Flavoured Water - fruit benefits and how to prepare it
All the pleasure of flavour with the benefits of pulp and less sugar. Learn what each fruit offer you and 3 delicious flavoured water recipes.
While natural fruit drinks are truly delicious, they also represent a mammoth intake of sugars. It often turns out that it’s actually healthier to eat the fruits whole - fibre and pulp intact - rather than leaving them out. That is flavoured water is such a good idea to stay hydrated and get all the benefits of natural fruit flavour.
Nutritionists are increasingly documenting the harms of drinking pure fruit juices; as some actually contain more sugar than a sugary soft drink.
Of course, having ‘fruit’ in the name helps them come across has healthy - but they are not always so. Some comparison studies show that one can of top-selling normal soda (350ml) has around 140 calories, while the same amount of apple juice will contain 165 calories - and about the same amount of sugar.
However, there are alternatives for you to enjoy the taste of fruity pleasure without the sugary overload - benefiting from the vitamins, antioxidants and hydration.
How to prepare your favoured water:
It’s always best if you have a transparent and reusable bottle (or closed straw glass) that you can wash easily and carry it with you throughout the day. Most of this advice is very straightforward but you may well be asking yourself - why transparent?
Well, the answer is easy. The natural colours of the drink will look super pretty, and you’ll be able to see how much fruit it takes to colour the water in order to provide the flavoured water taste you enjoy the most.
Pour the pieces of fruit of your choice into the bottle, or keep them whole if you’re using smaller fruits like raspberries or blueberries. You can also mix flavours, fruits and even spices - get creative! The only no-no so far is bananas, as they really don’t work well. If you need a sweetener, try stevia or agave.
That being done, the simplest part is saved for last: you just add water.
Ready to give one a whirl? Here are some of the nutritional powers each fruit holds - so you can select them to your individual needs and create your own flavoured water:
And here are some fresh recipe suggestions for you to try:
Lemon and Red Fruits
Slice half a lemon and 1/2 a cup of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries.
Mint and Pineapple
½ a cup of chopped pineapple (cubes) and a ¼ fresh mint leaves.
Apple and Cinnamon
One cinnamon stick, one apple (sliced).
