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Like most people, I need to drink more water – Especially as I get older. I recently tore the meniscus in my right knee and was told that I probably don’t need surgery, but the healing process would be faster if I was better hydrated. So I’ve been drinking polar springs flavored bubble water. Mostly the GA peach and mandarin orange flavored water. These two are my favorite!

Since the virus started, I don’t do the shopping. So – in order to feed my addiction to bubble water, every week my husband calls when he gets to the soda/water aisle and reads me the flavors. He hates doing this. It slows him down, and he just wants to be done now with shopping. He’s the kind of shopper who goes in with a list and gets only those items. (not like me)

He figured, there’s got to be a better way. Because, as he knows, I hate-hate-hate drinking water out of plastic bottles, and really don’t like artificial flavors. But water. I just can’t drink large quantities of plain water. IT’S SO BORING! ugh. Flavored water I can drink 2L a day, but not plain water.

Then he noticed – the good hubby he is (he’s a smart guy, that man) – when we have dinner at my friends house (she has a penguin) I always drink more water – plain unflavored water at that! So he proposed a soda stream as a Christmas gift for me. Well…. OF COURSE!

But what about flavoring? There are so many un-natural options on the market. I really wanted something that wouldn’t add more toxins to my diet than are already in there. I did a bit of searching through my cookbooks at home and came across one that mentioned a mint flavored simple syrup to use in cocktails. UM YES PLEASE! Finally I found a solution….. AND… of course its an oily solution.

Enter Stage Right – Simple homemade flavorings!

The base of these water flavorings is a simple syrup solution – sugar and water – with combinations of fruits, herbs, and spices for a fun kick in the pants to elevate your plain boring water. There’s grapefruit & sage, pineapple & cardamom, peaches & thyme, strawberry & rose, and lime & lemongrass. As I find & test more combinations, I’ll add on to this post. I’ll also be experimenting with using less sugar but keeping the big flavors.

I have yet to find an absolute favorite, but will use these recipes as guides to concoct a few more flavors. Of the ones below, I think my favorite (so far) is grapefruit and sage. These are super easy to make, and so flavorful – just a bit goes a long way. Make sure to store the syrup in the fridge so it stays fresh. In addition to the storage suggestions below, I’ve recycled my Thieves dish soap bottles (after a vigorous washing) to hold my syrups. The soap bottles have a great squirt top and fit nice on the fridge door shelves.

Once you have the flavorings made, you can use the syrup with seltzer water, club soda, even tonic water to make homemade sodas, mix your syrup with spirits for cocktails, or use as a cordial to mix with water and ice for a refreshing drink. Here are the recipes:

Ingredients for each flavor:

  • Grapefruit & Sage
    ▢ 1 ⅔ cup grapefruit juice (about 3-4 grapefruits)
    ▢ Peeled zest of the grapefruits
    (or try substituting Young Living grapefruit vitality oil!)
    ▢ 7 oz white sugar
    ▢ ½ cup water
    ▢ 3-5 drops of Young Living sage vitality oil (add to taste)
  • Pineapple & Cardamom
    ▢ 23 oz pineapple peeled and cut; about 1 pineapple
    ▢ 7 oz white sugar
    ▢ 3-5 drops of Young Living cardamom vitality oil (add to taste)
    ▢ ½ cup water
    ▢ pinch of salt
  • Peaches & Thyme
    ▢18 oz / 500g peaches cut to chunks
    ▢ 3-5 drops of Young Living thyme vitality oil (add to taste)
    ▢3.5 oz water
    ▢3.5 oz white sugar
    ▢pinch of salt
  • Strawberry and Rose
    ▢1 lb strawberries washed
    ▢ 1 drop of Young Living rose oil (add to taste)
    ▢¼ cup water
    ▢3.4 oz white sugar
    ▢pinch of salt
  • Lime and Lemongrass
    ▢ ½ cup lime juice
    ▢ Zest of the lime
    ▢ 3-5 drops of Young Living lemongrass vitality oil (add to taste)
    ▢ ½ cup of water
    ▢ 8.5 oz white sugar
    ▢ ¼ tsp salt

Instructions:

Pineapple & Cardamom

  1. Place all the ingredients except the oil in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer until the pineapple softens.
  3. Turn off the heat and let everything steep for about 30 minutes.
  4. Puree the pineapple with a stick blender.
  5. Place the puree on a double layer of cheesecloth to strain the liquid. Gently squeeze to get all the liquid out, then discard the pulp.
  6. Add your oil and mix well, then pour the syrup into a sterilized glass bottle or jar.

Peaches & Thyme / Strawberry & Rose / Grapefruit & Sage / Lime & Lemongrass

  1. Place all the ingredients except the oil in a saucepan and heat to dissolve the sugar.
  2. Cover with a lid and let the fruit solids “poach” in the liquid for a few minutes. Simmer on low heat, uncovered for about 15-30 minutes until the liquid becomes syrupy. Grapefruit, lime, and strawberry will be closer to 15 minutes, while peach takes a little longer.
  3. Puree the solids, then using a double layer of cheesecloth in a strainer, strain the liquid out.
  4. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth and gently squeeze the solids to extrude as much liquid as possible, add your oil, stir gently to incorporate, and pour the syrup into a sterilized bottle or jar.

Notes:

When I recently made my syrup, I stored it in a mason jar and sterilized the jars according to the instructions on Epicurious.com.  I was using just regular lids until I found this AWESOME jar and pump on amazon!  

If you already have jars, and just need the pump top check out this 2-pack of tops by the same maker.
When you sterilize the pump parts, be aware there are some (very minimal) plastic parts and adjust accordingly so the plastic isn’t damaged.

Another way to sterilize the whole kit and caboodle (minus the pump) at once is to follow this oven method:

  1. Preheat oven to 250°F.
  2. Place mason jar lids on the syrup filled jars loosely (don’t screw them on tightly).
  3. Place the jars on a baking sheet, making sure the jars don’t touch one another.
  4. Place the baking tray in the preheated oven and keep the syrup filled jars in the oven for at least 30 minutes, and up to one hour.
  5. While wearing oven mittens [I use these Oven Gloves with the silicone grips] take out the baking sheet and carefully screw on the lids tightly on the bottles/jars, while they are still hot. [the silicone on the oven gloves really helps me to get a tight grip on the lids]
    ****PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL THE JARS WILL BE VERY HOT****
  6. Leave them to cool completely to room temperature and then store in the fridge going forward.
  7. You can then replace the mason jar tops with the sterilized pump tops

Modified from https://www.theflavorbender.com/