Good tasting low-calorie beverages?

[itsbenjibrand]

Maybe try stuff that tastes like pop but isn't as bad, like sparkling pomegranate water, the stuff is awesome.

 

[Azuremen]

Arizona is great, you can get a big can(like 24 oz.) for $.99, Rasberry is the best in my opinion. They also have fruit juices.

That aren't really fruit, loaded with sugar, and hardly better than soda in any way. And I'd hardly call them tea as well.

 

[RickyRacer]

My top three favorites:

1, Ocean Spray Diet Blueberry
2. Crystal Light Pink Lemonade
3. Canada Dry Diet Ginger Ale

 

[Solid Lifters]

As far as diet pop goes, if you can find diet Canada Dry, it's really good. Another good diet pop is diet Dr. Pepper.

I've got to try the Diet Canada Dry.

You, and the rest of you, should try Diet Cherry 7-Up Antioxidant. Crisp and sweet tasting. Diet A&W Root Beer is awesome stuff, too!

 

[Max_DC]

Everything with "diet" on it is even worse for your health anyway, so stay away from those products in general.

Ok, so simply mix your water with pure directly pressed juice ( apple, orange, grapefruit, pineapple etc ). 80% water and 20 % juice.

 

[orimarc]

Simple.

 

[Jay]

Oh my, I got a couple lemon flavoured ones for free.... Now I know why they were free.

 

[Max Powers]

Ice cold water dude, seriously. nothing is healthier or more natural. you will notice a difference if you substitute water for soda in your diet.

As for Vitamin Water, I like the Revive/fruit punch flavor as it's a servicable hangover cure...but even a glass of orange juice trumps the amount of potassium in the vitamin water, which is the only thing that separates it from gatorade as far as a hangover cure.

 

[motortrend]

Why are you trying to get rid of soda? If it is only because of the calories, the calories in drinks don't really make much difference. If it is for the unhealthyness then try any juice you like, just be careful not to be fooled by the big label and read the ingredients to see what it contains. Try to avoid diet drinks, as these contain aspartame, which is bad for you. Also try to avoid things with colorants and most powdered things. Best bet is to go with juice and try to drink as much water as you can. Also, exercise, when you ecercise your body will definitely be asking for water. Also, cold water (at least for me) tastes much better and is much more refreshing than room temperature water, so you could try rel cool water.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Why are you trying to get rid of soda? If it is only because of the calories, the calories in drinks don't really make much difference.

Oh yes they do! Soda contains an alarming amount of sugar. It's one of the worst things you can consume, next to donuts.

If it is for the unhealthyness then try any juice you like, just be careful not to be fooled by the big label and read the ingredients to see what it contains.

This is mostly true. Many 'fruit' drinks are sold as "cocktails" and they contain a lot of extra sugar. Avoid them. But, some fruit juice drinks are good for you. Fruit juice might contain a lot of sugar, but it's fruit sugar which the human body can deal with much better than added raw sugar which is no good.

Try to avoid diet drinks, as these contain aspartame, which is bad for you.

That is a lie. Aspartame is one of the most thoroughly tested drugs of all time. It's very safe for humans to consume. All negative claims against it have been proven to be fradulant. For over 30 years certain people have been attacking it with false claims, which have never been proven to be correct.

 

[motortrend]

Okay then, I don't drink it anyway since I don't like the taste. What do you think about artificial coloring though? I really don't think the amount of sugar in a soda can can be compared to some donuts. I didn't mean much the sugar, more the calories. The calories in a sody is nothing really compared to the calories of the food I eat with it. Exercise is the best really, I don't like diets at all, even though I eat a little of everything and have a varied diet.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Only thing I have done to act on this is I purchased some 5 calorie 0 sugar lemonade packets to mix with my bottled water. They're ok, as long as the water is extra cold. I'm going to stop at the store tonight on my way home and get a bigger water bottle and another flavor of packets to try.

 

[Joel]

I've got to try the Diet Canada Dry.

You, and the rest of you, should try Diet Cherry 7-Up Antioxidant. Crisp and sweet tasting. Diet A&W Root Beer is awesome stuff, too!

Diet Canada Dry is the best diet pop I've ever had, as far as tasting like the real stuff. I even did a blind taste test between diet and regular Canada Dry and I could not tell a difference at all.

I'm in the same boat as the OP though, I need to cut pop out of my diet, and that's all there is to it. I've been drinking more and more water, and I think I'll be able to wean myself off of pop eventually. Next thing to go is fries.

 

[Azuremen]

Ice cold water dude, seriously. nothing is healthier or more natural. you will notice a difference if you substitute water for soda in your diet.

As for Vitamin Water, I like the Revive/fruit punch flavor as it's a servicable hangover cure...but even a glass of orange juice trumps the amount of potassium in the vitamin water, which is the only thing that separates it from gatorade as far as a hangover cure.

XXX is an amazing hangover solution, up there with Blue Powerade in my opinion.

Why are you trying to get rid of soda? If it is only because of the calories, the calories in drinks don't really make much difference. If it is for the unhealthyness then try any juice you like, just be careful not to be fooled by the big label and read the ingredients to see what it contains. Try to avoid diet drinks, as these contain aspartame, which is bad for you. Also try to avoid things with colorants and most powdered things. Best bet is to go with juice and try to drink as much water as you can. Also, exercise, when you ecercise your body will definitely be asking for water. Also, cold water (at least for me) tastes much better and is much more refreshing than room temperature water, so you could try rel cool water.

The claims of Aspartame being bad are pretty weak, as must studies I've read involved giving insane amounts to rodents.

That aside, the calories from soda in many people's diets are considerable. I had a friend lose 40 pounds by changing a small bit of his diet but mostly by switching from regular to diet sodas. If you considering a 12 ounce can is over 150 calories, and those are all empty, meaningless calories, it is pretty bad. More so if you drink 3 or 4 cans a day, which isn't much of a stretch for a lot of people, especially if they have a desk job.

My issue with using diet soda is that it still doesn't address the sweet tooth, which is the underlying problem here as a whole.

 

[VooDoo-Reverend]

srsly... This stuff is good, and has literally nothing in it. Try it.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Stopped at the store last night and picked up a different flavored mix for my water. These are the Great Value brand Cherry Pomegranate packs with 5 calories and 0 sugar. MUCH better than the Lemonade packets I was drinking before. 👍

Antioxidants too!

 

[Danoff]

5 calories. Get it at costco for a price break and then over dilute it with water (because I find it too strong at the recommended concentration on the package).

 

[SRV2LOW4ME]

+1

I'm drinking Crystal Light Pink Lemonade right now, and its awesome. Got the huge pack at Costco for a few cents less. Agree with Danoff though, 1 pack will do atleast 2 bottles/glasses.

 

[bigllama93]

If tap water is disgusting, try filtering and/or boiling it, this is what my family does because my parents are paranoid about tap water being contaminated, but after filter and boiling, water does taste more pure/drinkable IMO.

 

[Villain]

Cold water with some lemon and cucumber (yes, thin slices of cucumber). Refreshing, flavorful, and healthy. 👍 I gave up soda for Lent one year, and that's what I drank instead. It's gotten to the point where I don't even enjoy the taste of soda anymore, it tastes like sugary bubbles.

Hoppy, malted bubbles taste much better.

 

[DK]

I'd recommend Sprite Zero/diet 7up. Fizzy lemon and lime drinks are the only drinks that don't taste horrible in their low calorie form.

 

[Dotini]

Non-alcoholic ginger beer is trendy in Seattle just now.

 

[FoolKiller]

Just ran across this. I have had to cut most sodium and sugars from my diet for health reasons, so I may be able to give you advice.

Don't think straight lemon juice would be that great.

Here is what I do. I take a 16oz bottle and add 2 ounces of lemon juice and 1 ounce of lime juice. Then I add 4-6 packets of sugar-free sweetener (I use Splenda or Truvia), less = tart, more = sweet. Fill with water and shake well. You can cut back on the amount of juice, but I try a 2-1 ratio of lemon-lime.

If you do just plain lemon juice and balance the dilution out right you have basically made homemade lemonade.

Yeah I want to try and keep the sugar down too. Absolutely no Splenda.

Any reason why you don't like Splenda? It is made from sugar and in my opinion tastes worlds better than the nutrasweet or aspartame sweeteners. But if you don't like Splenda try Truvia, or any sweetener made from the Stevia plant. It is a kind of mint that tastes like sugar. My brother grows some and putting a leaf in your mouth is like putting sugar in your mouth.

Everything with "diet" on it is even worse for your health anyway, so stay away from those products in general.

???

<Crystal Light image>

5 calories. Get it at costco for a price break and then over dilute it with water (because I find it too strong at the recommended concentration on the package).

I love me some Crystal Light. Although, unlike Danoff, I add lemon juice to it, but that may be a side effect of my low sodium diet (lemon and salt activate the same taste buds).

I also enjoy their Wild Strawberry - Eneregy (CAFFEINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and their Cherry Pomegranite - Immunity (antioxidants), as well as their fruit punch. I also use their Strawberry Banana - Hunger Satisfaction (Protein) on occasion as protein is important to my diet.

Honestly though, they have so many flavors that you can find something.
http://www.kraftbrands.com/crystallight/Pages/default.aspx#/home

They even make their own candies, including the caffeine and antioxidant added flavors.

I also enjoy Kool-Aid. In fact, I have such memories of my favorite flavors as a kid, that they no longer make, that I have gone out and found how to make Purplesaurus Rex and Sharkleberry Fin from their standard flavors. They also make the single serving sugar-free packets. I occasionally pick up the Hawaiian Punch sugar-free individual packets, but they clearly taste like they are using aspartame or nutrasweet.

And if you are going to try fruit juices there is one thing you must try.

But I love pomegranate.



Dan, if you think Crystal Light is too strong I suggest trying True Lemonade:

It has a good flavor, but my wife and I both think it is a little light for our tastes.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Any reason why you don't like Splenda? It is made from sugar and in my opinion tastes worlds better than the nutrasweet or aspartame sweeteners.

I just don't like the taste at all. My mom used to make things with it (cookies, etc) and they were always awful.

I've discovered that the Cherry Pomegranate mix I found is actually pretty nice. And from the advice of a couple guys I've started mixing them with half a packet instead of a whole packet. Much better that way. So I may have found my solution for now. 👍