Summer is in full swing and, if you are anything like me, the girl living right next door to the sun, the combination of heat and air conditioning is leaving you parched.  Considering the human body averages 60% water composition and the brain is 75% water it is no surprise the importance of drinking enough water.  Many people don’t know this but you are already dehydrated if you are thirsty.

{Read our Top 10 Reasons to Drink More Water to learn more about how water can impact your health.}

What happens though if you are someone who doesn’t love water?  I couldn’t fathom drinking a glass of water in my youth.  I was one of “those girls” who, as a ballerina, subsisted on Tab and celery.  It wasn’t until my first visit to Paris that I fell in love with water.  It was everywhere.  It all started with Badoit sparkling water with a twist of lime which was served with an appéritif over dinner at a trendy restaurant.  Piquant, light, sparkly, and I survived it.  I also ordered another.  Then there was the mandatory citron pressé (lots of lemon juice with water) with our afternoon coffee which is one of those secrets to how a french woman stays so thin.  Lots of lemon water and coffee sans le sucre, bien sûr.  By the time I left Paris, I was drinking water like a pro.  I carried my liter of Evian in my bag to sip through the flight as was de rigueur in the days of being able to carry liquids on a plane.  I had my Evian and my Hermés scarf tied effortlessly around my neck.

Water is incredibly important for women getting ready to conceive, pregnant and breast-feeding women, and those suffering from adrenal fatigue as salt cravings  can be slightly dehydrating if not accompanied with water.

So…  When it is 120° in the shade,  (and yes, cleansing beauties, it is, right now where I am, just that hot!) how do you manage to drink more water to compensate from the dehydration that comes from searing heat and unkind air conditioning?  Fruit and herbs!  When life gives you lemons…..

Recently we were entertaining and my guests happen to be non-water drinkers.  They were perturbed that their requests for sodas were met with my Takeya Fruit Infusion Jugs full of fruit and herb flavored water.  Ok, maybe more than perturbed.  The women all wanted diet sodas and apparently were planning a mutiny and calling the supermarket to deliver some.  I put down the subversion, however, by promising them that if they didn’t LOVE the fruit water, I would personally run to the market for their “death in a can”.  (Oh sorry, did I say that out loud?)

I started them out with some nectarine/mint water.  Ok, nobody was rolling their eyes.  By the time we got to the ice cubes filled with berries, nobody was asking for soda, and, in addition to the Pineapple Ginger and Lime cocktails that were already starting to flow, my guests seemed genuinely content with the myriad of water choices.

Some of my favorite fruit and herb additions to water are:

• cucumber (pairs well with mint)
• oranges (goes well by itself or pairs with thyme)
• lemon and/or lime (enough said)
• grapefruit (goes well steeped with ginger)
• nectarines or peaches (mint, basil, or thyme brings out the sweetness)
• berries (mix and match with herbs or on their own)
• mint, rosemary, thyme, basil all work well with fruit or on their own
• ginger (slice thin or grate if you want a more powerful flavor)

Blueberry Mint Basil Cubes

Print recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon stevia (or 2 tsp. raw cane sugar)
• 1 pint blueberries
• 1 bunch mint
• 1 bunch basil

Directions

Step 1

Mix water, lemon juice and sweetener together in a pourable jug.

Step 2

In ice cube trays add a few blueberries, and a basil and mint leaf into each tray. Fill with water mixture.

Step 3

Freeze.

Step 4

Enjoy in cocktails (or straight vodka or gin), lemonade for the kids, or use as a delicious way to dress up plain water.