Refreshing Minty Lemony Rosemary Cucumber Water

We’ve been experiencing record high temperatures lately, and I’ve noticed that my thirst has definitely picked up. So I decided to put together this refreshing minty lemony rosemary cucumber water to help me stay hydrated and get some mild springtime detoxing going. Not only is this water fancy and yummy, it’s also much better for you than sodas or juice.

Ingredients:

• 1 lemon
• 1 English cucumber (so there’s no wax!)
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 8 mint leaves
• Water
• 1 2-quart pitcher
• small bowl

Directions:

Put some cold water in a bowl. Swish the rosemary and mint leaves around in the water, then let just let them sit there for a bit.

Wash the lemon and the cucumber under cool running water for at least a minute each.

Thinly slice half the lemon and 1/3 to 1/2 of the cucumber, depending on how long it is. (Save the rest for something else, maybe tzatziki?) Then toss into the pitcher.

Give the rosemary and mint a final rinse. Carefully bend a few of the rosemary leaves (be careful of poking yourself!) and crush the mint a bit to release some of the herby goodness. Then toss in the pitcher with the lemon and cucumber.

Fill the pitcher up with water. Depending on how hot a day it is, you can either let the water sit on the counter for a bit or pop the pitcher in the fridge to let the flavors infuse the water. Then enjoy!

Some tips:

If you keep it refrigerated, you can continue to refill the pitcher for about 2-3 days before needing to replace the herbs and fruit (yes, cucumber is a fruit!).

Organic is always good if you can afford or find it, especially since you aren’t cooking the food. You can also just wash really well and even soak your produce in water and a little vinegar OR baking soda for 15 minutes.

You can vary things up by mixing and matching other citrus like blood orange or grapefruit, other herbs like basil or bay leaves, adding in (slightly macerated) berries or melon or frozen grapes, or even dropping in a couple cinnamon sticks or a little ginger root.

Do you glam up your water? What’s your favorite infusions?