Just add water

Confession: I'm so bad at drinking water. It's a daily battle for me and most days I fail miserably. Most Dr's want us drinking 64 oz. of H20 daily. Well, I drink that much but it's usually hot and brown. Mmmm I love my coffee.

I know water has countless health benefits... it assists in weight loss and helps with hunger issues (sometimes what we think is hunger is actually thirst), it hydrates your skin making you look younger (I can use all the help I can get), it flushes impurities and bad stuff out of your body. I was a pre-op kidney stone sufferer and I have had a few post-op too and anyone who has felt that kind of mind-numbing pain never want to experience it again. Water can help fend those off.

So why don't I drink more? Well, because next to my yummy cup o' Joe it's just not that interesting. I am trying to do better so here are a few things I've been adding to my water to make it a bit more exciting to drink...

Fruit – Just wash, slice and toss it in. I've tried lemon and lime wedges, orange slices, sliced strawberries, cucumbers, raspberries. My current favs are raspberries. 1 bottle of water with about 4 fresh juicy raspberries floating in it is a delicious treat.

Mint - I grow mint in a pot in my yard and a few springs in a bottle of water makes it less of a snooze fest. Lemon & mint is a great combo.

Juice Cubes – Fill an ice tray with your favorite 100% No Sugar Added Juice and put it in the freezer. I pop one or two cubes in a glass of water. It gives the water a hint of yum without too many added cals or sugars. Apple is my fav.

Drink Sticks - Sugar-Free flavored drink sticks. Whenever I find a new flavor I put them in this Ziploc bag and when I'm thirsty I reach into the mystery grab bag of flavors. I've had some winners I've loved and some that were yuk but it's been fun to try them. They are great for traveling.

Celebrate ENS - I add one of these sticks to my water and not only does it make it taste more interesting (comes in Wild Cherry, Citrus Splash, and Cranberry-Grape) but I'm getting vitamins and minerals, plus 500 mg of calcium citrate in each stick. Also great for traveling.

Now I'll never give up my cups of Joe (that's just crazy talk) but I am trying to create more balance and moderation in my day.

"Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance." ~Epicurus

What do you do to jazz up your water?