Avoiding the Beverage Aisle: Confession of a Cola Addict

I admit it. I'm addicted to the sweet bubbly stuff. While my preference is Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Diet Dr. Pepper, I don't really have any brand loyalty. Typically I would consume 3-5 cans of soda a day. However, with the prices of soda rising and the articles warning about the health effects of diet soda, I knew I need to quit.

A price for a 2 liter of soda cost about $1.50-2.00.

If I was going to quit, I needed to avoid the beverage aisle and go cold turkey. My problem was I wanted my drink to have flavor. How could I find an acceptable alternative to that sweet stuff, but won't cause me to go broke in the long run?

Make my own drinks!

Cucumber Water. A pitcher of water with some cucumber slices is oddly very refreshing with a nice crisp flavor to the water with no extra ingredients (no sugar, preservatives). After letting the cucumber slices sit in the water overnight, I fish the slices out and save them for a small snack.

Lemon Water. A pitcher full of water with a few slices of lemon. I recommend warming up the lemon slices in the microwave for about 20 seconds, which makes the lemons juicer (flavoring the water).

Fruit Flavored Water. Strawberries are in season now, so we have bunch in the house. I sliced up a few strawberries and added them to a pitcher of water. It taste pretty good. For a sweeter taste like the bottled flavored water, I would probably add a teaspoon or two of sugar (not much). I also tried it with a kiwi.

Iced Tea. Add some hot water to a few bags of tea to brew, then place in the refrigerator. You can flavor how ever you want....sugar, mint, lemon, ginger (saw it in a Kung-Fu movie, don't knock it until you try it). Home brewed iced tea is so much better than the bottle store bought variety, which is more of a sugary, syrup than tea.

At night I fill a couple of water bottles with one of my homemade brews so I have a cold drink while at work. I'm able to quench my thirst without spending money at the vending machines or visiting the grocery store beverage aisle.