Over the holidays, I went to a gathering for teenage girls that included a fabulous cookie exchange. There were tempting gingerbread cookies, snickerdoodles, chocolate everythings, and good old-fashioned Christmas cookies to tempt every palate. Imagine my surprise and delight when I left this party with a HEALTHY idea! What was it? SPA Water!
In a large, beautiful, clear glass dispenser, the hostess (thank you, Toni Holmes!) had simply sliced up whatever citrus fruit she had on hand- oranges & lemons- and added them to water and ice. I found myself (as did the other moms and many of the girls) irresistibly drawn to refill my glass over and over! When I commented to the hostess that if I had this sitting out on my counter, I would never fall short of my water-consumption goals, she laughed and shared that several other moms had all told her the same thing. Being an all-in or all-out kind of gal, my first instinct was to head to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, coupon in hand, and snag myself a gorgeous water dispenser. I literally was standing in the store lifting the box to place it in my cart when I realized that this was overkill. Did I really need a gallon of water displayed for myself? Um, probably not. And until my cabinets are cleaned out, I am not allowing myself one more item. Though I still want one for my next hostess opportunity…
So, that afternoon, I started a new habit. A box of “Cuties” (small Clementine oranges) is usually less than $5 at my grocery store, and so I generally keep them on hand to pop in our girls’ lunches. I grabbed the largest, most beautiful glass that we have, then simply sliced up (rind and all- gotta be quick) a Cutie and popped half of in the glass. I added ice and water, and voila! My very own personal “spa water”…in a glass. I actually drank three in a row that first day!
Since then, I have made a point of buying some lemons in addition to the weekly Cuties, just to vary it up a bit. Toni mentioned she likes to add grapefruit slices, which sound delicious to me. If it is citrus, toss it in!
BOTTOM LINE: We all know water is the best way to hydrate, but why not make it DELICIOUS and TEMPTING by slicing up some citrus fruit into your glass?