Sometimes I need a gentle reminder of good ideas I already know.
At an event awhile ago, the baskets of bottled water and juices on the beverage table were supplemented with glass pitchers of water packed with sliced berries, lemon, orange and cucumber. The kids in attendance (plenty of them) were drawn to the brightly coloured pitchers, and even my 7 year old chose the strawberry water over the packaged options. Seriously. I need to remember this.
I occasionally see cucumber water if I happen to be at the spa – not a regular occurrance – but I never think to slice up the end of one at home, or a few fresh berries, to toss into our drinking water. I will now – it's simple, nearly free, and flavours the water naturally, without sugar, preservatives or artificial colours. Subtly flavoured water is far more refreshing than sugary beverages, and you can simply replenish the water as the pitcher empties. The more fruit you add, and the longer it sits (keep it in the fridge for as long as you like), the more intensely flavoured the water will be; of course there's always the option of mixing flavours, like lemon-orange or strawberry-cucumber. Kids would have fun coming up with their own flavour combinations too.
As the ground (finally!) starts to thaw, I'll be keeping this in mind for spring and summer parties, and to keep on hand for everyday drinking water that's more interesting than it is straight from the tap.
