This Ingredient Could Be the Secret to Staying Hydrated—and It's Already in Your Kitchen

What’s worse than a warm, watered-down drink in a heatwave? We’ll wait.

Little known fact: frozen fruits are just as healthy as their freshly-picked counterparts. According to a University of Georgia study, fruits and veggies (including broccoli, blueberries, corn, cauliflower, beans, peas, spinach, and strawberries) that are perfectly fresh, have been in the fridge for five days, and those that were fully frozen for two years are nutritionally equal. In the case of several types of fruit, the frozen versions were actually found to contain higher levels of nutrients. It makes sense, because frozen fruit is picked at peak-ripeness—when its nutritional value and flavor is best-expressed—and chilled immediately thereafter.

Which brings me to my next point. Whatever you do, please don’t let a single bit of that precious peak-summer produce go to waste. Follow the proper way to freeze fruit (find it here) and you’ll be stocked with sweet strawberries, perfectly-ripe plums, nectarines, and more all year long.

We’re not thinking about winter yet, so let’s focus instead on the present moment. Translation: if you’re sitting somewhere, sweating profusely, clutching a bottle of SPF like it’s your lifeline (it is), stop what you’re doing and drop a handful of frozen fruit into your beverage right now. Frozen raspberries, peach slices, watermelon cubes, and more are like the world’s most perfect ice cubes. They won’t water your drink down, and the fruit’s subtle sweetness is just the flavor kick your drink needs to motivate you to keep sipping (read: avoid dehydration).

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Oh, and if you’re looking for the easiest-ever party trick, frozen fruit is the ideal impressive-looking-with-zero-effort-added cocktail garnish. Plunk frozen watermelon into mojitos, blueberries into Moscow mule slushies, and strawberries into frosé sangria-style. You can also keep things booze-free and add frozen fruit to sparkling water, iced tea, kombucha, and more. Cheers!

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