Try these 9 tasty things to drink instead of soda and break the soda habit!

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Happy New Year, friends!! Hope you’ve had a great holiday season! Do you have a traditional New Year’s Day meal that you eat for good luck? We make pork and sauerkraut every year. I never considered myself a superstitious person until one year on New Year’s Day I almost didn’t have it, and I swear I had a mild panic attack.

And then I went to the store and bought pork and sauerkraut. Like a crazy person.

Anyway, for those of you who don’t already know, my blogger besties and I run a 21 Day Fix Recipes, Tips and Support group on Facebook. One of the most common questions we get in there is “What can I drink instead of soda?” and/or “Can I get some tips on how to drink more water?” I think during this time of year especially, when we’re all trying to get a little healthier, these questions are on many of our minds.

Cutting out soda (or pop! This NE Ohio girl calls it pop) can be a game changer as far as getting to your weight loss goals. I’ve seen people lose weight just from doing that alone. You don’t even realize how many calories you’re taking in when you’re drinking them, so let’s stop doing that, shall we?

What Can I Drink Instead of Soda (that isn’t plain water)?

1. The closest natural product that you’re going to find to soda is Zevia. It’s a zero calorie, zero sugar, zero artificial anything (including coloring, it’s clear!) soda. It’s also gluten free, non-GMO verified, kosher and vegan. It uses all natural stevia as it’s sweetener and still contains caffeine if you’re looking for that (there are caffeine free varieties as well). If you’re trying to drink more water, this isn’t the way to do it, but it’s a nice treat every now and then. If you’re on the 21 Day Fix, I would count one of these as 1 sweetener teaspoon to account for the stevia and wouldn’t count it towards your water intake.
2. Flavored carbonated waters such as La Croix, Polar, Dasani, etc. There are honestly too many companies making these lately to name them all! Even my grocery store has generic ones that are fantastic. This is actually my top pick and what I do when I’m craving dem bubbles! I love that I still get to enjoy that routine of opening the can, hearing that satisfyingly fizzy sound and feeling the bubbles. A few quick notes on these…
   1. Check your ingredient label! Make sure that the ingredients don’t mention sweeteners of any kind. Really they should only say “carbonated water, fruit essence/natural flavors” or something like that.
   2. Know that these are a bit of an acquired taste for some. When I first had one they tasted a bit bitter to me, but I was REALLY craving soda at the time and drank them anyway. By the time I got to the third can or so, it didn’t taste bitter at all and I really enjoyed it!
3. Mix together your favorite unsweetened juice and carbonated water. I love doing this! 21 Day Fixers, every 4 oz of juice counts as 1 purple treat swap.
4. Add fruit and/or herbs to carbonated or regular water. I love pineapple, cucumber, berries, mint, basil and citrus!
5. Make your own carbonated water with a Soda Stream and do any of the things I just mentioned!
6. A Fruit smoothie. I love just throwing fruit and almond milk in my blender and making something dessert worthy! Here are some great tips for making smoothies at home 🙂
7. A protein shake. 
8. Flavored iced teas. There are so many delicious flavored teas out there that taste amazing without any sweetener, so sometimes in the summer I’ll brew some and put it over ice for a super refreshing, sugar free drink.
9. Iced coffee. This is great if you’re still wanting the caffeine that you were used to getting from soda, but need something cold. You can add a bit of natural sweetener if you like, just be sure to count it towards your sweetener teaspoons for the day if you’re doing the 21 Day Fix.

Something else to think about… if you’re not digging the taste of your tap water, get a Brita water pitcher. They’re not super expensive (under $20) and they reduce the impurities in your water, which makes your water taste great! I can hardly remember a time when we didn’t use one and wouldn’t want to go without it.

Ok, I hope that having this list of 9 things to drink instead of soda has given you some ideas to help you cut it out of your life, because you deserve it! If you’re looking for more healthy tips and recipes, sign up here for my weekly emails!