Strawberry Kiwi Water Recipe and the Health Benefits of Infused Water

HEALTH BENEFITS OF INFUSED WATER

• Infused water can help you lose weight and improve your hydration.
• Infused water is also often called detox water, diet water, or weight loss water because it can help boost your metabolism.
• Infused water tastes better, so you drink more!

Okay mamas (I know you aren’t all mamas, so feel free to skip to the next section if you’d like, I won’t be offended), you know what it’s like to at the bottom of the totem pole. Am I right? Your family is getting ready to go somewhere and Dad and the kids are dressed, fed, and looking good five minutes before it’s time to leave. Then you look in the mirror and realize you have spit up in your hair, haven’t eaten, and wish your pajamas could pass for real clothes. At least your cheeks have a healthy glow to them. Oh wait, that’s just strawberry jam from your toddler’s breakfast.

I cannot even count how many times this situation and many similar have happened to me in the past three months, and I only have two kids! I’m definitely understanding why there’s so much talk about moms needing to take care of themselves, and why most moms give you a blank stare when you suggest they try it. But I’m working on taking better care of myself, and my number goal on the list is to drink more water.

As a breastfeeding mom, I’m supposed to be drinking a gallon of water a day. Yep, a whole gallon. I look at a gallon of milk and think there is no way this world I can fit that much liquid in my body every day! Yet I’m breastfeeding a three month old and a two year old, as well as pumping once a day to donate to babies in need, so apparently I actually can drink that much.

The big problem is, I don’t like the taste of water. And I’m always taking care of everyone else so I totally forget to drink it anyway. But I’ve learned a few secrets that have helped me and I am now a super water drinking mama. In fact I’ve actually overheard people whispering about me saying, “Wow, she really drinks a lot of water,” in admiring whispery tones. Not a bad thing to overhear about yourself!

DRINKING WATER HELPS YOU LOSE WEIGHT

No this is not just some crazy Pinterest bandwagon I’m jumping on. It’s proven by science people. SCIENCE! (I hate claims that aren’t backed up by evidence)

A study on the effect of water on metabolism showed that drinking a large glass of water (16.907 ounces to be exact) can boost your metabolism by up to 30%! Conversely, not drinking enough water and being even slightly dehydrated can actually slow your metabolism down.

While I’m not actively trying to lose weight, I have to eat 3,000 calories a day right now to meet my nutritional needs while breastfeeding, I do want to lose the baby weight in a healthy way over the next several months. I’m about 20 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight, and it’s discouraging to not have clothes that fit me well. So I’m planning to drink lots of water, and cut out almost all sweeteners. Except lactation cookies. No breastfeeding mama should give up lactation cookies. But I’ll limit myself to two a day!

I’ve also developed a terrible sweet tooth during my pregnancy, so we are doing a 30 day sugar fast like we did a couple years ago. We just started so feel free to join us if you’d like. It was amazing how our cravings disappeared the last time we did it! So actually I am giving up lactation cookies, but just for a month.

HOW TO DRINK MORE WATER

Need a reminder to drink more water? I’ve been using the waterlogged app to help me remember to stay hydrated. In fact as I type this the sound of running water is going off on my phone to remind me to get up and grab my glass! The free version only let’s you set one alarm a day, or you can spend $3 one time to get additional reminders. There are some pop up ads in the form of coupons pretending to be “rewards” for drinking water, but I don’t find them too annoying. Plus my competitive spirit likes trying to max out the water bottle each day.

Another step to drinking more water is to like the taste of it. When I’m hot and tired after working out, gardening, chasing my two year old boy who ran all the way to the other side of the park, I’ll happily guzzle plain old water. But when it comes to every day life, I just don’t really think about wanting it. That’s where infused water comes in.

You can use all sorts of fruit, herbs, and vegetables to add flavor to your water without adding anything else (calories, fat, sugar, etc.). And you can have fun playing with your favorite flavor combinations. Make a big pitcher of it and stick it in the fridge. Trust me when you finish one glass of this lovely strawberry kiwi water, you’ll find yourself wanting to refill your glass for more. Which brings us to the next tip for drinking more water…

Find a glass or bottle you can and will take EVERYWHERE.

BEST REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES AND CUPS FOR KIDS AND ADULTS

Our family tries to make a big health change each year, and last year it was cutting out plastic as much a possible. So we started testing out different stainless steel water bottles and cups as well as glass water bottles. Here are our favorites.

First up, the every day, on the go, busy life water bottle. The Eco Vessel Summit is our favorite water bottle of ALL TIME. It keeps your drink cold all day long (though hopefully you’re drinking it much faster than that), and has a nice soft silicone mouthpiece. The 17 ounce bottles fit easily in our stroller and car cup holders. I am planning to get the 24 ounce now to try them out, because the less often I have to refill, the more I drink. My only word of warning on these is that although they are very sturdy, your toddler can chew through the silicone tip so don’t share with them, the plastic ring the lid screws onto can crack when it’s dropped off your car’s roof as you drive away. Aren’t you glad I test these things for you?

For our around the house drinking, and some on the go as well, we really like stainless steel straw cups. These are double walled so they keep drinks cold or hot for long periods of time. They fit in cup holders easily and are really sturdy. I did have the bottom of the outer wall come off of one cup, but that was probably my fault for wedging it in next to the shopping cart seat at Costco. It still works fine and I may glue it back on sometime. I like being able to use them on the go for tea in the morning, but I cool the tea down with some almond milk first or the steel straw will cause some serious lip burns. Again, glad I could test that for you!

For kids and toddlers, we recommend the Thermos FOOGO Stainless Steel Straw Bottle. The straw is silicone instead of plastic, and the bottle doesn’t leak no matter how crazy your 18 month old tries to make it do so. The lid is really easy for toddlers to open and close themselves. Just be careful about leaving the bottle full of water and sealed for several days. You will get mildew in the silicone straw. You just need to empty it and let things dry out when not in use.

And finally, the glass jar mugs. We just use these at home, although this set has lids so you could take them on the go. We love these for sipping iced or hot tea in the backyard, and serving flavored water to guests because it’s just so pretty. Corban also likes using these now to feel like a grown up like Mama and Dada.

HOW TO MAKE INFUSED NATURALLY FLAVORED WATER

Okay I know I just espoused the importance of science, but there is no science to making infused water. It’s basically throw something yummy and fresh into water and drink it. But there are a few tips for making it easy.

First of all you need something to keep you from having to navigate around the yummy chunks of produce in your water. You can use an infusion pitcher or an infusion water bottle but we don’t because all the highly recommended ones are plastic.

If you want to put the ingredients in your actual cup or glass, just drink through a straw and you shouldn’t have any trouble. The stainless steel straw cups I shared above are great for infused water on the go. I just keep my fruit and herbs in it all day and refill the water as needed.

If you want to use a pitcher, you can actually use any glass pitcher and just be sure to only pour out the water and not the flavoring ingredients.

I love the pitcher in the photo which is from IKEA and cost me about $4. It’s glass with a plastic lid, but I just use the lid for storing it in the fridge.

The other key to make infused water is to change the ingredients out every 24 hours. Whatever fruit, vegetables, or herbs you use will continue adding flavor as you change the water out, but you’ll notice that after 24 hours they start to taste sour and it’s just not appealing anymore. To prevent this, I just rinse the pitcher each morning and make a new batch in the fridge.

STRAWBERRY KIWI INFUSED WATER RECIPE

This is our latest favorite combination because the strawberries and mint are sweet and pair so well with the bright citrus flavor of kiwi. It’s also absolutely beautiful! Give it a try and see if you can enjoy drinking water like we do.