Plain water is boring. That is the whole reason detox water recipes exist, and after reading every one of these I can tell you the good ones are just fruit, herbs and patience in a jar. Slice strawberries and cucumber into cold water with a few basil leaves. Drop apple chunks and a cinnamon stick in overnight. Muddle blueberries and raspberries in an eight ounce jar and let the fridge do the rest. These infused water ideas are low in sugar, cost about a dollar a pitcher and give you something to reach for that is not soda. None of them are mine, so every recipe below goes back to the person who made it. Grab whatever fruit is softening on your counter and start there.
1. Belly Slimming Detox Water
This is the one to start with if you have never infused water before, because the ingredient list is four things and one of them is ice. Three roughly chopped basil leaves, one sliced strawberry, three to five cucumber slices, cold water, and it sits until the flavor comes out. Basil is the surprise, and it is the reason this tastes like something you would be handed at a nice hotel instead of something you are drinking on purpose. Use plenty of ice, since a very cold glass is much easier to finish than a lukewarm one.
Get the full tutorial at Budget Savvy Diva.
2. Apple Cinnamon Detox Water
Two apples cut into big chunks with the skin left on, one food grade cinnamon stick, water, and a night in the refrigerator. That is it. Leaving the skin on matters, because that is where most of the flavor and the fiber sit, and cutting big chunks instead of thin slices keeps the apple from going soft and cloudy by morning. It tastes like the smell of a bakery without any of the sugar. Make it in a mason jar the night before and it is waiting for you at breakfast.
Get the full tutorial at Confessions of An Overworked Mom.
3. Ayurvedic Detox Water
Our own take, and the measurements are exact rather than a handful of this and that: two cups of water, three to four inches of cucumber, the juice of half a lemon, half an inch of ginger juiced, half a tablespoon to a full tablespoon of honey and three to five chopped mint leaves. The ginger is what separates it from every other cucumber water, and it is worth juicing rather than slicing so the heat actually gets into the water. Honey rounds off the sharp edge. Stir it well, because honey likes to sit on the bottom and sulk.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
4. Chia Detox Water
Chia turns a glass of lime water into something you can actually chew, which sounds odd until you try it and realize it keeps you full for an hour. The seeds need a good ten minutes and a couple of stirs to swell into their gel, and the stirring is not optional, because chia clumps into a solid raft the second you look away. Squeeze in the lime after the seeds have set so the fresh flavor stays bright. Drink it cold with a wide straw.
Get the full tutorial at The Casual Craftlete.
5. Lemon Berry Flush Fat Spa Water
Lemon wheels, blueberries and raspberries in one jar, and the maker’s own reason for making it is the most useful thing on the page: it counts toward her daily water and it makes the water interesting enough to finish. That is really the whole argument for infused water. Layer the fruit rather than dumping it, so the berries sit between the lemon wheels instead of collapsing to the bottom, and it looks like the pitcher at a spa rather than leftovers. Refill the same jar once before you replace the fruit.
Get the full tutorial at Not Quite A Vegan.
6. Raspberry and Mint Scented Water
A glass pitcher of this on the table is genuinely pretty, and it is raspberries and torn mint and nothing else. Tear the mint rather than chopping it, because a knife bruises the leaves and you end up with a green herbal edge instead of a clean scent. Raspberries break down fast, so make this the morning of rather than the night before. It is the one on this list I would put out for guests, since half of them will assume there is something in it.
Get the full tutorial at Sammy and Bella.
7. Skinny and Fit Lemon Coconut Detox Water
Coconut water instead of plain water is the whole trick here, and it changes the drink completely, because coconut water already has body and a little natural sweetness. Lemon cuts straight through it, and the third ingredient is aloe vera juice, which is the part nobody expects. Use plain unsweetened coconut water rather than a flavored one, or you will end up with something closer to a soft drink than a glass of water. The maker caps herself at eight to twelve ounces a day, because coconut water carries sugar.
Get the full tutorial at Sunny Fit Life.
8. Strawberry Watermelon Flush Fat Water
This one is juiced rather than infused, so it is a completely different drink: three cups of diced seeded watermelon, seven strawberries and half a peeled lemon go through a juicer, then into a jar with one cup of purified water and a good shake. No juicer is not a problem, and the maker says so herself in her comments. Blend it, then strain through cheesecloth. Serve it over plenty of ice, and drink it the same day, because fresh juice does not keep.
Get the full tutorial at Not Quite A Vegan.
9. Lemon Ginger Detox Drink
Lemon and ginger is the combination that tastes like a drink rather than fruit floating in water, and it is the one I would hand somebody who says infused water tastes like nothing. The source puts it at eleven calories a glass. Grate the ginger instead of slicing it so the heat actually comes out, and give it at least twenty minutes before you taste, since ginger takes longer to release than citrus does. Mint leaves on top are for the look and they earn their place.
Get the full tutorial at Skinny Ms.
10. Blueberry and Orange Detox Water
Six cups of water, two mandarin oranges cut into wedges, a handful of blueberries and ice, into a pitcher and into the fridge for anywhere from two to twenty four hours. Mandarins are the reason this works, because the skin is thin and the pith is mild, so it does not turn bitter the way a navel orange will overnight. If you want more out of it, squeeze in the juice of one extra mandarin and muddle the blueberries before you pour. Serve it cold.
Get the full tutorial at The Peach Kitchen.
11. Blueberry and Raspberry Infused Water
Single serving, which is why this one is so easy to actually do: one eight ounce canning jar, a quarter cup of fresh blueberries, a quarter cup of fresh raspberries, and a fork or a muddler. Crush the berries in the bottom of the jar first, then fill with water and refrigerate overnight. Crushing is the entire difference between colored water and something that tastes like berries. Make four jars on Sunday and you have grabbed a week of them by Thursday.
Get the full tutorial at Desert Chica.
12. Strawberry, Lime, Cucumber and Mint Water
The most generous recipe here, eight cups from one build: a cup of sliced strawberries, a cup of sliced cucumber, two sliced limes, a quarter cup of fresh mint and ice, layered into a half gallon jar or a two quart pitcher, then filled with water. It only needs ten minutes of chilling before you can drink it, which is the part that makes this a party recipe rather than a night before recipe. Layer it in the order given so the jar looks deliberate.
Get the full tutorial at Wholefully.
13. Skinny Jeans Detox Water
Apple cider vinegar again, this time with apple and cinnamon, and the maker is honest that it is tart enough to need a little honey or agave. Take her advice. Cinnamon in a cold drink needs a stick rather than ground, or you get a gritty layer that never dissolves and floats on top looking like silt. Cut the apple into chunks with the skin on, add the vinegar last, and taste before you commit to a second glass.
Get the full tutorial at Budget Savvy Diva.
14. Strawberry Spa Water
Strawberries alone, no citrus and no herbs, and it is far better than that sounds. A pound of hulled, sliced strawberries goes into a pitcher of filtered water, covered, and sits in the refrigerator at least six hours or overnight, with the ice added just before you pour. It turns a soft pink and tastes faintly of jam with no sugar anywhere in it, which is why this is the one that finally gets kids drinking water. Four to six glasses from one pitcher.
Get the full tutorial at Coffee and Quinoa.
15. Day Spa Mango Ginger Water
Mango is underused in infused water and this proves the point: a cup of mango cubes, about half a mango, with an inch of peeled, thinly sliced ginger and two liters of water. The step that matters is the muddling. Mash the fruit gently with a muddler or a potato masher before the water goes in, then let it sit two hours in the fridge. Mango without muddling gives you almost nothing. Made in a dispenser with a spigot it will disappear at a party.
Get the full tutorial at Lose Weight By Eating.
16. Blackberry Mint-Infused Water
Blackberries give infused water the deepest color of anything on this list, a proper purple rather than a blush, and mint keeps it from tasting heavy. Crush about half the berries and leave the rest whole, so you get both color and something nice to look at. Blackberries are seedy, so strain it through a sieve on the way into the glass if that bothers anybody. Very good made the night before.
Get the full tutorial at The Casual Craftlete.
