Low cal / no cal cold beverage recipes

honkytonks85
honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
in Recipes
Hey like the post title suggests I am looking for your best recipes for low / no calorie ice cold beverages. I drink a lot of coke no sugar but trying to cut back on that due to its effect on teeth.
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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,168 Member
    Iced matcha with a citrus wedge, or plain sparkling water with a few dashes of bitters are my favorites.

    Lately, the bitters I'm liking most are grapefruit, cucumber, and smoked orange (separately!), but they come in a lot of flavors. They're expensive per bottle, but it usually only takes a few drops per drink (strong flavors) so a bottle can last a long time.

    Matcha is alkaline, not acid, but the citrus probably shifts the pH more neutral. I don't know how acidic bitters are, but one uses so little that I have to believe the overall beverage must be close to neutral in plain water. Sparkling water is reportedly more acidic than plain, but less than most soda/pop.

    Caution: I admit my taste preferences tend to be non-mainstream. I don't like soda/pop much at all, for example.

  • DebbsSeattle
    DebbsSeattle Posts: 125 Member
    I like water with lemon juice, diet tonic with lime juice, green tea and green tea matcha with ginger.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,228 Member
    They're too expensive, but some breweries are now making hop-infused sparkling water beverages with no calories. Special treat, but quite tasty.
  • ButterflyBren
    ButterflyBren Posts: 4 Member
    Congratulations! Soda is filled with empty calories. I love iced tea without sweetener - or with maybe 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. I also love LaCroix sparkling water. Mango is my favorite!
  • maryawozniak1
    maryawozniak1 Posts: 3 Member
    I enjoy Ginger root. Cut thin slices (about the size of a nickel) and put in a pan with water, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer to taste. I slice a lemon, peel and all to put in with it. This last batch I put Cardamon pods, Anise start, cinnamon, and a splash of cayenne. I drink it hot and cold.
    I always make a large batch and put it in quart jars to save from making it every day. It is spicey and very thirst quenching. The health benefits are amazing.
  • jamiesmutko
    jamiesmutko Posts: 1 Member
    The Limoncello La Croix is my favorite. i am so so on the sparkling waters but this one is super tasty!
  • ehju0901
    ehju0901 Posts: 394 Member
    Bubbl'r or Waterloo sparkling waters. If you want one with more flavor and sweetness, the Walmart generic brand of sparkling water is a good stepping stone from soda, plus it's a little cheaper. I used to enjoy their white grape flavor years ago.

    I think they come in 12 pack cans too:

    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Clear-American-Sparkling-Water-White-Grape-33-8-fl-oz/10452472?athbdg=L1100
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,399 Member
    edited February 2023
    Iced coffee: brew coffee (I do it unheated, in an aeropress), add favorite Skinny syrup flavor to taste, and a serving of fat free half and half. Comes to about 25 calories per tall glass.

    Chai: blue lotus instant masala chai (it’s special and worth every stinking penny) + serving fat free half and half + salted caramel skinny syrup to taste. Top with frothed skim milk. Under 40 calories.

    Sparkling water and a fruity flavored skinny syrup.

    Beleive it or not, Nuun tablets. Some of them are quite good and not at all difficult to get down.

    Diet root beer + homemade low cal vanilla ice cream: makes a great rootbeer float for under 100 calories.

    I got some lemon grass/ginger tea at a Christmas market. It is simply amazing stuff. I’m hoping to find more when I get a chance to go to a specialist tea store. Zero calories.

    Any Kusmi tea. I hate ice tea and not a real fan of brewed teas unless sweetened but Kusmi teas, while eye wateringly expensive, are smooth, fragrant and don’t have a black tea “bite”. They’re more caramel-y than black tea.

    Black coffee brewed with cinnamon and topped with frothed skim milk. Not bitter at all.

    Smoothie: almond or Silk cashew (25cal version) milk with a serving of cottage cheese, blended with skinny syrup (seeing a trend here?!) and ice for a refreshing brain freeze for about 125 calories.


    Get creative. Put stuff together you wouldn’t think should go together.

    Today I’m going to have a whack at making a smoothie out of some liquid whey left over from making skyr. People in some countries drink whey straight. I just can’t (if you’ve seen it, you understand why. I’ve got friends who are convinced I’m keeping …um…. samples in the fridge.) but it’s supposed to be mildy sweet and has a lot of protein, so I’ll probably throw in some cottage cheese and maybe some oats or peanut butter powder, along with some peanut butter cup skinny syrup…..

    ETA: TJ Maxx, Ross, Marshall’s all sell a great selection of skinny syrups for about $3.99 a bottle. They are usually on end caps in the food area.
  • losin_for_my_liver
    losin_for_my_liver Posts: 7 Member
    While I drink mostly ice water at home and fresh brewed iced tea in restaurants for a treat (w/lots of fresh squeezed lemon juice and zero-cal sweetener), I really enjoy the Clear American sparkling water @ WalMart, especially the Fuji Apple which literally tastes just like taking a bite out of an crisp apple. There are lots of other flavors to choose from, as well, and they are sodium free.
  • dukesduchess350
    dukesduchess350 Posts: 77 Member
    I use crystal light, propel, gaterade zero, nio flavor drops for water, gaterade with protein, ice tea.
  • echristensen010
    echristensen010 Posts: 27 Member
    @honkytonks85 I've been enjoying Calm Magnesium supplement powder in Raspberry Lemonade. Not only does it taste great and refreshing, but it has the added benefit of helping to stabilize blood sugar.
  • ggd5s94mxx
    ggd5s94mxx Posts: 1 Member
    I recently got a Cirkul waterbottle & it has helped me kick the soda habit. You can get flavored cartridges & control the amount of flavoring is added to each sip. It isn’t cheap but has been helpful in kicking my Coke Zero habit!
  • JoannaLouden
    JoannaLouden Posts: 70 Member
    I just bought Vitamin Water again for the first time in ages. It had 100 calories in a pretty big bottle. To me, that was low-cal enough to count. :)

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