Nurturing my inner... ice cube with a twist

Quick idea.  I like lime in my water.  Fresh lime.  Or fresh lemon.  So I buy a bag of them instead of just a few here and there.  It is cheaper that way.  But often, I can't make it through the entire bag before they start to take a turn for the worse.  Seeing as I like to juice and hate to waste, I figured, well, maybe that technology can be used to help me out here.  That's when I started juicing my limes and lemons before they went bad and froze them for future use.

Any citrus press will do, but I just got this Pampered Chef one and it's great.  It gets out every last drop.  And builds my biceps at the same time.

Slice a lime in half and put cut side down into the press.

Into the press he goes. It's lime time.

Squeeze directly into a pouring container.  Doesn't have to be a measuring one, I just wanted something with a spout to make it easier to pour into the trays later.

Juice goes right into the container.

When you get as much juice as you want, or have from your current produce at the time, then you're ready to pour.

Fill 'er up! I have an automatic ice maker in my
freezer and actually had to go out and buy ice
cube trays recently because I didn't own any.

Works equally well with lemons which are just a little bigger than limes.  They still fit in my press though.

Get ready to use some more muscle.

Before you know it, you'll have a full tray.  I liked these trays because they were slightly taller and skinnier than ones I normally see.  I actually got them at the grocery store.  Two for about $2.50.

Don't fill too high. The cubes will expand a little.

Pop into the freezer and I went ahead and waited until the next day, but I bet they'd be okay to use in about six hours.

Ice, ice baby.

I popped them out onto a dish so you could see what they look like when they are done.  Individual portions of frozen, real juice.  No added junk.

Amazing, right? And didn't take a lot of effort.

I tossed them all in a Ziplock bag for easier storage and put them back into the freezer.

Lemon or lime, it's a surprise to which ones
I end up with each day.

I like to have a 32 ounce container of water at my desk for work and try to drink two within a day.  I add a couple of cubes of frozen citrus to it with regular ice before I leave the house and it all starts to melt by the time I arrive at my desk.  As a big water fan, I don't have to be forced to drink plain cups of water, but I find the citrus refreshing.  Save for a cup of tea at work or a cup of coffee at home a couple times a week, or the even more rare juice, hot cocoa or something of that nature, mostly water is what I reach for.  Yet having that splash of lime or lemon to sip on, and no sugar to wreck my teeth, makes the water maybe just a bit more exciting.  Plus, I can feel good about it, because it is still a wise choice.

And if you're in a pinch, there is this great stuff called True Lime.  (Or True Lemon or True Orange.)

Can find at the grocery store next
to those very bad sugary powdered
drinks that you should ignore.

It is crystallized lime.  No sugar, no preservatives.  So it has no calories and is 100% natural. When I don't have fresh or frozen lime juice handy, I add a packet of True Lime to my water glass and get that instant tart and refreshing taste on the go.  (I still recommend the real stuff though.  Whenever possible.  There really is no true substitute for fresh anything.)