Staying hydrated is so important for our health, but it can be easy to forget to drink enough water during the day. Instead of just chugging plain water, there are lots of creative and fun ways to make sure you’re getting enough fluids. Trying some of these ideas can help liven up your hydration routine and make it more enjoyable.
1. Try Flavored Waters
Plain water gets, well, plain after a while. Luckily, there are lots of easy ways to infuse your water with different flavors. Try adding slices of fruit like lemon, lime, orange, or watermelon to your water pitcher or bottle. The fruit will gradually infuse the water with a subtle, refreshing flavor. You can also muddle fresh mint or herbs like basil or rosemary in your water bottle and let it sit for a while to absorb the flavors. For even more flavor options, get creative with combinations like cucumber-strawberry or pineapple-ginger. The possibilities are endless!
2. Make Fruity Ice Cubes
Take your flavored waters up a notch by making fruit-infused ice cubes. All you need to do is add diced fruit to your ice cube trays, topping them off with water as usual. Try kiwi, strawberry, mango, blueberry, or even edible flowers! When you add these ice cubes to your water, they’ll gradually melt and add a boost of flavor. It’s a fun way to spice up plain water.
3. Blend Up Smoothies
When the weather heats up, cool off with refreshing smoothies packed with fresh fruit and yogurt. Blend up your favorite fruit combinations, like strawberry banana or mango peach. Greek yogurt adds a boost of protein and creaminess. For an extra hydration punch, blend in some coconut water or ice cubes. Smoothies make a delicious hydrating snack or light meal any time of day.
4. Make a Fruit Infused “Spa Water”
Fill up a large pitcher with purified or spring water, then artfully arrange slices of citrus fruits, berries, apples, pears, or cucumbers for a refreshing fruity “spa water.” Let it infuse in the fridge for at least a couple hours so the flavors really come out. The longer it sits, the better it tastes. Serve it chilled in a mason jar or glass bottle with lots of ice. This is a trendy way to stay hydrated that feels like a special treat.
5. Sip on Coconut Water
When you need a hydration boost, grab a coconut water instead of soda or juice. It’s naturally full of electrolytes like potassium that help replenish you. Opt for ones without added sugar. The light, mildly sweet taste makes it go down easy. You can also blend it into smoothies for a dose of natural electrolytes. Plain coconut water can get a bit boring, so try unique flavors like peach, mango or pineapple.
6. Homemade Fruit Juice Pops
On hot days, make your own electrolyte popsicles using fresh fruit juice or coconut water. Blend up your favorite fruit juices, adding a bit of honey or agave nectar if you want it sweeter. You can also try combinations like orange juice and coconut water. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze. Kids and adults alike will love these as a hydrating summer treat. Wrap them in parchment paper and take them on the go to stay cool and quenched.
7. Infuse Your Tea
Instead of always drinking plain water, mix it up by sipping on fruit-infused tea. Steep your favorite teas like green tea, white tea, black tea or herbal blends in purified water. While it’s steeping, add fruit slices like apples, pears, citrus fruits, or berries. You can also add fresh mint leaves. The hot water will gradually infuse with the fruits’ flavors for a delicious hydrating tea. Try doing a big batch in a pitcher that you can drink iced all day long.
8. Make Electrolyte Sports Drinks
When exercising or spending time outdoors in the heat, it’s important to replace lost electrolytes and stay hydrated. Save money by making your own electrolyte sports drinks at home. All you need is coconut water, fruit juice and a pinch of sea salt or Himalayan pink salt. Try combinations like orange juice, coconut water and salt or tart cherry juice with coconut water. The potassium and sodium help replenish electrolytes lost through sweat. They provide a natural hydration boost without artificial ingredients.
9. Have Hydration Dates
Get creative and set up fun “hydration dates” where you get together with friends and focus on drinking plenty of fluids while you socialize. Head to a juice bar and sample nutrient-dense juices and smoothies. Have everyone bring their own elaborate “spa waters” or fruit-infused drinks in fancy bottles. Set reminders to drink up every 30 minutes. Bring coconut water ice pops to snack on. Havinghydration be the theme makes it a fun challenge to see who can drink the most.
10. Make DIY Flavored Sparkling Waters
Plain water gets boring fast, but you can jazz it up by making your own flavored sparkling waters. All you need is a SodaStream or other carbonated water maker. Add purees of your favorite fruits, like raspberry, peach, mango, or berry mixes. You can also muddle fresh herbs and fruits in the water before carbonating it. A squeeze of citrus adds brightness. Customize the flavors to your liking and sparkling water becomes much more exciting.
11. Freeze Fruit-Filled Ice Cubes
For a fun, eye-catching way to add fruit flavor to your water, make ice cubes filled with actual pieces of fruit. Use whatever fruits you love, like berries, pineapple tidbits, mango chunks, kiwi slices or mandarin orange wedges. Position the fruit in your ice cube trays, carefully filling around with water. Pop them in the freezer overnight. Add these fruit-filled ice cubes to your water for a fun surprise burst of flavor and color as they melt. Kids will love them!
12. Make a Fruit Infuser Bottle
Infuser water bottles make it easy to have flavorful water anywhere you go. All you need to do is fill the insert with fresh sliced fruit before topping up your bottle with water. As you sip throughout the day, the fruit releases its flavors and nutrients into the water. Try pairings like strawberry and basil, blueberry and mint, lemon and lime, or cucumber and watermelon.
13. Have Water With Every Meal
Get into the daily habit of drinking water with every meal. Before you start eating, fill up a large glass of icy cold water and drink up. It will help fill your stomach a bit so you don’t overeat. The cold temperature also revs up your metabolism. Aim to finish at least one glass before leaving the table. Drinking water this way prevents mindless overeating and keeps your body hydrated after a salty meal.
14. Set a Reminder on Your Phone
It’s easy to get distracted and forget to drink enough water during busy days. Set a recurring hourly reminder on your smartphone labeled “Hydrate!” When it goes off, take a pause to drink a full glass of water before getting back to your tasks. Or set it for every half hour if you need frequent reminders. Having the nudge from your phone makes it much harder to ignore your hydration needs.
15. Carry a Water Bottle Everywhere
Having water readily available at all times makes it much easier to sip throughout the day. Get into the habit of carrying a reusable water bottle anytime you leave the house. Stash extras in your car, gym bag, office, or backpack. Having water close by serves as a visual cue to drink up. Opt for ones with straws or flip up lids for easy accessibility. And don’t forget to refill it often!
16. Make a Hydration Schedule
If you’re someone who thrives on routine, make a daily hydration schedule to hold yourself accountable. Decide how many ounces of water you should aim for each day and break that down into even time blocks. For example, you could shoot for 80 ounces of water and drink a 16 oz glass every hour from 8am to 5pm. Set reminders to keep you on track. Checking off each time slot gives you a sense of accomplishment.
17. Liven Up Water With Bitters
Bitters are concentrated tinctures made from herbs, roots, bark, and citrus peels that add a burst of flavor when added to drinks in small amounts. Just a few dashes of bitters in your water can make a huge difference in taste while providing digestive and health benefits. Experiment with unique flavors like grapefruit, cherry, smoked chili, ginger, orange, or hibiscus. Bitters are low in calories and help stimulate your taste buds.
18. Make Fruit Cubes
For a fun way to add juicy flavor to water, freeze pureed fruits into ice cube trays. Blend up your favorite fruits or make combinations like strawberry-banana, mango-pineapple or mixed berry. Pour into trays and freeze. Adding a couple fruit cubes to your water glass gives it a boost of flavor and color. Kids will have fun helping make the fruit cubes, too. You can also use the cubes in smoothies instead of plain ice.
19. Infuse Water Overnight
One of the easiest ways to make flavored water is to let it infuse overnight. Before bed, fill up a pitcher or mason jar with purified water. Chop up your choice of fruits, herbs and vegetables and add to the water. Citrus fruits, berries, cucumber, mint and melons work well. Let it infuse in the fridge overnight so the flavors really soak in. The next day you’ll have delicious flavored water ready to drink whenever thirst strikes.
20. Make a Minty Fruit Slushy
Here’s a fun way to stay cool while staying hydrated. In a blender, combine fresh mint leaves, sliced fruits like strawberries, mango, pineapple or berries, and ice. Add water or coconut water to blend it into a slushy texture. Sweeten it if needed with a bit of honey or agave nectar. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs and sip this fruity slushy with a straw. It’s so refreshing on a hot summer day and keeps you feeling hydrated.
21. Track Your Daily Intake
It’s hard to know how much water you really need if you’re not keeping track. Download a water tracking app and monitor your daily ounces. Aim to meet the recommendation of half your body weight in ounces per day. Seeing your real-time intake makes it a game to meet your goal. The app can send you reminders when you fall behind. Make a challenge of maintaining a hydration streak for extra motivation.
22. Infuse Your Overnight Oats
Take your daily breakfast bowl of overnight oats up a notch with infused liquid instead of plain milk or water. Soak the oats using almond milk, kefir or coconut water blended with your choice of fruits. Blueberry mint, strawberry banana and mango pineapple all work great. The oats will soak up those flavors as they soften overnight. Top with additional fresh fruit in the morning for even more hydration. It’s a tasty way to get fluids first thing.
23. Make Popsicles with Chia Seeds
Chia seeds swell up and turn into a gel when soaked in liquid. Use this effect to make homemade “chia pop” popsicles. Blend chia seeds with coconut water, fruit juices or nut milk. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes as the chia forms a thick gel. Pour into popsicle molds, adding fruit if you want. Freeze overnight, then enjoy these pops as a hydrating snack. The chia provides a good dose of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids too.
24. Infuse Vinegar Drinks
Apple cider vinegar is loaded with electrolytes that can help replenish you. But straight vinegar can be harsh to drink. An easy solution is to infuse it with fruity flavors or herbs. Add strawberry, blueberry, ginger, mint, cucumber or lemon slices to a bottle of vinegar. After an hour or two of infusing, just add a spoonful to a glass of water for a refreshing drink. The fruit makes the strong vinegar taste much more palatable while giving you an electrolyte boost.
25. Make Electrolyte Ice Pops
When exercising on hot days, easy-to-eat electrolyte ice pops can help you rehydrate in a tasty way. Blend coconut water, fruit juice like orange juice or lemonade, and a pinch of sea salt or electrolyte powder. Pour the mixture into popsicle molds and freeze. The cold, fruity pops will replenish electrolytes lost through sweat much more enjoyably than just chugging plain sports drinks. They’re also easy to make at home for a fraction of the cost.
26. Infuse Your Water Bottle
Why wait for your water to infuse overnight when you can make refreshing fruit-infused water in just minutes? Designed for on-the-go use, infuser water bottles have a chamber in the middle to hold sliced fruits and herbs. Fill it up with your favorite combos, add ice and water, then shake. The water flows through the infuser chamber, absorbing all the flavors and nutrients in just 10-15 minutes. Then drink refreshing flavored water all day long!
27. Make Frothy Drinks with Pearl Barley
Here’s an unusual trick for adding a light sweet taste and smooth frothy texture to water: pearl barley. Simmer a small amount of pearl barley in water for about 15 minutes until softened. Run the barley water through a blender for a minute to froth it up. Then mix with your choice of juices or sweeteners. The barley releases starch that thickens up the water into a creamy consistency while giving it a mild taste.
28. Have Water with a Twist
Jazz up plain water by adding fun twists and garnishes. Try squeezing fresh lime, lemon or orange wedges into your glass. Or add thin rounds of cucumber, sprigs of mint, or slices of jalapeno for a little zing. If you want it sweet, drop in raspberries, a peach slice, or a few frozen grape chunks. Spice it up with a dash of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Playing around with different water add-ins makes your hydration a lot more interesting.
29. Make Detox Lemon-Mint Water
Here’s a refreshing flavored water combination that boosts hydration and supports detoxification. In a large pitcher, squeeze the juice from four lemons and add sliced lemons too. Toss in a few sprigs of fresh mint. Fill the rest with purified water and let this infuse in your fridge for at least 2 hours, or even overnight. The vitamin C and antioxidants from lemon help neutralize toxins while the mint calms digestion. Adding some slices of ginger can also aid cleansing.
30. Hydrate With Herbal Teas
Sipping on herbal teas is a flavorful way to increase your daily fluid intake. All varieties of teas help with hydration, but some smart choices for the purpose are mint, ginger, chamomile, hibiscus, rooibos, dandelion root, nettle, and fennel tea. These herbs have mild diuretic properties to help your body flush out excess water while replacing fluids. Cold brew a pitcher of your favorite herbal tea combination and enjoy it chilled.
31. Incorporate Cucumber
Cucumber is naturally hydrating thanks to its high water content. Adding cucumber slices or infusing water with cucumbers gives it a light, refreshing flavor. Mix up your infused waters by combining cucumber with fruits like lemon, lime, melon, berries and apple. Or add cucumber slices and mint to your water pitcher. You can also soak cucumber overnight in vinegar or baking soda water for a hydrating detox beverage.
32. Drink Herbal Infusions
Herbal infusions are a great way to hydrate with floral, earthy flavors. Pour boiling water over fresh or dried herbs in a teapot or mason jar. Some tasty options include hibiscus, ginger, chamomile, rose petals, lavender, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, dandelion and mint. Let it steep for 20 minutes, then strain out the herbs. Sweeten it lightly with honey or fruit juice if you like. Sip these flavorful herbal infusions hot or chilled.
33. Blend Up Soups
Warming vegetable soups and broths can help replenish your fluids during cold weather or illness. Blend up your favorite vegetable soup recipe until it’s smooth. You can also blend canned soups. The creamy, smooth texture makes the veggies and broth even easier to drink down. Make it more filling by blending in cooked grains like rice, barley or quinoa. Ladle into a to-go mug so it’s easy to sip throughout the day.
34. Create an Infused Spa Experience
Set the mood for relaxation while infusing your body with fluids by creating a at-home spa experience. In a bath or foot soak, add slices of hydrating fruits like watermelon, grapefruit, kiwi, strawberries or melon. Brew a pot of detox tea, herbal infusion or fruit-infused water to slowly sip as you soak. Light some candles, put on peaceful music, and escape into your own personal oasis. This is a fantastic way to unwind while getting your daily dose of fluids.
35. Freeze Herbs in Ice Cubes
Here’s a great way to add flavor complexity and visual beauty to your water – freeze fresh herbs in ice cubes! Try basil, mint, oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, parsley or edible flowers. Position the herbs in tray molds, filling around with purified water. Freeze overnight, then add these ice cubes to your water. As they melt, the water will become infused with the herbal flavors and scents. It’s a simple way to make your hydration more interesting.
36. Add Some Bubbles
Plain water can seem boring, but simply adding some fizz can make it feel like more of a treat. Use a SodaStream or other carbonated water maker to add bubbles to plain water whenever you want. Play around with different levels of carbonation to find your favorite. For extra flavor, add a squirt of lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit juice or a splash of natural juice. The bubbles make water feel like a special drink.
37. Hydrate with Hot Cereals
Warm breakfast cereals are a very hydrating food, thanks to their high water content. Oatmeal, cream of wheat, malt o meal, wheatena and grits are all good options. Cook them with extra water or milk for an even bigger liquid boost. Add fresh or frozen fruit to increase the fluid content.
Flavored Waters:
Fruit Infused “Spa Water”:
Fruit Juice Pops:
Tea Infusions:
Fruit Cubes:
Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks:
Herbal Teas: