Kristen has another question! 
She writes: I’ve never been much of a water drinker. I get so tired of plain water. So I was drinking a lot of Crystal Light. But I know that’s not good for you so I stopped and am trying to drink more water, but am getting sick of it and not getting enough to drink now. What do you suggest for a Crystal Light alternative? Are any of those flavored waters ok or are they all crap?
My reply: I’m afraid I’m not a whole lot of help with drinks. Even before I discovered Michael Pollan and Nina Planck last summer and started moving our family to more whole foods, I was a health snob about those flavored waters. Anything with fake sugar or artificial color in it has always been a huge red flag to me. I’m an all or nothing kind of girl. I love my Coke Classic, but if I can’t (or shouldn’t) have it, I’d rather drink water. So I never sought out an alternative.
A few suggestions: can you try squeezing fresh orange or lemon or lime into your water to make it more palatable? There are probably other clever ideas, perhaps my readers can help.
The bigtime Real Foodies talk about drinking Water Kefir — a drink that is carbonated by fermentation. (I think?) Read this post at Kitchen Stewardship, Is Water Kefir as Good as Soda Pop? It’s an entertaining read, and it also might answer your question about a healthy alternative to flavored water drinks. I haven’t tried it, but I’ve been wanting to try making raw milk kefir for the probiotic and digestive benefits.
Your Turn! Do you have any recommendations for Katie?
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Frozen lemons have helped me a ton! I’m a former Diet Coke addict who needs to drink more water! At the beginning of the week, I cut up a few lemons and then throw one or two in there with each glass of water and it helps for sure!
I find that water from different containers at different temps tastes different.
What I love is seltzer (water with bubbles) and a splash of juice. It is also good with the juices I like, but can not drink a whole glass of like blueberry.
I LOVE my kefir soda!!! I just posted yesterday on how to make grape soda:
http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/2010/03/16/how-to-make-grape-kefir-soda/
I’ve been experimenting with different flavors lately and each one has been yummy! I definitely like it better when fermented longer as it turns really fizzy.
So, yes – definitely try water kefir!
*and yes, it’s a fermented drink, full of probiotics
I’m a big fan of Stevia, (natural herbal sweetner). In the mornings I drink warm lemon water and throughout the day I drink fresh squeezed lemonade sweetened with Stevia, or iced green tea also sweetened with Stevia. I love the favored green tea over ice.
I’m a fan of adding a lemon, lime, or orange slice to my water. Granted, it doesn’t taste like those artificially flavored drinks, but it does perk it up just a bit.
I like to throw a spring of spearmint or peppermint or even a stick of cinnamon into my water bottle when I’m going to be out and about. It makes it tasty.
Uh oh! Is there something that I should be concerned about with Crystal Light? (I do love to drink that.)
Well, this is the list of ingredients: Maltodextrin, Citric and Malic Acids, Aspartame, Contains less than 2% of Natural and Artificial Flavor, Calcium Phosphate, Acesulfame Potassium, Caramel Color, Yellow 5, Yellow 6.
So the short answer is, it’s full of artificial crap.
I just drink water. I find that I drink more water if it is bottled (silly). But that is expensive and not cool to the planet. I bought a Tervis Tumbler and that has helped. I don’t know why I don’t drink as much from a regular glass. Lemon or lime is an easy add-in for flavor. I also drink a lot of unsweet iced tea. If I make it at home, it is even caffeine free, and I figure that is pretty close to drinking water.
Dropping a slice of cucumber in your water adds a nice twist. And one time, I visited a day spa that served watermelon water. Not sure how they did it but it tasted like plain old water with watermelon juice added. You know how when you slice a watermelon all that juice runs out? I’m guessing they just added that to the water. It was quite refreshing…and naturally sweet.
I have found that putting a couple of drops of Stevia in water is nice. I especially like it in a cup of plain hot water. It’s found in most grocery stores that have a decent natural food selection and in all health food stores. It is non-caloric, 100% natural and even has some health benefits.
I use True Lemon which I love. It is basically crystallized lemon in little packets. Each packet is supposed to be the equivalent of one lemon wedge. They are easy to keep on hand and very portable as well. It is 100% natural and has really helped me with my dislike of water. (Yes, I know I’m weird but plain water makes me gag.)
Oh also, the packets come in True Lime and True Orange flavors, if you like those better!
We were a house that drank a lot of the sweetened sparkling, no calorie waters instead of soda (members choice from Walmart) …but the aspartame always bugged me. I have switched to only buying the unsweetened flavored sparkling waters like Klarbrunn or Mendota Springs. Not sure if they are distributed nationally or not. For myself, on days when I am home most/all day (which is very rare actually) , in the morning, I will fill a 2 quart pitcher with lots of ice and water and throw lime and/or lemon slices into it and leave it out on the counter …that way it’s right there, ready and cold and refreshing and and an easy way to track how much water you drink in one day!
I am a fan of water with lemon. Boring, I know. I also love the Knudsen’s juices. They are so yummy, the cranberry especially. It is very tart though, so I do a 4 :1 ratio with water. Sometimes I will squeeze a lemon over that, it is so delicious! Plus, the cranberry juice has so many added health benefits, you can’t go wrong.
I love lemon or lime in my water – but my new (HEALTHY) favorite is chlorophyll. I buy liquid chlorophyll online and add it to my water bottle. It has a mint flavor that makes my kids beg for “mom’s water”. The directions are for 1 tsp. in 8 oz two times a day. I add it in my liter bottle, so the flavor is not as strong, but I drink more water.
How ’bout steeping some tea and keeping it in the fridge? There are so many tasty decaffeinated teas out there – a nice alternative to plain water.
Lovin’ this post and the comments! I went “off” diet soda in January – was quite miserable without it the first 3 weeks, but now have no real desire for it. I do like to drink iced tea and lemonade, but still need to drink more water (didn’t like water even when I was a kid). I like all the flavor options that have been suggested!
What has really helped me to drink more plain water though is just making it a goal. I was participating in a 10 week healthy challenge on my other blog and included drinking 3 12-oz glasses water per day as a goal. I know that sounds small, but I wasn’t drinking any and needed to build the habit. I actually had it written down daily and checked off each water I drank. I now am drinking 3 glasses per day consistently and actually crave the water when thirsty. I just started a new challenge for the next 4 weeks and I’m upping my water to 4 glasses per day. Eventually I’ll get to where I need to be! And when I’m busy trying to get my waters in, I don’t have “time” for other types of drinks – LOL!
I agree, that it is what the water comes in that makes the difference. If I can grab a nice cold water out of the fridge in some sort of sippy bottle, that is quick and easy…I tend to drink more water. Just like the other readers…it’s weird, but it seems to work. We have a filtered water tap next to our normal tap, so we just re-fill the sippy bottles as needed.
I switch to hot or iced tea (both green and black), when I’m getting bored of water. I like the chlorophyll idea – I’ll have to look into that.
The majority of ‘flavored’ waters are essentially crystal light without color. You pay a premium for bottlers to add water (which is, uh, free) and mix with flavor and other additives. There are some that are just flavor and water (no sweetener) and I think those are a lesser evil than the sweetened (whether with HFCS or artificial, non-nutritive sweeteners) and flavored waters. Still, plain water is by far the best and towers over all other drinks.
Thanks for yet another good post!
I love tea, and there are SO many varieties that almost anyone can enjoy tea during the day: caffeine or not, iced or hot, fruity, black, green, flavored, etc. Try some sampler packs of hot tea till you find one you enjoy. I drink hot tea all day, most of the year. We also keep a pitcher of cold tea in the frig.
Cucumber water! I make a 1/2 gallon in the morning – 8 slices cucumbers, and a slice of lemon, ice + water. Tasty and naturally made ‘vitamin’ water. Cucumber + pineapple is good, too.
I don’t mind plain water, but will do a slice of lime now & then.
When I want something different (usually in the summer) I will go with flavored seltzer (unsweetened) in lime, lemon, or pomegranate.
I have heard of freezing chunks of watermelon & dropping them in your water as ice cubes.
I still haven’t managed to convince myself that water is a good drink anytime LOL I’m working on it.
Tea (made at home) has definitely been a good alternative when I just can’t stand another boring taste.
One of my readers also suggested adding pieces of cut up fruit (any kind) to your water glass to liven it up. I haven’t really played around with this idea much so I can’t tell you how it works
I think the water makes a big difference for me. We have a water filter system in our house. Before that we just had one for our drinking water. It is so clean tasting.
I love to add lemons, oranges, limes and mint to it.
I also love a sparkling water mixed with some fruit juice. Trader Joes carries a lot of fun waters if you have one near by.
We also drink a lot of tea – I always add a 1 flavored bag per 4 bags to mine, ie: 3 black tea bags and 1 Peach tea – it’s a family fave. And I do use sugar in my tea but I cut back the amount from what we used to use and figure it’s better than a soda!
I LOVE brewing a few bags of herbal tea in a couple of cups of water – raspberry or strawberry or anything fruity – as if I were making hot tea, and then pouring lots of cold water (enough to fill up a pitcher). You can sweeten while hot with honey or succanat or whatever, but with time you can get used to having it unsweetened. Like anything new, it just takes a while to get used to the change but after a while you don’t notice the difference.