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You are here: Home / Frugal Living / Reader’s Question: Making your own Flavored Water

Reader’s Question: Making your own Flavored Water

March 30, 2012 By Jenn @ Frugal Upstate 4 Comments

Dear Frugal Upstate,

I have a question for you regarding flavored water.  Generally I enjoy the taste of the flavored water you buy, however I find it way too costly.  I do try to buy it when its on sale to save money. I was wondering, do you have suggestions for making my own flavored water?

Thanks!

Jennifer

Well Jennifer the least expensive option is to just learn to drink plain water!  If you simply must have flavored water then I have a few ideas for you.

note:  I’m assuming for the sake of simplicity that you are interested in single servings of flavored water, especially since that is the way it’s normally sold in the store.

1.  Purchase single serving water flavorings.  These are now available not only as “drink sticks” of powdered lemon aid, tea etc, but also now in liquid drops that you add to a glass or bottle of water.  Mio drops are the ones I have seen in the stores.  The kids and I had the chance to test some of the Mio orange flavor drops-which were fine.  More or less like drinking orange kool aid.

Photo by Marilyn M

2.  Add a slice of citrus.  This is a classic in “spa” settings-you just add a slice or two of lemon, lime, orange etc to your water.  This gives a bit of a flavor “tang” without any sweetness.  If you want a bit of sweet you could add a bit of simple syrup (ie sugar dissolved in hot water then cooled) or an artificial sweetner.  I guess you could just chuck some sugar straight in but it will take a while to dissolve.

Note: whenever you are using a peel or rind in an edible situation let’s make sure you aren’t eating a ton of pesticide!  At the very least scrub the outside well in warm water to remove any surface contaminants and/or wax.  Organic is the better answer in this situation though!

3.  Add a squirt of lemon/lime juice.  This works like adding a slice of citrus-but without the actual fruit.  I don’t know about you, but I’m much more likely to have a bottle of lemon juice in my fridge than an actual lemon.

Photo by Quinn Drombrowski

4.  Add some sliced cucumber.  This is another refreshing spa favorite.

5.  Use unsweetened fruit teas.  This takes a little more planning but you can brew some fruit tea and then either add just a bit of sweetner or leave it plain, then chill in your fridge.  Either drink as is or use part plain water part fruit tea to get the flavor you like.

Photo by Andy Roberts

6.  Add cider vinegar.  Adding a dash of apple cider vinegar to your water gives it a fruity tang.  You can add a bit of sugar, honey or sweetner as well.  As an added benefit many people feel a “raw” vinegar has health benefits.

7.  Try baking extract.  This one is more of a theory for me-I haven’t actually tried it-but I don’t see why you couldn’t put a drop of your favorite baking extract (strawberry, orange, pineapple etc) into a bottle of water.

Hope one of these ideas works for you!

Do any of you wonderful readers have experience with flavoring your own water?  What’s worked for you?

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Comments

  1. Amyrlin says

    March 30, 2012 at 9:36 am

    Hi Henn,
    I did a report for school a while back on “natural rememedies” I used this website for a reference, if anyone is curious about apple cider vinegar. I do drink it mixed with water (it can be hard on your body straight). I have had joint pain (I have lupus) and found it does help, I use fish oil (capsules)too (I think I am a ceasar salad lol!) But the taste of the vinegar water is a nice change of pace if you want to jazz up your water.
    http://www.buzzle.com/articles/health-benefits-apple-cider-vinegar.html

    Reply
  2. Rachel says

    March 30, 2012 at 11:49 pm

    The baking extracts sounds like a good idea! If you want vanilla flavor, though, I’d recommend imitation vanilla (or vanillin) rather than the real deal. Fake vanilla is usually sweet as is, but the real stuff is very bitter without added sweetener.

    Reply
  3. Denelle says

    March 31, 2012 at 5:35 pm

    A drop or two of an essential oil works great -orange, lime or lemon – my favorite is lime

    Reply
    • Jenn @ Frugal Upstate says

      April 1, 2012 at 4:11 pm

      Great idea-but if someone is going to use this tip let’s make sure they use true essential oils–which are ok to eat– and not “scented oils”.

      Reply

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About Frugal Upstate

I’m Jenn –an Upstate NY wife, mom, blogger and veteran. I talk very fast, read constantly, take on too much and make plenty of mistakes. I’m a real person, not perfection. I love to talk about the frugal lifestyle, “Village Homesteading”, living a more sustainable lifestyle and being prepared for all the curves life throws at you.

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