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What Are Some Tasty, Healthy Alternatives to Soda?
Sometimes you just want something sweet to drink and there's nothing with that. We've taken a close look at sugar's effect on your mind and body before. In short, you want to stay away from consuming too much of it, but don't cut it out completely. This is especially the case with soda because on top of a considerable amount of sugar, calories and high fructose corn syrup, it's often packed with sodium as well. So what's the best way to satisfy your sweet tooth without resorting to a can of Mountain Dew? Let's look at a few options
Iced Tea: The nice thing about a cold glass of unsweetened iced tea is that you can sweeten it to your liking with sugar, but skip the high fructose corn syrup. If your sweet tooth is truly tingling for a ton of sugar, a glass of sweet tea will scratch the itch without totalling trashing your teeth.
Fruit juice mixed with sparkling water or seltzer: Fruit juices like apple and orange have more calories per ounce than soda, but tossing a splash of 100% juice into some sparkling water keeps the calorie count low and still maintains a perky sweetness. It's also carbonated, so it closely matches the consistency of soda.
Make your own soda: Food blog Gilt Taste has 11 tasty recipes for making your own soda if you have your own carbonation machine at home. If you don't, you can make your own out of a few odd parts from around the house. This obviously requires a lot more work than grabbing a can out of the fridge, but the fact your recipes won't be filled with excessive amounts of sugar means they're a healthier treat.
Soda Alternatives for Caffeine Lovers
If it's the caffeine that attracts you to soda, there's some great alternatives as well. As with sugar, we've looked at how caffeine affects your brain and while it's not particularly nasty for you, it's best consumed in moderation.
Coffee: It might be the most obvious choice, but coffee usually has significantly more caffeine in it than a can of soda, so a single small cup will curb your craving for a caffeine boost. If you don't want a warm cup of coffee, you can make your own cold brew at home easily. Just go easy on the sugar.
Black or Green Tea: Black and green tea typically have more caffeine than soda and both are great alternatives since they come packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Both can be served hot or cold to match your preference. If you're looking to add a little sweetness but don't want to use sugar, honey is a good alternative.
Soda Alternatives for a Cool Drink on a Hot Day
Lemonade: While there's no scientific proof that lemonade is the absolute perfect summer drink (there should be!), it certainly quenches your thirst on hot day better than a can of soda can. Better still, you can improve on the already great taste of lemonade by adding ginger.
Arnold Palmer: Speaking of summer, nothing says a bright sunny day like a round of golf and a cold Arnold Palmer-style drink in your hand. The standard Arnold Palmer is simply 1/2 iced tea and 1/2 lemonade, but we're particular fond of commenter GringatchoDemonto's variation:
2/3 unsweetened black tea, 1/6 limeade, and 1/6 orange juice. This mix provides a caffeinated, sweet, and refreshing supplement to a can of boring old soda.
Water: Yes, there's the, "well, duh," point about the benefit of drinking water on a hot day, but it's much better at hydrating you than a can of soda because there's no sodium in it. For an always ice cold glass of water you can store water bottles in the fridge to make them just as easy to grab as a can of soda
In the end, it's all about deciding what it is about soda you love and supplementing the craving with a drink that both satisfies that craving and is healthier. These are just a few suggestions, but plenty of alternatives to soda are out there. Speaking from experience, it doesn't take long to cut the soda habit. Get rid of the soda in the fridge and find another drink you enjoy to supplement it. Within a couple weeks you'll forget soda even exists.
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