Wonder-studio/stock.adobe.com.
This article comes from Nutrition Action. We don't accept any paid advertising or corporate or government donations. Any products we recommend have been vetted by our staff and are not advertisements by the manufacturers.
We've rounded up some drinks that don’t top 10 calories or 1 gram of sugar. Some are unsweetened; others use safer sweeteners (monk fruit or stevia extract) and no aspartame, sucralose, or acesulfame potassium. Cheers!
Sodastream Bubly Drops
LaCroix, Bubly, Polar, AHA—you name it. Flavored unsweetened seltzer is easy to find in cans or bottles.
But now anyone with a SodaStream or other fizzy-water maker can join the calorie-free party. To avoid overfizzing, wait until after your liter of water has been carbonated before you add the ¾ teaspoon of Bubly Drops “unsweetened natural flavor essence” (aka natural flavor).
Lime, Grapefruit, Orange, Peach, Mango...the list goes on. To find your fave, try sodastream.com or amazon.com.
The Republic of Tea iced teas
If you’re an iced-tea devotee, brewing your own beats buying bottled. You can lose the sugar...and spare the planet some plastic.
Quart-size brew pouches like The Republic of Tea’s make it easy. The tea bags are made without plastic, says the company. Try unsweetened Iced Teas like Ginger Peach or herbal Hibiscus Sangria, or Sweet Tea, which gets its subtle sweetness from monk fruit. Not at your supermarket? Try republicoftea.com.
Another option: Use a metal infuser to brew your favorite loose-leaf tea.
Zevia
Want a “zero sugar” or “diet” Coke, Cherry Coke, Barq’s, Dr Pepper, Mtn Dew, or Orange Fanta, but without their aspartame, acesulfame potassium, or sucralose? Stevia-sweetened Zevia serves up each of those flavors…plus Ginger Ale, Grapefruit Citrus, Cream Soda, Black Cherry, Grape, Strawberry, and Lemon Lime Twist. Pick from more than a dozen in all.
What’s missing? Pour one, and it’ll be clear. No. Really clear. There are no food dyes or caramel color. And Zevia’s calories? What calories?
Chobani Cold Brew Pure Black
Cold brewing—soaking ground coffee in cold water for hours—is hot. It yields a smooth brew that tastes great iced. Nearly every brand, from Starbucks to La Colombe, now sells it by the bottle and without sugar.
New to unsweetened joe? Try mild-tasting Chobani Pure Black over ice or with milk. Just keep in mind that a 12 oz. serving has as much caffeine (120 mg) as, well, 12 oz. of coffee.
Spindrift Unsweetened Lemonade
Spindrift’s line of lightly fizzy Unsweetened Lemonade gets its mouth-puckering flavor from a dash of lemon and lime juices, plus strawberry purée (in the Strawberry Lemonade) or cherry and raspberry juices (in the Pink Lemonade). Yum!
Another can’t-miss Spindrift variety: the Half Tea & Half Lemon.
Look for them all at Target.
True Lemon
Each True Lemon Original Lemonade Drink Mix packet adds just 10 calories to your 16 oz. glass of water. And it’s plenty sweet, mostly from stevia, not its smidgen (1 gram) of sugar.
And just think about the options: You can carry a packet for your water bottle on the go. You can add extra water if you like less sweet. You can mix it with unsweetened iced tea (hello, Arnold Palmer).
Bonus: You don’t have to lug home a heavy plastic bottle that may never get recycled.
Want to “add the delicious taste of fresh squeezed fruit to your water” (when there’s no real citrus around)? Keep zero-calorie packets of the company’s unsweetened True Lemon or Lime or Grapefruit on hand.
