What else can I drink?!!
 

So, I gave up soda 3 months ago, best thing I ever did. Since then I drink a glass fo sweet tea in the am and one for lunch and one with dinner. In between I drink water or water and lemon. When I wake up I crave something sweet to drink and water doesn't cut it. Though, I'd like to kick the sweet tea, actually tea period out of my eating habits.

Any ideas for healthy things to make my new addiction?

It's not a problem yet, but it may be. I'm still losing weight and I don't eat cookies or brownies or ice cream like I used to except very rarely. I'm trying to just make small changes slowly that will make a difference.

So, what do yall drink other than plain boring water? I want something without sugar, I'm trying to eventually cut sugar out from my diet all together. Other than fruits.

So, any healthy smoothies with no sugar, just something tasty for my morning wake up drink!

amber

EDIT: I just noticed you want to stop drinking tea altogether, so nevermind the below advice. :p I'll leave it here in case it helps anyone else, though.

It sounds like you're opposed to artificial sweeteners, is that true?

If not, you could just make sweet tea with a calorie-free sweetener... it may take some experimenting to figure out which one you like the best, but there are SO MANY options. Sucralose (splenda), aspartame (nutrasweet), stevia, xylitol, lo han guo, etc.

There are also mixes if you want it REALLY convenient - there are lots of Crystal Light tea flavors (dunno if there's just plain tea), and I think there's a tea-flavored Mio as well.

Have you tried some of the flavored (but not sweetened) waters out there for a treat? They are a little pricey (but not really that much more than bottled water). I get a couple of different kinds at Whole Foods. Metromint makes several different mint flavored ones - spearmint, peppermint, lemon mint, orange mint, chocolate mint (tastes like drinking girl scout cookies!). I also like "hint" which has various fruit flavor essences and there's Ayala's herbal waters (I like ginger lemon peel and rosemary vanilla mint).

At home I also like to put a pitcher of filtered water in the fridge with paper thin cucumber slices which flavor the water - very refreshing for sipping on all day in the summer.

You could probably "make" mint water yourself with a few drops of mint extract, if you like that flavor.

And, of course, you could always start cutting back on the sweetness in your sweet tea, if you start slowly, you may not even notice the difference, until you can stand it with little or no sugar - and then there are tons of wonderful flavored (but not sweetened) teas out there you could experiment with - espeically herbal/fruit ones. I love the Teavana herbal (and other) teas, becuase there are no fillers or artificial flavors, just herbs/dried fruits - they can be a bit pricey though, so again, that's more of a treat than an everyday thing for me.

I don't know if you are a coffee drinker, but I also love iced coffee in the afternoon.

Good luck!

Have you tried MIO drops? You put it into plain water and it tastes similar to Crystal Light. Zero calories. I've been meaning to try it in club soda.

Last night I tried something suggested by a healthy eating website. Pour a small amount of fruit juice into club soda. It was okay, but not worth the calories added by the juice. BUT, I do want to try it with orange juice and see if it is any better....I used blueberry/pomegranate last night.

My favorite drink right now is a lemon-lime flavored store brand version of Crystal Light. I don't follow the instructions, which state one packet to 2 quarts; I add 1 packet to a gallon of water. It is really refreshing and not overpoweringly sweet.

You could also make Italian sodas with sugar free Torani/DaVinci syrups (just unflavored carbonated water and a little syrup to your liking). Many companies add a little bit of flavoring to their carbonated/selter waters as well.

Is there a reason why you want to remove all tea? Green tea is pretty healthy and you could lightly sweeten it with honey or a sugar substitute.

Finally, if you are looking for smoothie recipes, how about a vanilla flavored protein mix with frozen fruit mixed in?

This is good too! I also like the essence flavored (orange or lemon or berry), but unsweetened soda waters (like La Croix).

Thank you all for the replies! I have so many fun things to try now!

There isn't a particular reason it's a slow moving goal I'd like to get to. I'm just trying to do healthy all the way around. No caffeine, and no stains on my teeth. I may try green tea that is supposed to be good for you. It's not set in stone, cause I love tea but I do need to cut back on the sugar in it for sure!

Herb and spice teas - the ones in blends often have licorice as a sweetening agent. If you started eating liquorice by the bucketload, you might get side effects, but at the rate of a small amount in a few cups of herbal tea a day, you're fine. I'm very fond of the Yogi tea range, particularly the Choco and Sweet Chilli teas.

How about diluting a small amount of fruit juice in plain or sparkling water? I don't generally like fruit juice to be diluted, but I prefer grapefruit juice that way, it's too sour when it's neat. Pink grapefruit juice, to be precise.

White tea is an option if you are worried about stains. Tea has good antioxidants. White tea is better than green which is better than black. There are also a variety of herbal teas. Check out celestial seasonings. Tazo also has a nice herbal tea.

I loved iced herbal tea. The Celestial Seasonings will brew up cold - 4 bags in a 1 quart Nalgene bottle, or 2 bags in a 20 ounce bottle. It takes a couple hours, but it can sit as long as 12 hours. All the zinger flavors are GREAT iced, and they have a hint of sweetness to them.

Tried the MiO drops with club soda last night. DELISH!!!! I wish the MiO people would make a cola version of their drops.