Bikini Punch

This year has been a total craze fest so far... in a good way. I'm busy trying to make all my high hopes for 2017 a reality, but inevitably certain things take a backseat. When I get busy or stressed, I'll either forget to eat or I'll eat everything. Being healthy is something I have to actively put energy and effort into. To be honest, I've never been all that great about drinking water, and I have all sorts of excuses for it. For instance, I don't like certain water bottles because they taste weird, are too hard to clean, etc. Sometimes I'm just too bored by the taste of it. It's not that I'm drinking juice or soda instead. I am just prone to starting my day with coffee and then not really drinking much else once my day gets busy. Saying that out loud feels really cringey, because I know how important drinking water is. But there's hope for me. There is ONE trick that will make me drink a TON of water, and I have the Tone It Up girls to thank for it. I picked up this habit when I did the Bikini Series last summer, and it really stuck. I don't make it everyday, but on the days I do, I probably drink 10 times the amount of water that I do on the days I don't make it.

So what is it? It's BIKINI PUNCH: a big ol' pitcher of water infused with a bunch of amazing things that make it flavorful, healthy, good for the metabolism. You don't have to make it the same every day, just use whichever ingredients you have on hand, and you can constantly add more water to it throughout the day so you never run out. Even make it the day before so it's ready to go when you wake up.

Here's what you'll need:

- Handful of berries, muddled (raspberries are my favorite for this but blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries all work well too)

- 1 lemon

- 1 lime

- 1 inch piece of ginger, skin shaved off and sliced

- Cayenne pepper to taste (I like a LOT)

- 4-5 mint leaves

Juice the lemon and lime. Add the juice to the pitcher along with the skins. Add the berries, ginger, cayenne, and mint leaves (I like to pinch them a bit to wake them up). Fill the rest of the pitcher with water and keep it in the fridge. I drink it all day in huge mason jar glasses with a big straw (I don't know why but it helps me drink more).

Let me know if you guys try this and how you like it!

Photography by Ashley Burns