- Diet Coke or Pepsi (I'm one of those very rare people that don't really care which one)
- Diet Sunkist (love me some orange soda!)
- Diet Lipton Citrus Tea
- Diet Snapple 1/2 Tea 1/2 Lemonade
- Coffee with lots and lots of liquid Coffee Mate
- Tea or Iced Tea with 4 packets of Splenda
So ... yep - I'm hurting right now without the sweets to sip all day long. I've been experimenting but on purpose I'm trying to avoid going crazy with the honey and maple syrup. The goal is not to replace the sweet - but to get used to living without it so that very little actually tastes sweet. Supposedly (yes I Googled to find out!) it only takes two weeks for your taste buds to start to adjust. Here's what I've tried so far and how it is working out:
Recipe Test: Melon Cucumber Lime Infused Water
Credit: www.dashofeast.com
Click here for original recipe
INGREDIENTS:
- Honeydew Melon
- Lime
- Cucumber
- Mint Leaves
- Water
Notes: I ended up throwing this out. Simply - I went too crazy on the mint and the lime and it ended up almost tart. I'll try it again but I'll go heavy on the cucumber & melon and honestly I'll probably leave out or put in very little of the mint & lime.
Trial Recipe: Orange Infused Water
I did the same basic thing this week but instead of using any recipe I just thinly sliced oranges and put them in water.
It's not orange juice that's for sure but it has just a hint of flavor that has got me drinking more water. I'm not loving it but I'm drinking it and that's what's important.
Trial Recipe: Vanilla Cinnamon Coffee
As I've mentioned, I'm desperately missing my liquid Coffee Mate. I've basically figured out I hate coffee. It has become a vehicle for caffeine in the morning instead of a comforting ritual while waking up before work. I tried maple syrup and whole milk but at this point I have to put A LOT of syrup in there to get it as sweet as I want and like I said ... I don't want to replace one with another, I need to wait until my taste adjusts. I tried honey too - nope! Honey is for tea ... it just tasted wrong in coffee o me.
So this morning I got creative ... I took a teaspoon of vanilla extract and poured it over the grounds and took a cinnamon stick and put it down in there too. Then hit brew! I did still put a little maple syrup and whole milk (digging this brand I found at Whole Foods - made in Iowa!) in the coffee once it was brewed. (I can't hack black ... that's a goal for later ... much later!) It's still not remotely Coffee Mate but it wasn't 1/2 bad! I actually enjoyed my ritual instead of grimacing and just plowing through until the caffeine kicked in.
Cucumber Infused Water:
If you've ever been to a day spa you've probably had this. I had a leftover cucumber that I needed to use so sliced it up and into the water it goes! Into the fridge and by tomorrow it will be yummy...
Cucumber Infused Water:
If you've ever been to a day spa you've probably had this. I had a leftover cucumber that I needed to use so sliced it up and into the water it goes! Into the fridge and by tomorrow it will be yummy...
Lemonade Iced Tea:
Pure experimentation in process! I love Diet Snapple 1/2 Lemonade and 1/2 Iced Tea and have been missing it terribly. So I decided to try to make my own.
In a pot of water on the stove I warmed up some fresh sliced lemons, 3 iced tea bags and just a little honey for a touch of sweet. It's now in the fridge cooling off - I'll let you know if it is any good!
UPDATE: TOO MANY LEMONS! Blech! Good idea but I went a little crazy. Trying again. On a good note I'm getting used to water & not hating it so much. (That's at 24 days in with NO SODA!!!)
Recipe Test - Pumpkin Spice Latte:
Credit: Once a Month Mom Blog
Pretty darn good! Worth trying! See more by clicking here!
Pure experimentation in process! I love Diet Snapple 1/2 Lemonade and 1/2 Iced Tea and have been missing it terribly. So I decided to try to make my own.
In a pot of water on the stove I warmed up some fresh sliced lemons, 3 iced tea bags and just a little honey for a touch of sweet. It's now in the fridge cooling off - I'll let you know if it is any good!
UPDATE: TOO MANY LEMONS! Blech! Good idea but I went a little crazy. Trying again. On a good note I'm getting used to water & not hating it so much. (That's at 24 days in with NO SODA!!!)
Recipe Test - Pumpkin Spice Latte:
Credit: Once a Month Mom Blog
Pretty darn good! Worth trying! See more by clicking here!
JUICE!
Getting into fresh juicing. I think of it more as a salad in a glass versus something I drink all day. I'm used to (and actually kind of like!) water now so that tends to be my go to but a glass of fresh juice for lunch or drinking it as I'm cooking dinner is one of my favorite things! See more here.
3/3/12 UPDATE: It is a RARE occasion that I crave soda now. After two months I actually LIKE water! My favorite is cucumber infused water. I rarely make the fruit infused types now but I suspect that come summer I'll play with that again & probably play with juice sweetened water too. We'll see. I do believe that if I can get over this hump ANYBODY can! Just remember your taste buds will change and hang on until they do. This has been the toughest part for me at shifting to a real / whole foods diet. I know my body is better off without all that splenda, salt and well ... all those extras that you can't pronounce on the labels of soda and sweetened teas, etc.
My go to's: Water. Water with cucumber. Tea. Coffee with milk & maple syrup. And of course...
JUICE JUICE JUICE! Of course juice isn't all day long but I am getting to the point that I have one a day religiously.
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I'd love to know you visited and what you think! I'm also thankful for any ideas, tips or suggestions as I'm still learning to cook and to live a real / whole foods lifestyle.