’re bloating with water? You know what it looks like when you pull it out after a few hours of soaking. It looks like baby food mush. Not at all appetizing. So you just toss it in the trash and mix up another infused water and move on. But what about all the fruit you’re trashing?
Photo by Rachel Piorko
The simple answer is to drink the fruit as you go. If you want to avoid the calories, this isn’t really an option. But if you’re doing it solely to up water intake and drink something pretty and fruity, eating the fruit is a good option. You may accidentally eat some anyway depending on the method of drinking (i.e., straw vs. wide-mouthed bottle).
Another option for consuming your bloated fruit is making smoothies out of them. You can put almost anything in a smoothie, within reason. Did you know tofu can go in a smoothie? And kale can cover up the taste of anything (but nothing can cover up the taste of kale, unfortunately…).
So the next time you’re about to throw a soggy blueberry into the garbage, consider the antioxidants and blend it into a smoothie first. You can even store the smoothie for later. Another simple way to lessen the guilt of throwing away bloated fruit is to use fruit that may not look appealing even before it became water-logged. Ugly fruit still tastes delicious, but this way you’re not letting it totally go to waste.
Photo by Kaley French
Another problem with infused water is the type of bottle you may be using. If you’re recycling an old Voss bottle, you may find yourself cramming fruit through the mouth and not having much success getting it back out after you’re done. So you throw away the bottle and the food – #doublewaste.
Check out these cute bottle options, but be warned, the narrow mouths will leave you scraping to get fruit out. This increases the risk of leaving residue when you wash them (which means mold). If you’re interested in your Instagram game, always stick with a clear bottle. The simplest answer, though, is the mason jar. This classic is already a Pinterest and Instagram champion, fruit water makes it even better.