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Thursday, March 21, 2013

Weaning Off Diet Soda

One of the Wendys plans to wean off diet cola and non-carbonated powdered diet drinks in the coming weeks. We all know they contain artificial sweeteners, colorings and various other chemicals that are not good for us, but we all also know that plain water is "boring" and tastes like nothing! 

I used to drink a lot of diet cola and add the little zero-calorie drink packets to my drinking water, but I weaned myself off, and you can too. Winter is the perfect season in which to do this, and you can be totally weaned by the time hot weather comes around again. The key is to treat yourself right during the weaning. Before you start, treat yourself to a nice new drinking bottle if you're on-the-go or a set of new drinking glasses if you stay at home. I love the Nalgene 32 ounce wide mouth bottle. You can get a brand new one in a fun color for around $10. (Just google "Nalgene 32 oz"!).



Here is a list of beverages that you can try for your weaning! I love all of these. 

1. Coconut water -  I can't say enough about coconut water! It has electrolytes and is amazingly hydrating and naturally delicious! Yes, it is expensive. Try to cut something else from your budget, because coconut water is worth it. 

2. Plain sparkling water + juice (be sure your juices are not sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or sugar). Try doing a half-and-half mixture. If it's not sweet enough, try 2/3 juice and 1/3 sparkling water for a week and then cut back to half-and-half. 

3. 1/2 coconut water + 1/2 water. Add ice and a lime slice. 

4. Sparkling water with slices of lemon, lime, and/or orange in it

5. 1/2 sparkling apple juice or grape juice + 1/2 sparkling water - so bubbly and good!

6. Dissolve some honey in hot water. Add cold water and some fresh mint leaves and plenty of ice. 

7.  Emergen-C. Try mixing a packet with some cold water and some ice and shake it hard to mix the drink. Don't add too much more than 12 oz water or it tends to taste overly watered down and gross. 

8. Good Earth Original Sweet & Spicy Tea -  If you like cinnamon, this tea is delicious and naturally sweet without any added sugar! Brew a batch and stash it in your 'fridge. 
Add it to your bottle with ice, and it's also great with a few orange slices.


Obviously, you want to intersperse these fun drinks with plain water. You will quickly reset your tastebuds, and after even just a week, diet colas will taste bad to you.

Good luck and let me know how your weaning goes! 



xo Dani Wendy

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