- Yield:1 serving
- Difficulty:Easy
- Time:5 minutes
Addicted to soft drinks? I have got just the remedy for you! It’s easier, far cheaper, and fits just about every diet known to man. In fact, I’m drinking it now! Some soft drinks have gone ‘retro’ and are advertising that they are sweetened with sugar, making it sound like it’s a health drink or something. This water tastes just about as good as any soda and it has no high fructose corn syrup, sugar, or any of the other nasty stuff that’s in soft drinks these days. All it is is the juice and flavors from real fruit. You would think that the flavor isn’t as strong as an artificially flavored drink but nature can surprise you! I will list different combinations that will surely please most palates.
You can sweeten it or not, you can use plain water or sparkling water or club soda. Personally, I am not a fan of carbonation but if you are, then by all means use it! I use a combination of stevia and either monk fruit or sucralose—whichever I have on hand. Many people have a thing against sucralose, but I have been using it since they first came out with it (which is longer than some people’s lives) and I’m still alive (thriving, in fact), though I don’t use very much anymore.
Although the possibilities are endless, I will give you five combinations: Black & Blue, Mojito, Lemon Lime, Kiwi Strawberry, and Apple Cinnamon (not pictured).
Ingredients:
Black & Blue
- 8 large blackberries, mashed with a fork
- ¼ cup blueberries frozen then thawed and mashed with a fork
- Sweetener of choice
- Water, unflavored sparkling water, or club soda
Mojito
- ½ sliced lime or 5 sliced key limes—you can use lemon juice but the whole fruit slice with the rind on gives it more flavor
- ½ cup mint leaves
- Sweetener of choice
- Water, unflavored sparkling water, or club soda
Lemon Lime
- ½ sliced lime or 5 sliced key limes
- ½ sliced lemon
- Sweetener of choice
- Water, unflavored sparkling water, or club soda
Kiwi Strawberry
- 2 sliced kiwis with skin removed
- 4-5 sliced large ripe strawberries, or 8 small ones
- Sweetener of choice
- Water, unflavored sparkling water, or club soda
Apple Cinnamon
- 1 sliced apple
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- Sweetener of choice
- Water, unflavored sparkling water, or club soda
Directions:
With the other fruit, just slice it and drop it in the water! Same with the mint leaves. They will release their flavor if you just drop them in the water. If you live in a cooler climate (New York, Wisconsin, etc.) you can grow mint effortlessly. I have some growing right outside my door now! The plant is more invasive in New York, when I planted it there it threatened to take over the entire neighborhood. Not sure if that’s a bad thing, since mosquitos don’t like it!
Let the fruit soak in the water for a half hour or so. When you drink the water, you can re-use the fruit a few times.
Nutrition:
ZERO calories unless you eat the fruit. Zero is my favorite number when it comes to calories!
