Why Plain Water Isn't Enough This Summer
How I'm keeping my family on top of our electrolytes and minerals in this heat...
A couple weeks ago I shared the two iced drinks I’ve been living on this summer, and so many of you made them and sent me pictures (the cold foam was a hit with the matcha!), so I wanted to come back and show you the other half of my day.
The summer is really setting in with the heat! The kids aren’t phased by it though, they’re still outside all day either playing with the chickens, picking the cherry tomatoes off the vine, on the trampoline, or in the pool with us, and they come in soaked, which I love for them, sweating is one of the ways their little bodies clear out what they don’t need. I'm also doing sauna sessions throughout the week, so between that and breastfeeding, I really need to stay on top of my hydration.
My daytime drink is still the B•T Fountain (I told the whole story of how I first found it at Erewhon in this post if you missed it). The short version is that it’s the electrolytes that makes my water count, because I learned a while back that staying hydrated isn’t only about how much water you drink, your body needs the minerals and electrolytes to hold onto it, and in a Tennessee summer you’re sweating those minerals right back out. Pique B•T Fountain is also so good for my skin! It has clinically studied ceramides and hyaluronic acid in it that hydrate my skin from the inside while I drink it, so it’s doing double duty on the days I’m sweating half of it back out in the garden.
The kids lose their minerals in all that sweat too, so I've been making sure they stay topped up. They love the sachet just stirred into plain water, the flavor is so good on its own, but the watermelon version is a fun way to make it feel extra special. Elliott loves muddling, which means half of it ends up on the counter, but he's so proud of it that I don't worry about the mess.
Watermelon Lime B•T Cooler
Prep Time: 5 min Total Time: 5 min Serves: 1 (16–18 oz)
Before You Start
Choose a ripe, sweet watermelon for the best flavor.
Chill your water or sparkling water before making the drink.
Ingredients
1 B•T Fountain sachet
½ cup fresh watermelon, cubed
Juice of ½ lime
8 oz cold filtered water or sparkling water
Ice
Fresh mint, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Add the watermelon to the bottom of a large glass and gently muddle until it releases its juices. Slowly pour in the cold filtered water or sparkling water and gently stir to combine.
Add the B•T Fountain sachet and lime juice, stirring until the powder is completely dissolved.
Fill the glass with ice.
Garnish with fresh mint, if desired, and enjoy immediately.
Then there’s the other end of the day, which has become my favorite part of it. We’ve started eating dinner early, around 5pm, because it’s been better for everyone’s digestion and we’ve all been sleeping deeper for it, and by the time the Poppy and Elliott are down it’s usually around 8:30pm. Clive is almost always with us then, either nursing or just awake for a little while before bed, and Anthony and I have gotten into the habit of making our night drink and sitting on the couch together to enjoy it. It's usually the two of us with the baby, talking about the day and thinking about plans for the next. It's almost like a regroup, and such a calming way to end the night.
That's where Pique R•E Fountain comes in, it's built around magnesium, the mineral your body leans on to relax, your muscles and your nervous system both need it to settle down, which is why being low can leave you feeling wired and restless right when you're trying to come down, and so many of us are running low without even knowing it, between stress, sweating, and not getting much of it from food anymore. What I love about this particular one is that is uses three different forms of magnesium (triple maxed) instead of just one, so your body can absorb and use it, and it has the other electrolytes right alongside it; potassium, sodium, and calcium. So it's replacing what a long hot day pulls out of me while it helps me wind down. The nice thing is it works both directions, the magnesium helps calm everything down in the evening so you rest better, and then you wake up feeling clearer and more focused the next morning. It has a soft lemongrass-lemon taste that comes from real lemongrass and lemon juice, nothing artificial, no flavoring or fillers, (which is rare for an electrolyte!) and it turns the prettiest pale blue from spirulina.
There’s no sugar in it, it’s lightly sweetened with organic monk fruit instead, which doesn’t spike my blood sugar the way regular sugar does, so it doesn’t work against me at night. I feel physically more relaxed after drinking it. I give the kids a little too, their recent HTMA results came back a bit low on magnesium, so I asked our practitioner about the ingredients in this one for them, and she had me go off the standard 150-pound adult serving size and divide it down based on their weight, so Poppy and Elliott each get about a quarter of a sachet. They love it, they call it the “blue drink” and think it’s a treat (because it’s so delicious)! Once they’ve done their other supplements at night, the “blue drink” is the last thing they get before bed. I’ll retest them in a couple months to see how it’s helped their mineral levels too.
You can add this single serving size to plain water or here’s the recipe we love for our favorite wind-down mocktail:
Sparkling Cucumber Mint R•E Spritzer
Prep Time: 5 min Total Time: 5 min Serves: 1 (16 oz)
Before You Start
Use chilled sparkling water.
Gently muddle the cucumber and mint to release their flavor without breaking them down too much.
Pour the sparkling water in last to keep the bubbles fresh.
Ingredients
For the Spritzer
1 R•E Fountain sachet
3–4 thin cucumber ribbons
4–5 fresh mint leaves
Squeeze of fresh lemon
8 oz sparkling water
Ice
Instructions
Add the cucumber ribbons and mint leaves to the bottom of a large glass.
Gently muddle just enough to release their natural oils and flavor.
Slowly pour in the sparkling water and gently stir.
Add the R•E Fountain sachet and squeeze in the fresh lemon juice. Stir until completely dissolved.
Fill the glass with ice.
Garnish with an extra cucumber ribbon and a sprig of fresh mint, if desired.
Serve immediately.
I keep thinking about how before Elliott was born I wasn't paying attention to any of this, and now it's woven into our days without me even trying, the cold one when the sun's high and the kids are wild in the yard, and the blue one on the couch with Anthony once they're all down. I can't remember the last time I had the kids or myself drink plain water without electrolytes in it. You can absolutely just stir either one of these sachets into plain water, that's how I have them half the time, especially if I'm running low on time, but making them into a little something fun with seasonal ingredients is an extra treat I look forward to.
I love the quality of Pique! They also offer a 90-day money-back guarantee, so there’s really no risk in trying it, and the discount through my link is 20% off for life, not just your first order, which is so cool! If you only want to start with one, I’d grab the B•T if your days are hot and long, or the R•E if it’s your sleep that could use the help. And if you’ve been meaning to get better about your hydration all summer and keep forgetting, consider this your easy start! Use my link, piquelife.com/brittanydhp, for 20% off for life + free gifts.
Let me know if you make any of them, I want to hear which is your favorite!
xx Brittany