Sound familiar? I wish I had my son’s taste for water. He’s always sipping on water and asking for more. I, on the other hand, like many of us, have to remind myself to drink water and must plot out ways to get myself to drink more.
A colleague gave me a nice simple tip to start the day on the right track: Before drinking that first cup of coffee, have a big glass of water. It’s a great way to fit in some water first thing. Do you have trouble getting yourself to drink enough water?
Here are 3 tips that help me get in a lot tastier, hydrating fluids.
1. Fruit infusion pitcher.
Flavor up your water with orange, lemon, and lime slices, or try strawberry and kiwi. Or, recreate a spa experience with cucumber slices! The infusion pitcher lets the flavor in but makes it easier to keep the pulp out and easier to pour by containing the fruit (or keep it old school by simply adding fruit to your pitcher of water). Try different combinations to find your favorite. It works great with seltzer too!
2. So many flavors of tea.
One of my personal favorites is making iced tea with flavored herbal teas. I love apple/cinnamon or peppermint (and add mint leaves from my garden… Ahh, summer!). I steep 4 tea bags in 2 cups of boiling water for 3- 4 minutes, then let it cool and add it to a pitcher of cool water. Need some sweetener? Clients always ask what the healthiest sweetener to use is. My simple answer is the one you will use the least of. Sugar is 16 calories per teaspoon, which is no big deal if you keep it at that but adds up really quickly if you add 2 “scoops,” which is closer to 150 calories. So whether you use honey, agave, stevia, or anything else, aim to get yourself used to using just a small amount of sweetener.
3. Bubbles make it better.
Okay, so maybe seltzer isn’t quite like bubbly champagne, but some bubbly water seems more attractive to my taste buds. You can buy flavored seltzers, which are zero calories, like black cherry, strawberry, lemon-lime, and more (check the label to ensure there are no added sweeteners) or add an ounce or 2 of your favorite juice to a big glass of seltzer to add flavor while keeping the calories modest.
My favorite and non-alcoholic drink of choice when I went out (or when I was pregnant) is seltzer and pineapple juice. Yum! It tastes like a vacation to me! If you stick to 2 ounces of juice, it’s only 30 calories or so. My husband bought a Soda Stream. We don’t drink soda, but we are constantly making seltzer with it.
