Flavoured water for morning, noon and night - Simple Bites (2024)

Let’s make a pact to stay hydrated this summer, okay?

My love of flavoured water almost seemed too simple to blog about, but I reminisced overmany, many basic tutorials I’ve shared in this space and reminded myself they are some of my most popular content. So, I’m here to convince you that infusing your drinking water with gorgeous summer produce is the ticket to staying refreshed (and kicking any soda habit) in the hot months to come.

I’ve never been good about drinking water. My sister Haidi can keep a quart Mason jar on the go all day and chug it back frequently, but I’ve tried that and I always leave the jar someplace and then forget all about it.

Keeping a jar or two of flavoured water at eye level in my refrigerator not only frequently reminds me to drink, but entices me to stop, sip and savour. It sounds totally cheesy, but a lovely infused water is something I actually look forward to throughout the day.

It’s the little things.

I like to keep things simple and flavoured water is just that: pour filtered water over clean fruits, vegetables or herbs, infuse and enjoy. I generally tend to use up what I have on hand – half a lime, the end of a cucumber, a wrinkled orange – and just go with it.

I think I’m too frugal to spend $6 on organic blackberries or something of the sort just to have them disintegrate in my drinking water. But I’m not judging any of you who do! Search Instagram for the hashtag ‘detoxwater’ or ‘flavoredwater’ and you’ll see berries are a popular ingredient.

Now, experts and non-experts alike claim that flavoured water has cleansing and detox properties and can actually help flush your body of toxins. Do I believe all that? Meh. I’m not even sure if I believe in detox, but I do think that there are mild healthbenefits to drinking flavoured water.

Water with fresh lemon, for example, can aid digestion, which is why I begin my day with the Citrus Morning. I have it before coffee, before breakfast, and continue to sip it throughout the morning. The ginger also aids digestion and one slice is mild enough to stomach first thing in the morning.

I like my Parsley, Lime and Cucumber water in the afternoon when I’m often working outside. It’s cool and utterly refreshing. It might be my imagination, but it keeps my breath fresh, too.

I’ve planted tons of cucumbers and parsley in my garden this year, so this combination is going to be around all summer, that is for sure.

The Watermelon Mint Sipper lasts the longest of the three flavoured waters I’m sharing today, meaning it doesn’t turn bitter or start tasting like compost after 24 hours of infusing (real talk). Even after 48 hours in the refrigerator it’s as good as ever, maybe even sweeter, thanks to the melon.

It’s a great 5-o-clock sipper poured over ice when perhaps you are feeling like a co*cktail, but it’s only just a weeknight.

And one step past flavoured water is agua fresca, with this honey-sweetened Watermelon Agua Fresca leading the pack. Try it sometime! There’s also a vibrant green Cucumber Honeydew Agua Fresca in my cookbook that is utterly delicious.

Are you drinking flavoured water? What’s your favourite flavour combination?