Fruit water or fruit infused water is a great way to stay hydrated this summer. With the temperatures shooting above 100F since March, Punekars are scrambling to stay cool. I’m very partial to my lemonade but I can’t drink glasses of it through the day. That’s where fruit water comes to the rescue.

What is fruit water? Nothing but water lightly flavored with fruits so you don’t get tired of the same old H2O. Actually, sipping good old H2O is not that big a problem for us Desis. We are raised on it. I still remember an old Oprah episode from back in the day where she was teaching people how to drink water. Yup! She sipped away with that straw and went all yum yum. I’d watched with my mouth hanging open.

So while the West is experiencing a movement where people are going back to the good stuff, be it preservative free food or non sugar laden drinks, we as a nation are just ‘discovering’ how great soda pop is. Just like we revel in carrying those plastic bags everywhere. You know what I mean!

Okay. I think you get the point. The beauty of this fruit water is that it is zero calorie. Or almost zero calorie. You can squeeze a bit of the fruit into it, and then it becomes infused with vitamins or minerals. You can choose any fruits you like. Just one or several together. Try out different combinations. It can be fun. Add an herb or two for an interesting flavor. Pop in a cinnamon stick or a few cloves. Get your kids involved.  Tell them the fruit in the glass is the prize if they finish drinking the water. Make it fun, ya’ll.

I think citrus fruits will work very well here. So will berries. Fleshy fruits like mango wouldn’t be my choice, but hey they could work too. I am using a simple combination of orange and tulsi or holy basil. Tulsi is a kind of basil which is very commonly grown in India. It has lots of medicinal properties and is supposed to be cooling. I added it for a bit of color and to get that fresh, herby flavor. Plus I really love the slight bite the tulsi leaves have.

When I was a child, we used to tear off tulsi leaves from roadside shrubs and eat them.

Fruit water also reminds me of surahis, earthen pots used for storing water. March was always a month where we bought a couple of these earthen pots to store extra water. The earthen vessels cool the water naturally, giving it a slight earthy taste. People popped jasmine flowers into this water. This jasmine scented water made the summer a bit more bearable, I think.

Onward to the 21^st century and fruit water, something You can make without having to cook.

Orange Tulsi Water – Orange Basil Fruit Water Recipe

Other fruit water combinations could be lemon mint, kiwi lime, kiwi strawberry, pineapple, watermelon cucumber etc. Looking for healthy ways to hydrate this summer? Try my green smoothie, vegetable juice or mixed fruit juice recipes.