Sweet nothings: 7 tasty drinks to help you break up with soft drinks
by Gael Myers, Accredited Practising Dietitian
- November 20, 2020
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Let’s face it; we all know that water is the healthiest drink. But sometimes that just doesn’t cut it when you’re struggling to resist the temptation of a soft drink. We’ve been busy creating and testing out a range of delicious, low-sugar drink options to bridge the gap and help you confidently break up with sugary drinks.
Whether you favour fruity flavours, mellow iced tea blends, vibrant smoothies or the energising hit of a milky coffee, there’s something for everyone in our brand new batch of drink recipes.
Coffee blizzard
Dump the added sugar laden options available at the servo and switch to this easy peasy blended iced coffee. Milk ice cubes give the coffee blizzard a gorgeous fluffy texture that beats any fast food shake by a country mile. Skip the dates if the natural sweetness of milk is enough for your palate.
Cherry creaming soda
This fizzy sensation feels like its straight off the menu of a 50s diner. Keep a napkin handy for when the sparkling water hits the frozen cherry mixture – it will fizz up like a volcano! Our cherry creaming soda is the ultimate quick and easy low-sugar alternative to soft drink.
Popeye’s punch
A LiveLighter take on the popular green smoothie. This vibrant green drink delivers fruity sweetness to your tastebuds before revealing a powerful punch of earthy green goodness. A great way to sneak in some extra leafy greens if you’re struggling to make friends with salad.
Watermelon fizz
If summer could be condensed into a drink, this would be it. The refreshing watermelon fizz has less than a third of the sugar of soft drink, and most of that comes from the blended fruit. For an even lower sugar option skip the table sugar and let the sweetness of the watermelon shine through.
Iced London fog
We’ve adapted the classic British beverage to help you stay cool in a sweltering Australian summer. Earl Grey tea is combined with milk and a touch of maple syrup.
Did you know that bergamot oil, the ingredient that gives Earl Grey its characteristic floral flavour, actually comes from a fragrant citrus fruit and not a flower or herb?
Today I learned…
Choc cherry bomb
Delicious as a breakfast smoothie, dinner party dessert or afternoon pick me up, this decadent-tasting drink is so thick and creamy you’ll need a spoon to get through it. The original recipe includes regular ol’ milk but we think it would also work well with plant-based alternatives. Let us know in the comments section if you have experimented with any milk modifications and how it went!
Iced latte
Sometimes, you just can’t beat a classic. Our iced latte recipe combines coffee, milk and ice with a touch of vanilla for an extra flavour boost. Use instant, plunger or espresso coffee – whatever you have on hand! We experimented with both instant coffee and an espresso shot from a coffee pod and to be honest, we couldn’t taste much of a difference. Challenge a coffee snob near you!
The not so small print
We did A LOT of testing of these drink recipes, and without the addition of a little bit of sugar, they just weren’t appealing enough for our testing panel. We’d love people to switch straight from soft drink to water, but we know this can be difficult for some people in some situations (like celebrations!). Our new drink recipes give you tasty and fun options to reach for that won’t compromise your health goals. Click here to find out more about our healthy drink guidelines.
If you are ready to jump straight from sugary drinks to water check out our jazzy water combinations – there’s pineapple and sage, cucumber skewers, citrus and strawberry and mint. So pretty, and so simple!
