Laurel on Health Food

We all know it’s good to drink plenty of water, but what do you do when you need something a little more interesting that you don’t have to feel guilty about? I’m looking for new healthy and natural drinks ALL THE TIME, so I had the idea to post some of my favorites here. My personal criteria is that I like to stick with things that are tasty but low in calories and free of artificial sugars/high fructose corn syrup/other additives.

I listed my favorite drink alternatives below. Check out the websites to see where you find the name brand drinks near you. I’d love to hear your favorites, so leave me a comment!

La Croix Sparkling Waters - These come in lemon, lime, orange, cran-raspberry, and berry flavor in a bottle or can (which I love for taking to work). The only ingredients are carbonated water and natural flavor. Zero artificial sweeteners or sodium.

Teas’ Tea - These chilled teas are made of purified water, high-quality tea leaves, and vitamin C. They come in individual size or 2-liter bottles. The teas are all natural, unsweetened, high in antioxidants, zero calories, and free of concentrates, powders, added colors or flavors. My favorite flavors are Green White and Pure Green.

Tazo Tea - Hot teas are just really satisfying sometimes. Even with summer coming, I just love to have tea at work (where they keep it freezing) or at home before bed. Tazo brand is really good and they have a ton of different flavors. You can find the boxes at any grocery store, and I’ve seen them in Starbucks too. I like Green Ginger, Calm, and Zen.

Stonyfield Farm 6oz Organic Smoothies - I love the small size of these yogurt smoothies because they’re a perfect snack for me. Be aware that each one has 23g of sugar, but all the ingredients are organic and it’s packed with probiotics.

Water w/Splash of 100% Juice & Lemon - Pour a splash of your favorite 100% juice in a glass, add a wedge of lemon, and fill up the rest of the glass with spring water (or sparkling). My favorite juices to add are BonDia’s Acai w/ Mangosteen, POM Pomegranate, or Welch’s 100% Grape Juice.

Homemade Smoothies - I make homemade smoothies all the time for a light meal, but it’s still a drink to me. You can put whatever you want in them, and mix it up for variety. One of my easy recipes is: 3 or 4 ice cubes, 1/2 banana, big scoop fat free plain yogurt, 3 or 4 frozen strawberries, about 10-15 frozen blueberries, and a splash of pomegranate juice. Add a scoop of protein powder if you want.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 18th, 2008 at 6:01 pm and is filed under HFCS, Health, Sugar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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