Here’s the deal;  Nutritionists, dietitians and personal trainers alike, tell us to drink at least eight glasses of water a day. When you meet your specific water needs you’ll enjoy the benefits of staying hydrated, like maintaining the right body temperature, helping your cardiovascular system, and assisting in the cleansing of toxins. You’ll have more energy and help each of your organs do its job better when they’re getting enough water.

I can’t stand plain water, and there isn’t a snowballs chance in hell I can successfully drink 64 ounces of water in one day unless it has a little flavor.  Unlike your store-bought flavored waters, this “aqua fresca” is healthy, cheap to make, free of sugar, and can impress your foodie friends when they come over to visit. Just by adding fresh lemons, limes, or orange slices to the water paired with a couple of sprigs of fresh herbs like thyme or mint; your boring water now has a new crisp flavor and is far more refreshing (dare I mention it helps you lose weight and can improve your mood). Cucumbers are also a great combination with basil. But wait, there are added benefits I haven’t told you yet.

Benefits of Citrus Infused Water

• Calms your Skin-  Staying hydrated will help your skin stay supple and smooth, and adding in cucumbers to your water intake means you’re getting extra nutrients that helps even more. Cucumbers contain silica, which provides extra benefits to the skin. You can also use the cucumbers after you’ve finished the cucumber water. They’re great for helping to calm irritation caused by acne or other blemishes.
• Helps Your Muscles- The same silica in cucumbers that helps the skin, also helps your muscle tissues stay healthy.
• Calorie Free and Helps Promote Weight loss- While infused water has the benefit of being full of flavor, it also has no calories, making it a very powerful tool in your efforts to lose weight and gain better health
• Improve your Mood- Not only are lemons good for the skin, but seemingly for the psyche as well. Consumption of lemons, or even just inhaling the aroma (aromatherapy) has been shown to improve mood and lessen or even remove tension, nervousness, anxiety, exhaustion, dizziness, fatigue, and exhaustion.

Now for the wow factor…take a  standard size muffin pan and fill each one with a combination of orange wedges, thyme, mint, lemon, or lime and fill each pan with water.  Place in the freezer and you will have beautiful ice cubes that will flavor your water and float for a fun presentation.

Enjoy and as always, have fun in the kitchen!  You can also watch a video of my aqua fresca on our Wild Thyme Cooking you tube channel.

For more information about Wild Thyme visit our website at wildthymecooking.com.