Jul 31 | Recipes
Everyone knows you are suppose to drink eight glasses of water a day, but, that can get boring rather quickly! Water is so good for our bodies, but after glass three or four, you can start craving something with a little more flavor. Luckily, water infusions are the perfect way to get the water you need while getting the flavors you crave. They can even be a great way to add a little more vitamins and nutrients to your water.
If you are tired of the same old ice water, give one of these 7 fresh infused water recipes a try! You will love how tasty they can make your glass of water, and you might find yourself enjoying more than the recommended eight glasses a day.
Remember with any infusion, you can strain and enjoy just the water served on ice. Or, enjoy with the produce and herbs present in the beverage. It’s up to you and just a matter of preference. Also, for any of these recipes below you can omit the granulated sugar if you desire. Now, take a look at these 7 Fresh Infused Water Recipes!
Kiwi Strawberry Dream
Ingredients:
4 liters of water
3 peeled and sliced kiwi
1 ½ cups of cleaned, sliced strawberries
Add all of your ingredients to the water and stir well. Allow to chill for 2-3 hours before serving. This infusion is so tasty and fresh plus full of vitamin C!
Citrus Delight
Ingredients:
4 liters of water
2 sliced oranges (skin on)
1 sliced lemon (skin on)
1 small grapefruit, cubed
Add all of your ingredients to water and stir well. This infusion is packed with vitamin c and is a great way to start your morning with extra zing! Prepare it the evening before so the flavors have time to infuse well.
Watermelon Mint Wonder
Ingredients:
4 liters of water
2 cups of cubed watermelon
4-5 sprigs of fresh mint
1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
Add all of your ingredients to the water and stir well. Chill for several hours before serving to allow the flavors, especially the mint to fuse well. This makes the perfect brunch beverage and looks lovely garnished with fresh mint.
Cucumber and Rosemary Refresher
Ingredients:
4 liters of water
2 large cucumbers sliced (skin on)
3-4 fresh rosemary sprigs
Add all of your ingredients to water and stir well. This is an infusion you will want to allow to set overnight to really let the rosemary infuse it well. It is a refreshing yet savory drink, perfect for serving with pre dinner appetizers. Garnish with fresh rosemary if you wish!
Honeysuckle Mint Mixture
Ingredients:
4 liters of water
3-4 fresh honeysuckle blooms
1 teaspoon of honey
3-4 fresh mint sprigs
Rinse your blooms well. Add all of your ingredients to water and stir. The honey will take a little while to dissolve so allow plenty of rest time in the refrigerator. Garnish this beverage with extra blooms if you have them as well as a mint sprig. This tasty infusion makes the perfect wedding or baby shower beverage.
Raspberry Lemon Loveliness
Ingredients:
4 liters of water
1 cup of fresh raspberries
2 lemons, sliced. (skin on)
1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
2-3 sprigs of fresh mint
Add all of your ingredients to water and stir. You can muddle your raspberries first to release the juices a little easier if you choose. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. This infusion is quite sweet, full of vitamin c, and the perfect brunch beverage. Garnish with fresh lemon if you wish.
Herbal Brew
Ingredients:
4 liters of water
2-3 sprigs EACH of fresh rosemary, mint, basil
1 teaspoon of honey
1 cucumber sliced (skin on)
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
Add all of your ingredients to water and stir. You can muddle your herbs first to release the flavor a little easier if you choose. Allow several hours for the herbs to infuse the water, overnight if you wish for stronger flavor. Serve over ice or even enjoy this brew at room temperature. It is full of nutrients provided by the fresh herbs as well as a hint of vitamin c.
Dress up your water when you give these easy and inexpensive infusions a try! You are sure to find one that delights your taste buds and makes drinking water just a little more fun.
Jul 26 | Easy DIY, Recipes
In keeping with the raspberry theme this week, I thought I’d share my all time favourite raspberry sauce! As you can see, it’s perfectly paired with ice cream as well as a great topping for pancakes, cheesecake and other desserts. I think this would also taste great in a smoothie or a milkshake!
Another great thing about this raspberry sauce is that you can use fresh or frozen raspberries. I used some frozen raspberries that I had picked last year.
Follow my picture directions to learn how to make raspberry sauce (recipe will be below):
Add 4 cups of raspberries to a medium saucepan with 1/2 cup water. Crush the raspberries with a potato masher.
Add 1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar.
Add 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
Push through a strainer into a bowl. Enjoy!
-
4
cups
raspberries
-
1/2
cup
water
-
1/2 - 3/4
cup
sugar
-
1
tablespoon
cornstarch
Crush the raspberries with water in a medium saucepan.
Add sugar and cornstarch.
Bring to a boil while stirring constantly.
Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
Push through a strainer into a bowl.
Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Jul 23 | Recipes
I’m sharing my absolute favourite summer salad dressing today! Raspberry poppyseed dressing! It’s perfect for spinach and berry salads, but I also enjoy it on romaine and green leaf lettuce.
This recipe is also a great way to make use of the raspberry vinegar I showed you how to make yesterday. 🙂
-
1/2
cup
sugar
-
1
Tbsp
chopped red onion
-
1/4
tsp
paprika
-
1/4
tsp
Worcestershire sauce
-
1
Tbsp
poppy seeds
-
1/4
cup
raspberry vinegar
or red wine vinegar
-
1/2
cup
olive oil
Place all ingredients, except poppy seeds, into a blender.
Blend until everything is incorporated well.
Add poppy seeds.
Blend again for a few seconds.
Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Shake well before each use.
What’s your favourite kind of summer salad?
Jul 22 | Easy DIY, Recipes
It’s raspberry season, which happens to make me very happy because raspberries are just so tasty! In honour of this seasonal fruit, I have a few posts lined up that feature ways to use raspberries to help you save some money on your grocery bill. After all, DIYing recipes and buying/picking large quantities of seasonal fruit is a smart way to get the most bang for your buck since prices are more reasonable than when they’re out of season.
First up, I’m going to show you How to make raspberry vinegar!
It really can’t be any simpler to make than this. All you do is combine two ingredients, wait a couple of weeks, and you’ll have this beautiful raspberry vinegar to use in salad dressings and other recipes!
Since the end product is a beautiful red colour, homemade raspberry vinegar is great to give as gifts. It even seems gourmet, so any foodie on your gift list would love to receive this, I’m sure!
-
1
cup
of fresh raspberries
-
2
cups
of white wine vinegar
Rinse the raspberries and add them to a jar.
Pour the vinegar into the jar.
Screw on the lid and store in a cool, dark place for two weeks.
Once two weeks have passed, place a strainer over a bowl, then pour the contents of the jar into the strainer.
Finally, pour the raspberry vinegar into little bottles for gift giving or easy pouring for recipes.
Next up, I’ll be featuring my favourite salad dressing using raspberry vinegar!
Day 1:
Jul 12 | Recipes
Summer is here and that means there’s no shortage of ways to use Simple Syrup, a wonderfully versatile syrup to use for all sorts of summery things.
Simple Syrup is perfect for sweetening cold drinks without having to worry about whether your sugar has dissolved completely.
There are plenty of other uses for Simple Syrup, such as:
- Sweeten freshly brewed iced tea, lemonade, or coffee
- Mix with club soda and crushed berries for a summery and non-alcoholic beverage
- Drizzle over fresh fruit
Simple Syrup is also probably one of the easiest things to make. Here’s how to make simple syrup:
-
1
cup
granulated white sugar
-
1
cup
water
Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved.
Allow to cool, then pour into a glass bottle.
This should keep for up to 3 months or longer in your fridge.
I gave measurements in the recipe, but the formula is 1 part sugar to 1 part water, so you can make as much or as little as you want.
What’s your favourite use for Simple Syrup? Or, what’s your summer beverage of choice that could use simple syrup?
Jun 28 | Recipes
I’m a big fan of Sally’s instant oatmeal that you can get at Walmart (and Target and maybe Superstore). There are 5 in a box for $1.77. Almost every morning I make myself a bowl and give my daughter a few spoonfuls. Well, pretty soon, she was eating my entire bowl. I could see this getting expensive quickly if I was making two bowls a day. Although Sally’s is whole grain and “good for you”, I still didn’t feel comfortable giving it to my daughter on a regular basis because I wasn’t sure how much sugar was actually in each package.
This is when I decided it was time to search for a recipe for homemade instant oatmeal packets.
I found this recipe over at Good Cheap Eats and gave it a try. It was a hit with both of us. I used snack size bags that I had sitting around and because I’m crazy, I wash and reuse them a couple of times before they get tossed.
Here’s my version of Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets:
-
1/4
cup
quick oats
-
1
teaspoon
instant milk powder
-
2
teaspoons
brown sugar
-
sprinkle of salt
-
pinch
of cinnamon
Add all the ingredients into one little bag.
Make up as many bags as you'd like.
To make the oatmeal:
Add the oatmeal mix to a bowl.
Add 6 Tablespoons of water.
Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.
I put together each packet in an assembly line fashion. First of all I added the oats to each bag, then I added the milk powder, then the brown sugar…and so on. I make about 10 bags at a time, in case my daughter decides she doesn’t like oatmeal anymore. 🙂 You could even add some dried fruit to this! The possibilities are endless, really.
What convenience items do you enjoy making from scratch?
