You know you need to drink more water. We all need eight to ten glasses a day. But so many of us don’t care for the taste (or, if you will, non-taste) of water so we skip it in favor of other things. Before you go buy another case of diet soda, take a look in your grocery store’s beverage aisle and see what’s there these days.
An easy to make, low calorie alternative to water is an Italian soda. You may have had one of these in a fancy café. They’re simple to make at home and are especially refreshing on a warm day. In your grocery store’s coffee aisle, you will find flavored syrups. (Torani is the brand I like best, but there are lots of others.) You can also find these in cafés, import stores like Cost Plus, and many other locations. Many of the flavors are available in a sugar free variety. When you get home, fill a glass with ice, then drizzle a little of the flavored syrup over the ice. You may need to experiment before you find the right amount to suit your taste. Now just fill the rest of the glass with club soda. Add a straw and sip away. You can mix it up to combine the flavors or leave it as is, depending on your preference. My kids think this is a special treat and they have no idea that it has virtually no calories and no sugar. Use one flavor or a combination. Chocolate and hazelnut are great together and I get the feeling that I’m indulging when I’m really not. You can combine flavors like raspberry and lime for a refreshing summer cooler. Or take yourself to a faraway place with flavors like coconut, banana, Irish cream … the possibilities are endless.
Another great alternative to plain water is the little packets that you can add to your water bottle and mix on the go. It seems like these are getting more and more popular and you’re bound to find a flavor you like! There are all sorts of special varieties so pick a few to give you enough choices to get through the week.
Many of these contain artificial sweeteners, just like diet sodas, so use them in moderation. I wouldn’t recommend replacing all of your water servings with these, but if you just need to get some variety in your liquid diet to keep you from getting bored, these are great solutions.
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8 years ago
2 comments:
I credit those wonderful Torani (sugar free) syrups to getting me to my daily 64 oz water goal. I add a squirt or two to the water bottle I keep in the car and just add filtered, chilled water and ice. The best part is that, even though I prefer very cold water, I can easily tolerate room temperature water if it has a little flavor. That means that I can leave my bottle in the car all day and the water still tastes as good going into work as it does coming home.
Great tip! I also like those bottles with the freezable core if I'm out running errands for a while. Keeps me from grabbing a soda wherever I go and saves me some money too.
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