How To Make Amazing Naturally Flavored Water

How To Make Amazing Naturally Flavored Water. Photo – TheYummyLife.com (with permission)

Finally – a way to drink something that has tons of flavor as well as super health qualities! Although I say “finally” – aficionados of the natural way will not be surprised that these “ancient recipes” beat all comers. Because as they say, “There’s nothing new under the sun”! We think this is infinitely better than some trademarked artificial-additive drink in a plastic bottle. The link to the full recipe is at the foot of the article, after our commentary (as usual).

Part of the problem people often have with staying hydrated is, quite simply, that chugging water throughout the day seems boring. But that’s how they get you – with artificial beverages that excite your taste buds, but might even harm you in the long run. Making your own fruit water gives you some delicious flavor and nutritional qualities while also being super-hydrating!

These easy-to-make natural waters are made with just water, fruit (organic please!), ice and herbs. They are full of nutrition, healthful qualities, delicious flavor and look fantastic as you can see! Imagine the reaction you are going to get from your guests! These drinks could also be amazingly perfect if you are detoxing or simply if you are seeking something that is refreshing and delicious without containing any artificial sugars or other chemical additives.

Another great benefit of this refreshing “DIY” fruit water, in addition to the amazing nutritional content: You are completely eliminating the use of evil plastic bottles and other disposable packaging.

Plastic bottles are reported to leach toxic chemicals such as BPA (and possibly phthalates, which you really don’t need) into their contents. Also, plastic garbage is spreading far and wide across the world… slowly breaking down and entering the food chain. ^[1] This is horrendous and needs to stop! I think it’s time to start thinking seriously about banning plastic and using natural alternatives. “Detox” and “plastic” don’t really sit very well together…

If you’re truly committed to caring about life and future generations, you will be doing all that you can to limit your use of single-use plastic bottles. Use (and re-use!) high quality food-grade glass containers. They don’t leach anything into your food, don’t contribute to the hideous mountain of discarded plastic.. .and they look cool as well. Speaking of which, did you know that you can get Ball Mason Jars on Amazon?

Here, then, is the link to the Five Amazing Recipes For Healthy Naturally Flavored Water

Note – it’s mentioned in the recipes at the link but we think it expedient to say it again – be sure to wash fruit thoroughly, especially if you are planning on leaving the drinks overnight before drinking them. You don’t want bad bacteria or even pesticides messing up your drinks.

How To Make Amazing Naturally Flavored Water. Photo – TheYummyLife.com (with permission)

How To Make Natural Ginger Ale

How To Make Natural Ginger Ale. Image – WellnessMama.com (with permission)

We just found an awesome tutorial for how to make your own natural ginger ale! The link follows after our introduction to the topic.

If you’re sick of the modern generation of unhealthy junk sodas then this could be a perfect beverage for you! We all want beverages that have great taste, but wouldn’t it be great if we could get that without short-changing ourselves when it comes to our health and nutrition? Ingredients like High Fructose Corn Syrup or aspartame are deal-breakers for me. If those things are in there, I won’t touch it. End of story. 😉

What’s great about this recipe we have found is not only that it contains real ginger (see this page for our full tutorial on the health benefits of ginger) – well known for its numerous health benefits – but it is naturally fermented, which makes it naturally fizzy! The drink contains natural probiotics and enzymes that are widely regarded to have a beneficial effect on the digestive system.

Fermented drinks and foods have been utilized since ancient times on account of their health benefits. This formula uses a short-brew method so that it does not become alcoholic.

One note – you have to be careful to follow the instructions properly. As with making other fermented drinks such as Jun (an old Tibetan Fermented Tea drink), you can create too much pressure, enough to burst the bottles if you do it wrong!

Another note that caught my eye from the comments on the original page – although the recipe calls for some sugar, note that the fermentation process will transform much of this. One person advised not to substitute with honey (it is a commonly held position that due to being antimicrobial it interferes with the fermentation) or stevia.

Ok here’s the link to the full tutorial: https://wellnessmama.com/8945/natural-ginger-ale/

How To Make Homemade Extracts – Vanilla, Lemon Or Almond

How To Make Homemade Extracts – Vanilla, Lemon Or Almond. Image – Commonsensehome.com (with permission)

When you think of herbal extracts, you might (if you are like me) imagine some kind of arcane “alchemist’s lair” with curious distillation equipment, dusty old textbooks and of course a magical, permeating aroma of unusual flowers and herbs with strange Latin names. Yes? Even though herbalism has become very scientific in modern times, it is still (to me) redolent of ancient mysteries and magic.

But it might please you to know that herbalism is not all arcane and complex, and that some herbal projects are delightfully simple. Like this one: Homemade extracts of vanilla, lemon or almond. We found a great page over at Common Sense Homesteading describing an easy way to make three yummy extracts that can be used in recipes and for other aromatic purposes. This could be a perfect project for an apprentice “herbal alchemist”. 😉 This is a great tutorial full of tips and ideas! They’ve even made printable labels that you can just download and use – how cool is that?

One of the fun things about these extracts is that various forms of alcohol, such as brandy or rum, can be used – giving the possibility for subtle and unique concoctions. Note of course that due to the use of alcohol, this project should for safety reasons be undertaken (and the finished products used) by adults / under strict adult supervision.

It’s important to make sure your equipment is clean – but one of the good things about alcoholic herbal extracts (as opposed to, say, floral waters) is that the use of 40% alcohol creates a product with a good shelf life, with a very low risk of bacterial problems – as alcohol is a preservative.

The only downside of this work is (perhaps) the length of time needed for the extract to be made; it could be several weeks sitting there, depending on which extract you make.

It’s also possible to make these extracts using orange, mint, coconut and more. Can you think of some others?

Ok here’s the link to the full homemade extracts tutorial: https://commonsensehome.com/how-to-make-homemade-extracts/ Have fun! 🙂