Recipe: Day Drinking

What is Day Drinking, you may ask?  Day Drinks consist of beverages that you can pour in a water bottle and take with you to work.  Day Drinking is different than Night Drinking (think mocktails) and should not be confused with Day or Night Dranking (alcoholic).  Since we're all about cancer prevention, we're avoiding soda, artificial colors, artificial preservatives and "natural flavors."

Day Drinking is important.  We all know we should drink eight glasses of fluid a day. Remember a hydrated body is one that is flushing toxins OUT.  So let's step up the Day Drinking!

Fortunately - and unfortunately - I have a lot of experience with Day Drinking. I have never had a job with air conditioning.  Never.  Annnnnd I live in the South. Over the last nine sweltering, dehydrating, heat-related illness-ing summers, I've learned that if I pack a water bottle (or three) with just water, I will only drink from it if I'm really super thirsty.  Otherwise, meh.  Water is boring.  Here's what I do to make things more interesting:

Fruit-infused water or homemade vitamin water
There is no need to buy pricey, chemical-y vitamin water.  You can make your own!  Vitamins are water soluable, so by adding fruit or even vegetables or herbs to your water, you can make a nutritious and delicious Day Drink!

Pinterest is full of recipes for fruit-infused water, but really, this is not one of things that you need a recipe for, I promise you. Be like fellow tall girl, Julia Child and have no fear!  This is what you do:

1. Grab a pitcher or wide-mouthed water bottle,

I have a  fruit infusion pitcher, but you could use anything

2. Add one or more of your favorite fruits, cut up.  Herbs and vegetables are options, too,
3. Add water,

My pitcher of sunshine! Half of a lemon & half of an orange

4. Let sit overnight in the fridge.

Sometimes you'll have fun colors!
This is frozen blueberries, one pickling cucumber , one sprig each of mint and lemon balm

I throw in there whatever I have around the house that sounds interesting (or needs to be used up).  Some combinations I've done are strawberries & lemon & mint, orange & lemon & lime, orange & cucumber & mint, and just plain pineapple (which is probably to date my favorite).

Sometimes there will be misses.  This week I made apple cucumber mint water.  Sounds pretty good, right?  It smelled good, too.  But the apples turned brown in the water and that grossed me out, so it all went down the sink.  And to that I say, "oh well!"  I'm out like 65 cents.  Next time I'll make apple mint water with a bit of lemon.

Tea
Being a southern gal, sweet tea is always a great choice!  Sometimes I brew it with mint and/or lemon balm.  Sometimes I brew it with a bag of chai tea.  Some people (not me!) like tea with lemon or orange or even peaches.

Green tea is also a good option.  Again, you can add fruit or mint or my personal favorite: ginger.

Fruit juice
If you're buying organic or 100% juice, it can add up quickly.  Plus, drinking large quantities of juice goes from refreshing to sugar overload pretty quickly.  Too much juice burns my throat.

I like to make water bottles filled 1/4 with fruit juice and 3/4 water.  You still get the flavor of the juice, but it's not so overwhelming.

You can also cut tea with fruit juice.  I tend to go more with a 1/2 and 1/2 ratio here, and I especially enjoy cranberry juice with sweet tea or green tea, but you could try any combination. The Arnold Palmer of 1/2 tea 1/2 lemonade is an obvious choice.  Grape juice and green tea.

So go be that tall drink of water that you are, and enjoy one too!

Are you a big Day Drinker?  What are your go-to Day Drinks?  Would you have drunken the brown apple water?