Favorite Diet Beverages

I know that we should drink more water than anything else ... and I do drink plenty of water. Sometime I want something with flavor, though. Lately, I’ve been purchasing Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry Juice Cocktail. It’s low in calories and sweetened with Splenda. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it. What are your favorite low calorie beverages?

Sometimes, Crystal Light is OK but sometimes, I can taste a little aftertaste. I guess it depends on the flavor.

One thing I do is mix juice with water. It’s not exactly low-calorie but it does cut the calories somewhat. Some juices are too sweet for me anyway—I drink a lot of water, too, and I guess drinking such a bland beverage most of the time makes everything else taste very sweet. I just do half water, half juice when I want a little taste without the high calories.

I’m super allergic/reactive to aspartame, and sucralose also gave me health problems, so I’ve had to get creative with my zero calorie beverages! Here’s what I love. I do sip water all day long. I keep a big 24 ounce glass next to my desk while I work so I drink plenty all day long.

Other “diet” choices for me include:

* Seltzer:  I absolutely love seltzer and sparkling water of all types. The cherry flavored one from Vintage is my favorite. It’s a bit of an acquired taste but hey, I also love rice cakes, so go figure.
* Mint tea: I use a solar tea brewer or just take a handful of mint leaves, crush them up, add ice water and voila - instant refreshment!
* Iced tea: I just brew regular tea and add stevia or lemon (no sugar, no artifical sweeteners). Sometimes I brew some Celestial Seasonings herbal teas too. Yum!

I can’t have aspartame either. I haven’t had problems with sucralose yet, so I’m glad that there are some beverages that have it. Some manufactuers are starting to use Truvia (all natural, made from Stevia leaves) as a sweetener, which I am really looking forward to trying out.