Month-of-Few Ingredients: Water Infusions

I am not a water drinker. This is a problem, given I live in the desert southwest. Now, I will drink water with certain restrictions. Because I know it’s good for me. Because my health matters. But I have to remind myself to do so. DH is a huge water drinker. Out of the tap, even. Ugh!

When I remember, I put a container of water next to my desk. That helps. Unless, I get so involved in writing that I don’t remember to sip. I mean, I get so involved sometimes my coffee is cold before I remember to drink it. And I LOVE coffee in the morning.

But back to my restrictions: For me to drink water it has to be really cold, and the water has to have flavor. Not chlorine! Yuck! We use a water filtration so I take the taste of tap water out of my drink. But then, I put good flavors back in.

What kind of flavor then? Well, I put “stuff” into my water. One of my writing partners, Annie Weissman, gave me an infuser water container. Unfortunately, it is not handy right now, but at the top is a stock photo that is similar. You put strawberries (or something) in the basket in the middle, fill with water, and then drink it. Yum. I can do that. Over and over. I usually just fill an ugly quart container with ingredients and water. That's why I'm not showing you that. Today I'm drinking orange peel and cucumber.

Sometimes I use a single fruit, herb/spice, or vegetable. I’ll put cucumber in the water or lemon. If I have an orange for lunch, I put the orange peel into a glass and fill it with water. I slice some strawberries and add to water. I drop in some mint leaves. I pick rosemary or basil and crush it a little to release the flavor. See, I don’t need a lot of flavor. Just a little dab will do me.

Here are some recipes for you to try that are a little more adventuresome. Go to the sites below for some gorgeous pictures of water infused with fruits, vegetables, and herbs. You will likely muddle your infusee to release flavors. Muddle means to crush a little. Hopefully, these combinations will encourage you to experiment on your own.

Try:

Orange slices with vanilla

Drop an ice cube of frozen juice (cranberry, orange, pear, etc.) into the water

Cinnamon sticks simmered then cooled. Add a few drops to water

Cucumber, lime, strawberry, and mint

Lemon, raspberry, and rosemary

Orange, blueberry, and basil

Lime, ginger root, and basil

Lime and mint

Watermelon, honeydew melon, and mint

Cucumber, mint, and jalapeno

Lemon and thyme

Orange, cinnamon stick, cardamom, and whole cloves

Pear and fennel

Pear and vanilla

Lemon and lavender

Strawberry and mint

Lemon, mint, and cucumber

Watermelon and basil

Blackberry and mint

Apple and cinnamon stick

Mix of citrus-lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange, tangerine, blood orange in any combo

Strawberry and jalapeno

Peach and ginger root

Lemon, lime, and mint

NOTE:

Check out these sites for some more info on nutritional value of water infusions and for more recipes. Then go hunting for others. There’s a lot out there. You could have a different combination every day.

https://www.yahoo.com/makers/skip-the-high-calorie-sodas-and-drink-more-water-128168488400.html

http://dish.allrecipes.com/fresh-ideas-for-making-infused-water/

http://dailyburn.com/life/recipes/fruit-infused-water-recipes/

DH’s Rating: 0 Tongues Up  Okay, this was predictable. He doesn’t like anything in his water and seems not to notice all the chemicals in tap water. So, trust me, these are great combinations. He just can’t tell that.

If you liked ideas, I’d really appreciate you spreading the word on your social media outlets. Here are some pre-made Twitter and Facebook posts you can use or modify.

Tweet: Infused waters are delicious, good for you, low cal, no fat ways to get and stay hydrated. See #recipes from @Good2Tweat at http://bit.ly/2lZ0lm4

Facebook: Flavored waters made with fruits and vegetables keep you hydrated and provide an extra boost of vitamins and minerals with a low cal, no sugar drink. Drop the sodas and go au naturel. See Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time for recipes at http://bit.ly/2lZ0lm4

I is for Infusion and Irradiation

We are one-third of the way through this blog challenge. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am. And if any culinary terms confuse you, please list them in comments, and I’ll tackle them as well.

Infusion changes the taste of what is being soaked in from what is being soaked. A simple example is tea. Tea is an infusion of flavor and color from the steeping/soaking of tea leaves.

In the culinary world, sauces flavored with herbs and spices are considered infusions.

To get people to drink more water there have been a spate of recipes for infusing water with steeped fruits and veggies. In this case the infusion also imparts added nutrients along with the change of flavor.

Not being a water drinker by nature, I find that adding citrus or cucumber to my water encourages me to drink more. Water, that is. Not, um, you know, DRINK more! Experiment. If you like the fruit or veggie, you may like the infused water from it.

Here’s are a couple of sites with combo recipes I enjoy using for infused water:

http://www.infusedwaters.com/

http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/drink/non-alcoholic-drink/infused-waters.html

Irradiation gets folks really riled up. Even though irradiation, bombarding food with low-frequency energy, has been approved by the FDA as a way to extend the shelf life of foods by getting rid of destructive microorganisms and insects, some folks remain concerned with the long-term effects.

Any irradiated food must be marked with a special symbol so people know what they are buying. Irradiation can extend shelf life by weeks so it has implications for shipping and storing fresh food.

Interestingly, if an irradiated food is used as an ingredient in another food, it doesn’t have to be identified as irradiated. Did you know that many spices are irradiated before packaging for sale? That pork tenderloin that is already flavored for you? Maybe it contains irradiated spices. Yet one more reason I never buy those. I marinate my own meat.

Some worry that irradiating destroys friendly as well as unfriendly microorganisms and that our guts need the good guys. Whereas, proponents of irradiation liken it to pasteurization that resulted in safer milk.

The jury is still out on the long-term safety of irradiated foods. But odds are good you are getting some of them even if you think you’re avoiding irradiation.