Natural flavored water
Dear students and friends,
This morning, I came across this wonderful website that teaches you how to make flavored water using fruits and herbs. I thought that I’d give it a try… The Ladrang made these drinks for me, and I particularly like the watermelon and pineapple flavored water. I thought that I’d share this recipe with everyone here as it is a much healthier option than drinking soda water or soft drinks.
Do give the recipes a try – it is extremely quick and easy! You can even make it in bulk to last you for 3 days, so it saves a lot of time. I wish all my students and friends to have great health always. Share with everyone in the comment section below if you’ve tried any other different combinations of fruits and herbs!
Tsem Rinpoche
Pictures of flavor water made by the Ladrang
William and Bryan made these for me this morning. I had some of it when I woke up this morning… very nice.
The fruit drinks are kept chilled so that it stays fresh.
[Content extracted from: http://www.theyummylife.com/Flavored_Water You may visit this website for more healthy and exciting information.]
How To Make Naturally Flavored Water
Supplies needed:
- Fruit – Whatever kind you like (except bananas); make sure it’s good and ripe for maximum sweetness and flavor. Use all kinds of citrus and berries. Pineapple and watermelon work well for flavoring water.
- Herbs – These are optional, but many herbs are a surprising complement to fruit flavors; almost any herb will work depending on your personal preference
- Jars or pitchers – Use 2 quart mason jars primarily, but any 2 quart pitcher will do. Fruit infusion pitcher is another option if you think you’ll be making infused waters regulary; a very easy, tidy way to strain fruit from water.
- Muddler or wooden spoon for mashing fruit and herbs
- Ice
- Water – Use filtered water, but regular tap water is fine if it is hygienic.
Fresh or Frozen fruits
When in season, it is preferably to use fresh fruit. However, when fruit is out of season, the fresh version can be tart or flavorless. Because fruit that is to be frozen is picked at the peak of ripeness, it is often the better option for the best flavor, sweetness, and nutrients. This is especially in the case with berries and peaches.
A variety of fresh herbs.
Use whatever herbs you like or happen to have on hand. It’s surprising how well they blend with most fruit flavors, and they amp up the refreshing factor of the water. Mint is the most obvious herb choice. Basil, rosemary, sage, thyme, lavender, and tarragon; all good.
You can combine most fruits and herbs according to your favorite flavors and what you have on hand in your fridge. Here you will learn how to make 5 flavor combos. You can take it from there, creating endless flavor combos of your own.
Quantities
The quantities in the flavored water recipes are all for 2 quart jars or pitchers. You can adjust the quantity according to the jar size.
Recipe
Fruit Flavored Water
1) All Citrus Flavored Water – adds refreshing tartness to water
What you need: 1 orange, 1 lime, 1 lemon, 1 two quart jar, wooden spoon, ice, filtered water
Slice 1 orange, 1 lime, 1 lemon into rounds, then cut the rounds in half. Add to jar, press and twist with a muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon. Press enough to release some of the juices, but don’t pulverize the fruit into pieces. Fill the jar with ice. Pour in water to the top. Stir it with the handle of a wooden spoon or a chopstick. Put a lid on it, put it in the fridge, and chill.
You can drink it right away, but the flavor intensifies if it’s made an hour or two ahead. It’s even better the next day. 24 hours later straight from the fridge, the ice still hasn’t melted completely. The ice at the top serves as a sieve so that you can pour the flavored water without getting fruit bits in your glass.
2. Raspberry Lime Flavored Water – beautiful color and mildly tart
What you need: 2 limes, generous amount of raspberry, muddler, 1 two quart jar, ice, filtered water
Quarter 2 limes; with your hands, squeeze the juice into the jar, then throw in the squeezed lime quarters. Add raspberries. Press and twist with a muddler to release some of the juices (don’t pulverize the fruit). Fill the jar with ice, then add water to the top. Stir, cover, and refrigerate.
Flavored Water with Fruits and Herbs
3) Pineapple Mint Flavored Water – a hint of minty sweetness
What you need: Mint leaves, some pineapple, 1 two quart jar, muddler, ice, filtered water.
Add a sprig of mint to the jar–you can throw in the whole sprig; or, remove the leaves from the sprig, if you prefer to have the mint swimming around and distributing in the jar. Muddle the mint–the goal is to bruise the leaves and release their flavor–don’t pulverize them into bits. Add pineapple pieces, press and twist with the muddler to release juices. Add ice to the top and then water. Stir, cover, and refrigerate.
4) Blackberry Sage Flavored Water – subtle, refreshing flavor
What you need: Sage leaves, blackberry, muddler, ice, filtered water, 1 two quart jar.
Add sage leaves to jar and bruise with a muddler. Add blackberries; press and twist with muddler to release their juices. Fill jar with ice cubes, add water to the top, stir, cover and refrigerate.
5) Watermelon Rosemary Flavored Water – lovely flavor combo
What you need: Rosemary leaves, watermelon, 1 two quart jar, muddler, ice, filtered water
Add a sprig of rosemary to jar and muddle gently (rosemary releases a strong flavor without much muddling). Add watermelon cubes; twist and press gently to release juices. Fill jar with ice cubes, add water to the top, stir, cover and refrigerate.
All five flavored water:
How long will they keep?
Put a lid on them, put them in fridge, and they will keep for up to 3 days. It only takes a few minutes to make several varieties to keep on hand. No more boring water!
Pour into a glass.
When there’s still ice left in the jar, it will filter out the fruit/herb bits as you pour the water into a glass. After the ice melts, if you don’t want to drink fruit bits along with the water, use a small wire strainer to remove them as you pour the water into your drinking glass. UPDATE: Another option is to use a sprout strainer lid made to fit wide mouth mason jars.
Sweeten it up, if you must.
If you have a sweet tooth and find these flavored waters undrinkable without some sweetener, go ahead and stir in some simple sugar syrup, honey, agave syrup, or whatever sweetener you prefer. 1 teaspoon of sugar only has 15 calories, so go ahead and add one to your glass. Given that a single can of soda or juice has the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar, you are still way better off drinking slightly sweetened water. If you are hooked on sweet tasting drinks and want to reduce or eliminate sugar or artificial sweeteners, you may need to wean yourself gradually. Unsweetened beverages are an acquired taste.
Great for entertaining!
Flavored waters are very popular now, as more people are avoiding soda and juice. Make a variety of flavored waters to offer at your next party. Look how gorgeous they are! Refreshing, healthy, inexpensive, and beautiful. Plus you can make and refrigerate them well in advance of the party.
Flavored Water Recipe – in brief
Ingredients
Fruit – 2 cups berries, citrus, melons, pineapple…most fruits will work (see recommended amounts in directions)
Herbs – A sprig of mint, basil, sage, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, or lavender
Water (tap or filtered)
Ice
Directions
Supplies needed: 2 quart pitcher or jar with lid; muddler or wooden spoon
General formula for whatever fruit/herb combo you desire.
1. If using herbs, add a sprig of fresh herbs to jar/pitcher; press and twist with muddler or handle of wooden spoon to bruise leaves and release flavor; don’t pulverize the herbs into bits.
2. Add approx. 2 cups of fruit to jar/pitcher; press and twist with muddler or handle of wooden spoon, just enough to release some of the juices
3. Fill jar/pitcher with ice cubes.
4. Add water to top of jar/pitcher.
5. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Suggested flavor combinations:
ALL CITRUS (no herbs) – Slice 1 orange, 1 lime, 1 lemon into rounds, then cut the rounds in half. Add to jar and proceed with muddling, add ice & water.
RASPBERRY LIME (no herbs) – Quarter 2 limes; with your hands, squeeze the juice into the jar, then throw in the squeezed lime quarters. Add 2 cups raspberries. Muddle, add ice & water.
PINEAPPLE MINT – Add a sprig of mint to the jar (you can throw in the whole sprig; or, remove the leaves from the sprig, if you prefer to have the mint swimming around and distributing in the jar). Muddle the mint. Add 2 cups pineapple pieces, muddle, add ice & water.
BLACKBERRY SAGE – Add sage sprig to jar and muddle. Add 2 cups blackberries; muddle, add ice & water.
WATERMELON ROSEMARY – Add rosemary sprig to jar & muddle. Add 2 cups watermelon cubes; muddle, add ice and water.
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Water is life, no one can live without it has water is basic for life. However, when it comes to drinking water, people should be careful on choosing whether the water they are drinking is pure and healthy for them or not.
Blending fruit juice is always been practice, making healthy flavored water recipes by infusing the herbs and fruits in a jar of water is also a good. It is one of the fastest and most convenient ways of providing nutrition to our body. Thank you for sharing and will definitely will give it a try.
Thank you rinpoche for sharing the recipe for Natural Flavored Water. I should be great to drink on a hot and humid weather like this in Malaysia. 🙂 Thank You Rinpoche and Ladrang crew for these great recipes and pictures!
Flavoured water really is a healthier alternative and a great pick-me-up on a hot day. And as seen from the post and pictures, it is really not hard to do and pretty handy to whip up when entertaining.
My other favourite combinations include; cucumber with lemongrass (picked up this one after a trip to the spa); blackberries with lemon and ginger; orange and thyme as well as cucumber and mint. (which are all slightly sweet and zingy).
Thank you Rinpoche for constantly thinking about our overall welfare including even minute details like encouraging us to drink sufficient water as well as opting for healthier drinks. And for doing it in a manner which will grab our attention and appeal to our senses.
With so much artificial food and drinks in the market nowadays, it is wonderful for Rinpoche to share with us the natural way to flavour water which many do not like to drink plain. We usually just a piece of lemon to our water but with this simple to do recipes to try, will definitely try out and maybe expand to try others. I think pomegranate seeds will be a nice addition. Thank you so much Rinpoche.
The different tastes of flavoured water with the many colours look very inviting and add another healthy drinking option.
Indeed adding only one spoon of sugar is way less compared to the soda drinks we buy. Fresh fruits have many vitamins and the choice can vary to the seasonal fruits available. So it adds more choice and variety.
This are easy recipes to prepare and prepare in advance for when you have guest or on a day to day basis.
Healthy and not boring!
Thank You Rinpoche and Ladrang crew for these great recipes and pictures!
I really don’t like to drink much water. But with these flavorings in it will make a big difference. I can drink much more water if served like this daily.
I would love have this daily for sure. Great offering to the Buddha too as it looks very inviting.
The kind of bottled drinks and juices we buy in the supermarket these days contain so much sugar and other preservatives. These drinks are so unhealthy. Most of us are so used to drink something with flavor sometimes plain water just doesn’t satisfy.
These natural flavored water recipes are so easy to make and most importantly they are natural and full of healthy ingredients. A lot of people in the city these days due to time constraint usually eat out and this inevitably leads to a unhealthy diet. We think we are saving time by doing so but eventually when health problems manifest we ended up spending even more time and money on health issues which takes even longer time to heal.
Taking the time and effort now to eat and drink healthy will ensure less time spent later on trying to deal with health problems.
This seems to be the new trend among all the food bloggers! The final product with the side addition of herbs does look tempting. I might get myself to make this in the summer. Seems healthy too without the unnecessary preservatives.
I was wondering how many millilitres are there in a quart jar? having never seen one and i was wondering so i could substitute the jar for something else.
Hello! Does someone knows how to preserve them? If I wanted to bottle them, for example, ir there any way to preserve them? If anybody knows it would be great! Thanks!
Does it matter if I forgot to put ice cubes in??
I WANT TO MAKE BUSINESS OF FLAVOURED WATER KINDLY SHOW ME THE WAY HOW IT CAN BE KEPT GOOD FOR ONE MONTH OR MORE
My boyfriend and I love these flavored water drinks. They make us feel better and is a better alternative then drinking juice. He likes it with out sugar and I like mine with 1 tsp of sugar but either way it tastes better then other things.
This is just really cool, the drinks are just delicious. I really enjoy how it cools the body, yet giving you that sugar rush that you may need. The best part is that the taste from the drinks are all natural, there is no artificial flavouring. Hence, it helps one to maintain that healthy diet that they may be having.
why no banana??
Definitely going to try this. I can’t really drink water because of how sensitive my taste buds are, and these look really good 😀
Thank you so much for this site & instruction for the flavored waters.I have tried a few mixtures on my own but wasn’t sure about combinations.You have made it easy for me to do.
this is quite interesting because how the water changes color and it is natural. i am very tempted to try it because it looks very good and why not? if it is good i might even make more.
Very creative and kind of William and Bryan to prepare these healthy fruit flavored drinks for Rinpoche. They look so yummy. We can make them next time in KFR using our homegrown organic fruits and ingredients.
These are delicious!!
There are lots of people who don’t like drinking water, and some are even repulsed by the thought of drink plain water. These recipes for naturally flavoured water will come in very handy!!
I tried the watermelon and rosemary flavoured water, and although I found it really weird upon the first taste – it turned out to be very refreshing and rehydrating!
It tastes a lot better than drinking soft drinks, and you don’t have the feeling that you just gulped down 8 spoonfuls of sugar after a glass of flavoured water.
I’m a little adverse to water flavoured with mint, sage and rosemary – if anyone has any other recipes to share – do share! 🙂
What a wonderful way to get liquids into your body… especially those who dislike drinking plain water. A healthy, refreshing and essential alternative indeed.
OHHHHHHH THAT’S what we were served the other day! A few nights ago, when we were having an audience with Rinpoche, the kitchen team served the audience attendees some really lovely flavoured water. I had no idea it was this! The minty one was really delicious, and a nice change from the usual soft drinks I chug down to keep my energy levels up (what a lie hahaha let’s be honest, I drink it for the sugar). Well, it’s no surprise we’re moving in this direction as Kechara Forest Retreat is being constructed…if we’re going to be promoting mental and physical health at KFR, we gotta start practising now!
These are great recipes. Thank you rinpoche for such recipes. Fruit drinks can be so innovative and delightful.
All the flavored water shown in the pictures here looked so delicious and refreshing. The one I really want to make is Raspberry Lime and all citrus. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the recipe. This is extremely useful and informational 😀
All this home make fruits drink are so refreshing and healthy. Is better than always drinking soft drink all the time and contain many sugar.not good for our health. Sample of ingredient to making all the food fruits drinks are easily get the market.
Thank you rinpoche find this interesting recipe and sharing with us.
There is this refreshing drink I love that is served in a Thai food restaurant in PJ — blended mint, lemongrass and crushed ice cubes. Soothing to the throat and great way to end a hot day.
All the recipes provided here look delicious and with only natural ingredient and fresh fruits/herbs, the sugar level will not be high as in carbonated drinks.
自然的东西是最好的，如果我们日常的生活能依据自然界的定律来做，我们一定能拥有健康的生活。谢谢仁波切与我们分享这样一篇的确报道，不止有美味的水可以品尝，同时也可以拥有健康的身体，来继续我们的修行，让我们的生活变得更美好。
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the wonderful recipe.All the fruits drinks here looks very tasty and refreshing,and is a very healthy choice compared to soft drinks.I like the water rosemary,will try it out ^_^
Wonderful recipes. It look gorgeous and tasty. Just need simple ingredients only and it is very healthy and refreshing too better than drinking soft drink. Will try the recipes out. Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing.
Wow, this is so cool, drinking a flavoured drinks and yet, not fake flavouring, all are real and healthy fruits.
In today’s world, things has became more easy to obtain, information became much easy to search, no doubt there are a lot of Internet crime, but at the same time, there are also a lot of good info to share about, good or bad, it depends on us.
Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing.
Thanks for the sharing Rinpoche, these flavored drinks sure looks tasty. Will try it out at home. 🙂
The drinks look so inviting and I’m sure they taste very good too. Its a healthier choice compared to canned drinks. The recipes given are very clear and accompanied with colourful pictures. Thank you Rinpoche for all the varied and interesting articles on your blog.
Wow so wonderful and tasty Naturally Flavored Water, feel very thirsty after see the photos in this article.
This will be very good in KFR and our daily life to increase our water consumption and reduce soda water or soft drinks especially 100 plus…
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing this recipe…
Wow ! All flavored water shown in the pictures here looked so delicious and refreshing, Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the recipe.
Very nice sharing, the fruit drink look good and refreshing..good to try..thanks for the clear step with nice picture and description. it was easy to follow.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these health tips.
All these drinks here look very tempting. I love things that come natural, and better still if the process of doing them does not take up too much time as I am not a good cook (yet!!), so these drinks do look very good for me!!!
With things going too commercialised nowadays where profit is the main concern, we are getting a lot more chemicals in our stomachs than the older generations. Things that are unnatural usually do much harms to our bodies.
These drinks definitely encourage people to drink more water. Nice!!
My own recipe of flavored water are
1. lemon + honey
2. lemon, passion fruits + honey/salt
3. boil roselle bud with rock sugar
4. lemon + sea salt (this drink ease bowel movement :-p )
With Rinpoche’s sharing, I have more choices now. Thank you Rinpoche.
Yee Mun,
Wow, cool! Thanks for sharing your recipes! Have you been drinking flavored water for a long time? Have you tried any of the above so far? =)
Slurp slurp… The drinks look yummy! With the Internet, everything is super easy and convenient. Everyone can do it at home. If one were to order outside, it will be expensive and might not be as yummy.
Just mix a few jars of any favors you like and put them into the fridge. Every morning when we wake can choose whichever we want to drink. Better than drinking plain water. A healthy drink to start the day! Thank you Rinpoche for yet another wonderful and healthy recipes…
Thank you Rinpoche and Ladrang people for posting this great recipe.may rinpoche be well and healthy always.
This is sucha simple recipe to follow! I really need to stop consuming canned drinks and make this flavored water instead. Not only is it east to make, it is healtier too. Rnipoche is always so kind and shares such informative posts in this blog. A new find everyday! hehe
Thank you Rinpoche! May Rinpoche be well and healthy always!
This flavored water is good to quench our thirst on a hot day. It looks is refreshing and yummy. As I don’t take canned drinks, this will be a good alternative as it is easy to prepare.
Thank you for sharing the recipe. Will try it out:)
These drinks sound amazing! I love fruit juices or fruit based juices and teas… and i don’t like any kind of sodas like coke, sprite etc (thank buddha, otherwise my sugar-level would go through the roof), so these drinks sound perfect for me. I especially like the sound of the blackcurrant and the watermelon drinks. A must try… and definitely this post is a must share!!
Very refreshing and healthy indeed… In fact because of the fruits and herbs, I’m sure it’s nutrients is in the water and it’s much more beneficial then to drink plain water I reckon. Definitely better then coco cola 🙂 Sometimes Rinpoche can add a little bit of honey or Agave if it still come across bitter.
Anyway, since we’re on the drink healthy subject… here is an interesting site with 47 Smoothies for Summer thought I’d share with Rinpoche and all… I know Rinpoche’s not a huge fan of thick drinks, but some of them looks refreshing yet pack full of detox, antioxidants or nutritional contents for energy and healing, take a look… http://rebelwellness.com/blog/2012/06/47-smoothies-for-summer
Yum Yumzzz, Look so delicious the flavored water hehehe, Its perfect for kids and for those whom does not like to drink water as water is tasteless, they will definitely love to drink water now with this recipe hehehe. Thank you for sharing Rinpoche.
All look refreshing .
Thank you Rinpoche and Ladrang people for posting this great recipe. I like orange, watermelon and pineapple mint. will try on these combinations ….
看起来好好喝哦，我喜欢鲜桔子的味道，相信这些水，除了好喝，当然也包含了所有的维他命，看来有新的法宝来哄小孩子喝水了。呵呵
All the flavored water shown in the pictures here looked so delicious and refreshing,i like blackberry sage the most and another choice is pineapple mint. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the recipe.
Wonderful recipes. It truly is indeed a very healthy option compared to soft drinks, and the best thing is, it tastes better than soft drinks! We must always ensure that our body is at it’s peak of health if we want to continuously benefit others.
One thing good about this recipe is, even if we decide to add some honey or sugar to it, the sugar content is still less than what usually is available in soft drinks. To top it off, the flavored water is like drinking water itself! Which is essential for people to drink at least 8 glasses a day.
Now with this recipe, parents or individuals that do not like drinking plain water will not have an ‘excuse’ to not take more fluid intake since this recipe makes drinking water more palatable.
I’m looking forward to try other combinations of fruits to make other interesting flavored water and will share it here!