Tired of tea & water...what do you drink?

[Crazy PreK Teacher]

I always drink tea & water every day. I use lemon or lime only...no sweeteners. I am not a coffee drinker. Occasionally, during the winter I drink hot cocoa.

I am thinking about trying something else...as I'm really tired of the same ole' thing. I have contemplated drinking Crystal Light...made w/ double water. I can't handle it full strength. Diet sodas are out...haven't drank them in 7 years...they cause me to feel bloated & weird feeling.

Any thoughts or ideas??????

[Stevie Renee]

I drink spa water. I take cold water, slice up cucumbers and oranges, a bit of lime and mint and let it marry.


I also use True Lemon. It is a lemonade flavor (5 calories) sweetened with Stevia. Get it at your local market.

Crystal Light tastes good but has yucky aspertime.

I also drink very diluted iced, decaf coffee with a wee bit of hnh and stevia. I know you don't like coffee but this is really light and refreshing.

[MagieDen]

How about Mio to put in your water?

[Nicole T]

I drink seltzer water with lime

[dazygyrl]

i'm bad. can't stand plain water. i drink way more fluids if i make a dilute crystal light. the AS doesn't bother, i figure it's better than not drinking at all.

[manders]

I take cold water and put sweet-n-low in it with real lemon juice and ice for lemonade. It tastes SO good.

I also do a lot of iced coffee with sweetener. Sometimes if I want to shake things up, I do soda water with sugar-free raspberry flavouring for an italian soda. Or an iced green or black tea with sweetener for a refreshing non-bubbly drink.

[dazygyrl]

lipton make a great sparkling diet strawberry kiwi tea!! very yummy!!

[Crazy PreK Teacher]

TY for all the ideas!!! Gonna try some this week. I love lemonade...so gonna try that one first

[MissKaylaPaige]

I use mio in my water, and it's so good I have to stop myself from chugging my whole glass down at once.

[Crazy PreK Teacher]

OK ladies...

Question about sweeteners: I went looking for a different sweetener. I usually use the yellow splenda. I wanted something more natural. I've heard that stevia is more natural. I noticed the ingredient is malt o dextrin. I looked it up and it says it is derived from corn and wheat... So it is sugar-based not chemical-based. Does anyone know if this is okay to use? I hear people using it but now I wonder if it's adding sugar to our diet

Thanks!!!

[fiddlejen]

I don't get this with stevia? Are these stevia brands that have stuff added to them? Because stevia is a plant leaf that is just way too sweet. Originally it only came from health food stores, sold as stevia Extract in little tiny bottles with droppers. In that form it is very very sweet but also it has a kinda green taste. But now there are plenty of crystallized versions, and with no weird greenish taste. Perhaps stuff is being added to make it more "sugar"-like and less "plant"-like??

[manders]

Originally Posted by Crazy PreK Teacher

OK ladies...

Question about sweeteners: I went looking for a different sweetener. I usually use the yellow splenda. I wanted something more natural. I've heard that stevia is more natural. I noticed the ingredient is malt o dextrin. I looked it up and it says it is derived from corn and wheat... So it is sugar-based not chemical-based. Does anyone know if this is okay to use? I hear people using it but now I wonder if it's adding sugar to our diet

Thanks!!!

I'm not sure, but I can tell you that I LOVE sweet-n-low and think it's better than any other sweetener I've used, and I've almost used them all.

[Crazy PreK Teacher]

I found this in an old thread...kinda answers my question...now I need to find stevia in bulk or in liquid form. Never seen either one of them.


Regarding the use of stevia, there are several cookbooks out now that are dedicated to the use of stevia in baking and cooking. Haven't had a chance to get one and take it for a test-drive yet, but I've been a fan of stevia for about five years now.

The BEST stevia - by far - that I've found is the bulk product by NOW. NOW has a new organic version called Better Stevia which does not include inulin. Their other bulk stevia has inulin, which is the only other ingredient. From what I understand, inulin further stabilizes blood sugar. Not sure why this is added, though, since stevia has been proven to NOT cause blood sugar fluctuations.

Good idea: Avoid stevia in packets. The feds allow a product to have only 2% of an ingredient to claim that ingredient as being the active agent. Stevia in packets contains a list of sugars in disguised names (maltodextrin, dextrose, etc.) and stevia is one of the LAST ingredients listed. You may be getting stevia in a packet, but you're getting a ton of other junk that is the opposite of every benefit stevia offers.

Great idea: Buy the stevia in bulk (it's super cheap - $54 for a huge canister that lasts us about nine months, even though we put stevia in everything and use NO sugar at all), and carry it in a small container when you leave the house. My container of choice is the M & M's Minis. They have a tight-fitting lid that does not pop open in my purse - ever. I've used them for about eight years now and they are wonderful - and really cheap to replace when the lid hinge becomes weak from use!!

And bulk stevia is a zillion times more powerful than the packet stuff. I use one level demitasse spoonful to sweet a half gallon of iced tea. You can understand why a canister of it lasts so long!

I live in Florida, the land of Nose Snow (cocaine, etc.). It always cracks me up when I open my M & M's Minis container in a restaurant and add my stevia to my beverage. The highly interested looks from others is a hoot! "What's the magic powder you are putting in your drink?" "What ELSE does it do?!" and other comments have been hilarious.

Once I left my M & M's Minis container in a restaurant. I had barely gotten out the door before I realized it was gone, and turned around immediately to retrieve it. It was gone. <POOF> Missing. My table hadn't even been cleared yet, but the container with the magic white powder was nowhere to be found, and no one know ANYTHING about it! My sons and I laughed so hard at the thought of the staff doing lines of stevia in the kitchen!!! As powerful as this natural sweetner is, I can only imagine what happened on its way up someone's nose.

Sorry. I have a twisted sense of humor. Especially when it comes to people who don't have good sense, then lie about it!

[Crazy PreK Teacher]

Originally Posted by manders

I'm not sure, but I can tell you that I LOVE sweet-n-low and think it's better than any other sweetener I've used, and I've almost used them all.

I have tried sweet-n-low so many times...just cannot handle it...TOO BITTER...lol. My hubby will ONLY use the pink stuff, too...he grew up on it. Unfortunately, it's PURE chemical and one of the worst sweeteners out there to specifically cause cancers.

[Reddy]

Originally Posted by Crazy PreK Teacher

I found this in an old thread...kinda answers my question...now I need to find stevia in bulk or in liquid form. Never seen either one of them.


Regarding the use of stevia, there are several cookbooks out now that are dedicated to the use of stevia in baking and cooking. Haven't had a chance to get one and take it for a test-drive yet, but I've been a fan of stevia for about five years now.

The BEST stevia - by far - that I've found is the bulk product by NOW. NOW has a new organic version called Better Stevia which does not include inulin. Their other bulk stevia has inulin, which is the only other ingredient. From what I understand, inulin further stabilizes blood sugar. Not sure why this is added, though, since stevia has been proven to NOT cause blood sugar fluctuations.

Good idea: Avoid stevia in packets. The feds allow a product to have only 2% of an ingredient to claim that ingredient as being the active agent. Stevia in packets contains a list of sugars in disguised names (maltodextrin, dextrose, etc.) and stevia is one of the LAST ingredients listed. You may be getting stevia in a packet, but you're getting a ton of other junk that is the opposite of every benefit stevia offers.

Great idea: Buy the stevia in bulk (it's super cheap - $54 for a huge canister that lasts us about nine months, even though we put stevia in everything and use NO sugar at all), and carry it in a small container when you leave the house. My container of choice is the M & M's Minis. They have a tight-fitting lid that does not pop open in my purse - ever. I've used them for about eight years now and they are wonderful - and really cheap to replace when the lid hinge becomes weak from use!!

And bulk stevia is a zillion times more powerful than the packet stuff. I use one level demitasse spoonful to sweet a half gallon of iced tea. You can understand why a canister of it lasts so long!

I live in Florida, the land of Nose Snow (cocaine, etc.). It always cracks me up when I open my M & M's Minis container in a restaurant and add my stevia to my beverage. The highly interested looks from others is a hoot! "What's the magic powder you are putting in your drink?" "What ELSE does it do?!" and other comments have been hilarious.

Once I left my M & M's Minis container in a restaurant. I had barely gotten out the door before I realized it was gone, and turned around immediately to retrieve it. It was gone. <POOF> Missing. My table hadn't even been cleared yet, but the container with the magic white powder was nowhere to be found, and no one know ANYTHING about it! My sons and I laughed so hard at the thought of the staff doing lines of stevia in the kitchen!!! As powerful as this natural sweetner is, I can only imagine what happened on its way up someone's nose.

Sorry. I have a twisted sense of humor. Especially when it comes to people who don't have good sense, then lie about it!

OMG that's too funny! I bet it burned their noses if they tried to snort it! Wow!

I live in FL too, where in FL are you?

I used to love Sweet n Low, it's what my mom always used when I was a kid. I never cared for Splenda but I decided I like Equal best. When I was on Atkins I Switched to Splenda though b/c I worried that the Apartame was causing issues for me.

I've been using Truvia and Liquid Flavored Stevia since doing HCG and I really like it. At first It had a weird after taste but I've gotten used to it and really enjoy it. I've gone through almost a full bottle since starting this a few weeks ago! Knowing it's more natural, I'll stick with Stevia from here on out. But glad to know to avoid the packet kind... liquid it is!

[Crazy PreK Teacher]

Originally Posted by Reddy

OMG that's too funny! I bet it burned their noses if they tried to snort it! Wow!

I live in FL too, where in FL are you?

I used to love Sweet n Low, it's what my mom always used when I was a kid. I never cared for Splenda but I decided I like Equal best. When I was on Atkins I Switched to Splenda though b/c I worried that the Apartame was causing issues for me.

I've been using Truvia and Liquid Flavored Stevia since doing HCG and I really like it. At first It had a weird after taste but I've gotten used to it and really enjoy it. I've gone through almost a full bottle since starting this a few weeks ago! Knowing it's more natural, I'll stick with Stevia from here on out. But glad to know to avoid the packet kind... liquid it is!

I'm not in FL....
this was taken from an old thread...lol

[Arcangela]

Has anyone tried Nectresse yet? I saw an ad for it in the paper and just looked up the website. Apparently it's made from monkfruit extract.

I put a strawberry in my glass of water and just let it sit all day. The flavor seeps in gradually.

[MagieDen]

I use SweetLeaf 100% Natural Stevia Sweetner on P2. Chemical Free, Plus Fiber, GMO-Free, Gluten-Free.

[Crazy PreK Teacher]

Originally Posted by MagieDen

I use SweetLeaf 100% Natural Stevia Sweetner on P2. Chemical Free, Plus Fiber, GMO-Free, Gluten-Free.

Where do you buy it?

[MagieDen]

Originally Posted by Crazy PreK Teacher

Where do you buy it?

I usually get it in my local Supermarket(Meijer) in the packets. I bought some from Netrition but it is a bit pricey for 70 packets. I believe it was 5.99 but my local grocery store was out of it. Maybe your grocery store has it? I use 1/2 packet when I need sweetner on P2. I am working on reducing my use of AFS's. One day at a time.

[dbunny]

There are a ton of different club sodas out there.. I am loving on coconut and peach pear La Croix this summer. I also use Sweetleaf Root Beer and Lemon Drop drops.
And MissKaylaPaige is right~ Mio is pretty dang tasty, in water or club soda... or splashed in some plain greek yogurt... the mango peach is great!

[Reddy]

Originally Posted by Crazy PreK Teacher

I'm not in FL....
this was taken from an old thread...lol

Ahh ok. I was confused too b/c it said Fort Worth on the right!

[MerryKate]

Originally Posted by Arcangela

Has anyone tried Nectresse yet? I saw an ad for it in the paper and just looked up the website. Apparently it's made from monkfruit extract. .

I'd like to hear about this one, too. I just saw it at the supermarket and am curious to know how it tastes, compared to other low-cal sweeteners. According to the label, it's erythritol, monk fruit, sugar and molasses, which makes me think it might be a good brown sugar substitute. Because of that cute little labeling loophole at the FDA, they can call it calorie-free. My question is, what's the real carb count? And is it worth the price? They're offering a free sample at their website, so I'm going to try it before buying.

[adelinesdream]

I love vitamin water zero, it's sweetened with stevia but it does have 4 carbs.

[mamabear702]

Sparkling water & flavored stevia

[LaraSuzz]

I've heard st. croix is good.. diet soda found it at Frys and someone said Target too.

[jt_gmotu]

All Stevias are not alike.
Stevia in the Raw has Dextrose as the "carrier" ....(another word for Sugar)

Truvia has erythritol, I believe.

SweetLeaf brand in the packets does not blend too well in cold liquids.
I use the following Sweetleaf Liquid Stevias

In water --> Berry, Grape, Lemon Drop, Root Beer
In tea --> Lemon Drop
In coffee --> Vanilla Cream, peppermint, chocolate, chocolate raspberry

There are a bunch of other flavors too...I can get them locally at healthfood stores...and Netrition and other online places have them...but not all flavors.

I haven't tried Mio Drops... And I've heard the Capella Flavor Drops are another option...and they have plenty of flavors available!

HTH,
Jodie in AZ
R4P3

[morplease]

I occasionally drink a soda called Zevia that is sweetened with Stevia, and they have quite a variety of flavours (the cola flavour is not very good, but the root beer is awesome). Krisda is also good which is sort of like Crystal Light but it is sweetened with Stevia. Other than water, coffee, and brewed tea, I also like grapefruit flavoured Perrier (soda water). But as already said on this thread, not all Stevia is the same and I have no idea if those drinks have been sweetened with a good quality stevia extract or not.

[Stevie Renee]

Originally Posted by morplease

I occasionally drink a soda called Zevia that is sweetened with Stevia, and they have quite a variety of flavours (the cola flavour is not very good, but the root beer is awesome). Krisda is also good which is sort of like Crystal Light but it is sweetened with Stevia. Other than water, coffee, and brewed tea, I also like grapefruit flavoured Perrier (soda water). But as already said on this thread, not all Stevia is the same and I have no idea if those drinks have been sweetened with a good quality stevia extract or not.

Mmm, grapefruit. Sounds nice.

I forgot about Zevia. I usually pour a huge glass of water and just a smidge of the Black cherry Zevia to add flavor. Very nice and refreshing.