The Beverage Desert

[foxgrrl]

Why is it so hard to find something to drink? Oh yeah, because I don't want to drink:

• Tap Water
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Aspartame (NutraSweet)
• Alcohol
• Milk
• Caffeine
• Excessive amounts of Sugar

Dear Lazyweb: What kind of drinks can I put into my body? Note that most fruit juice available in the United States is fortified with High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Update:
Ok, small amounts of Caffeine and non-HFCS sugar are ok. I just don't want a lot of those most of the time.

Comments

[mooflyfoof.livejournal.com]

I am a big (huge) fan of Crystal Geyser Juice Squeezes. They are just fruit juice (mixes) and fizzy water. No HFCS, no caffeine, no sugar added. My favorite drink ever.

Also, you can find regular fruit juice that's not full of added sugar or HFCS. Look for the ones labeled "100% juice". Usually if it's something tart like cranberry juice and or grapefruit juice that means it's been sweetened with apple juice or grape juice.

Limonata is really tasty. It's like super fizzy lemonade. Reed's Ginger Beer is great too. No HFCS in either of these, but they do have sugar. On that note, many higher end root beers eschew HFCS for real sugar-- just read the label. Tasty treat, no caffeine.

On the off chance that you occasionally want to drink something caffeinated, look for Mexican Coke. It's sweetened with sugar rather than HFCS.

Also, Crystal Geyser natural mineral water is great. Way nicer than tap water, comes in a few different flavors, no calories. It doesn't have aspartame, it's just not sweetened at all. Like fizzy water with a lemon wedge in it.

Lastly, I find that tap water is actually quite tasty if you refrigerate it (and Brita filter it-- though SF water is great even without being filtered).

This post speaks to me because that's basically my list of "things I don't want to drink" too. :)

Edit: Of course! Tea! Make it yourself. Add only a little sugar. Maybe soymilk, if you're into that. I'm really fond of Earl Grey, which is caffeinated. Samovar has a great take on the Earl Grey concept with their Earl Red -- it's an herbal tea, so no caffeine. There are tons of different uncaffeinated teas out there; go to Whole Foods and buy a few to see what you like! Check out Mighty Leaf -- expensive but really nice teas.