Healthy Living and Coca-Cola
Ahh, Coca-Cola. If you know Darrell and I, you know our love for this beverage has played a special part in our story! Lately, we’ve been trying to be more health-conscious and by doing so, drinking less soda. It’s very challenging and while I don’t plan to entirely “give up” my precious Cokes anytime soon (maybe one day I guess - never say never, right?) I am trying to cut back and explore lower calorie, “healthier” beverages.
Sometimes I just want something other than water, and I’ve not typically been a fan of flavored water so this has been difficult. But Darrell and I have been trying all sorts of options over the last few weeks and I thought it would be a fun discussion - and I truly mean discussion, so I would love your input!
At first, we were just buying Kool Aid Jammers to help mix things up, which aren’t like the epitome of health, but it was something other than large soft drinks. Since then, we’ve tried a number of different drinks. A few are noteworthy enough to share with y’all so here we go!!
Trader Joe’s Sparkling Strawberry Juice Beverage
God Bless Trader Joe’s! This sweet TJ’s find is apparently seasonal! So I’m not sure how much longer it will be on shelves for the year, but you should run out and grab it!! This tastes more like a sparkling juice than a sparkling water (yes I know it says that right on the can but it’s still hard to know how it will really taste just looking at it so I’m explaining!!) These cans are packaged in a 4-pack red and green box. A brief overview of the nutrition facts on a can of this sweet bubbly drink: we’re talking 60 calories, 15 grams of sugar and zero sodium. Still not great considering the sugar but in comparison to say a can of Coke… it’s better.
Hint Water
Darrell loves Hint Water! While I have not tried this myself, I wanted to include it because Darrell can’t get enough of them! He has tried several flavors and cherry is his favorite. Hint Water also sells a caffeinated beverage called Hint Water Kick and it is offered in a couple of flavors currently. Darrell’s favorite flavor of Hint Water Kick is Black Raspberry. You can find Hint Water at Walmart (at least online anyway) and other retailers. Hint water is zero calorie, zero sugar, zero diet sweetners and zero sugar! Hint Water Kick (which is the caffeinated line from this company) contains 60mg of natural caffeine in its 16oz bottle.
Hal’s New York Seltzer Water (Cola Flavor)
Ahhh my new favorite!! Darrell found this gem one day at a 7-Eleven and picked it up for me to try. I had just mentioned how I wish some of these sparkling water brands had a cola flavor because I was curious if I’d like it. It’s crazy how much I liked this! While I can see some thinking Hal’s New York Seltzer Water Cola flavor tastes like a Coke that doesn’t have enough syrup, I actually think it’s great. It’s just enough of that classic cola flavor to keep you interested. And it SMELLS like a Coke! The feel, the smell, the sound. For someone who just can’t get behind Diet or Coke Zero, this is exactly what I need! Darrell found it in bulk online and ordered us some more!! I can’t wait for it to come in.
Interestingly, Darrell had tried the Black Cherry Hal’s Seltzer Water (and for starters it exploded on him lol) but he didn’t really like the taste. He did, however, very much like the Cola flavor! We are both utterly bamboozled by this ZERO calorie, ZERO sodium, ZERO sugar beverage with - get this - 118mg caffeine!! (That’s more than double the caffeine in a same size bottle of Coke!) You can find Hal’s New York Seltzer Water Cola flavor on sites like Ebay, Amazon and Oasis Snacks.
Other Beverages
I just discovered I can buy Key Lime La Croix online from Walmart - so many people have told me that’s the best flavor - I literally just put it in my shopping cart, so the jury is still out but I will let you know my thoughts soon! I have tried the razz-cranberry La Croix and it was okay but I didn’t like it enough to finish a 12oz can.
Morning (and well mid-afternoon) tends to be the time of day I crave a Coke. I think it’s partly the caffeine/sugar and in the afternoons I think it’s also that I’m just over drinking water at that point (I am trying to drink at least 4 cups by lunchtime each day, with at least an additional 4 cups during the remainder of the day). So my coffee alternative has been a skinny tall vanilla latte from Starbucks on the occasional morning or afternoon I really need some extra umph! Unfortunately, it costs 2-3x the cost of a Coke at McDonald’s on the same strip in my neighborhood. (I say 2-3x because right now they’re not serving fountain drinks meaning a 20 oz bottle is your only Coke option and it’s rings up at $2.18 although normally a fountain drink would be like a dollar plus tax there.) I don’t mind coffee that you make in a standard coffee pot and add sugar/cream to, but the reality is I don’t drink enough of it when I have coffee/creamer at home to even warrant a coffee maker. I have thought about maybe purchasing an espresso machine since those are the types of coffee drinks I prefer, but it is unfamiliar territory so if that’s something you know a thing or two about, I’d love to learn more from you!!
Hot tea is another drink I’d like to learn about, and learn to like. It seems there are all sorts of benefits to drinking tea. If you’re a hot tea drinker, please enlighten me!