Making Water Delicious!

So . . . we are told to drink water. Now I never had a problem with that. I liked water and preferred it at meals over soda or iced tea. Even when my cousin's wife called it a boring drink, I, as a college sophomore, was not bothered by her words. Drinking water with food made sense to me. I filled my glass in the college cafeteria.

Fast forward to me now. I still like water and order it with food whenever I eat out. But somewhere along the line, I started to drink less of it at home. Was I starting to find it boring?

At the grocery stores I purchased no-calorie sparkling water and loved that it came in a variety of flavors. There are many brands that have this type of drink, and if you are okay with the carbonated-feel to the beverages, lemon and lime Bubly or cranberry La Croix are refreshing and fun, although over-priced (my opinion).

The other night I read two pieces about the value of drinking water. In a book about turning 60 it said to drink according to your body weight. Take you weight and divide it in half. Then drink an ounce for every pound (so half your weight). If you weigh 120 pounds, drink 60 ounces of water per day. Whew! To me that seems like a lot of water. I'm happy if a drink 24 ounces a day.

The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has decided that an adequate daily fluid intake is: About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men. About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women. No mention of your weight there.

June's issue of Better Homes and Gardens has a small piece about drinking water. It includes how to add herbs and fruit to your water glass. Now that piqued my interest because, over the recent years, I have been doing this. I started with slices of lemon and limes. Now I drink more water if the water has a little bit of flavor to it.

Pizzaz added to my glass makes for great sips. Sliced lemons and limes add susbtance as well as flavor. I like ginger hot tea, so I thought I should add some ginger root. I currently have a pitcher I keep in the fridge with not only sliced lemons, but peeled ginger root. I really like the subtle flavor the ginger adds. I have mint in my garden and rosemary. I sometimes add those to my water pitcher. Sliced cucumbers also create a nice flavor. So many possibilities!

So happy water-drinking! Here's to staying hydrated!