Give Some Sparkle To That Water

At the cottage, on the beach or during an evening with friends, it’s nice to keep a glass in hand without worrying about your blood sugar rising with your alcohol level. Drinking water is an excellent plan, but why not tickle your taste buds at the same time?

Iced tea
Commercial iced teas are often loaded with sugar, but homemade tea infusions, hot or cold, are simple, economical and low-calorie!

Hot infusions
You can infuse your tea as usual for a few minutes (in 65°C water for green tea, 80°C for oolong tea or 95°C for black tea), then leave it in the fridge for a few hours. Next, add some lemon or lime juice and a bit of maple syrup (about a tablespoon for every two litres of iced tea).

Cold infusions
All teas—yes, all of them!—may also be infused cold. Now’s the time to make use of that dried-up lychee green tea you had forgotten about at the back of the pantry. To start, use the same proportion of leaves as usual (you can add more for a stronger-tasting tea) and let them infuse in cold water for at least six hours. Once again, you can flavour your infusion with some lemon or lime juice and a bit of sugar.

To vary the taste
A few suggestions of seasonings to add to your homemade mixture:

• Mint and lemon
• Orange and spices (cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, etc.)
• Rose water and basil

Flavoured water and infusions
Need some inspiration to jazz up your water or sparkling water? Here are a few refreshing ideas:

• Fresh ginger root, mint and pineapple
• Watermelon and rosemary
• Pineapple and rosemary
• Cucumber and lemon
• Mint and cucumber
• Strawberry, kiwi and basil
• Strawberry, pink pepper and basil

You can crush the ingredients before mixing them into your water in a glass, pitcher or bottle. As for tea infusions, you can also let them steep for a few hours.
One last suggestion: you can make ice cubes with flavoured water, or use frozen fruit like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or mango pieces.

Cheers to your health!