Looking for a refreshing drink to cool off in the summer heat? It’s important to have enough fluids for hydration, but that should be the primary purpose of beverages – not calories or sugar. Sugary beverages can make us feel full, but they don’t provide any nutrition benefits. So save the calories for foods! Drinks like juice, soda, bubble tea, and flavored coffees can contain up to 40 grams of sugar in just 12 ounces…that’s the equivalent of four Krispy Crème donuts!
But calorie-free beverages don’t have to be boring either. If you’ve been looking for ways to cut out the sugary drinks but don’t know what to replace them with or want something more exciting than water, here are some ideas to add flavor and excitement to your drinks:
- Try a flavored seltzer water such as La Croix, Polar, or Spindrift
- Try an iced herbal tea
- Try some cold brew coffee (use flavored grounds rather than flavored syrup pumps or creamer to add flavor without the sugar and calories)
- Try infusing water or seltzer with some of these ideas (or try your own combination!):
- Cucumber, honeydew, lemon, and mint leaves
- Mixed berries, orange slices, and ginger
- Kiwi, strawberry, and lime
- Grapefruit and rosemary sprigs
The most important thing is finding something you enjoy to meet your hydration needs. The average person needs to drink about half of their body weight in ounces of fluid per day to stay hydrated. So for someone who weighs 150lbs, this would be 75 ounces – or just over 9 cups of fluid per day! Challenge yourself to try some of these suggestions as you’re looking for refreshing ways to stay hydrated this summer.
