Not Quite A Health Drink - What You Want To Read
A few days ago, I asked my friends on Facebook if they were to read a blog post written by me, what would they like it to be about? This is one of the posts, based on those suggestions.
The one drink that I love more than water, is Dr Pepper. I have been known to "accidentally" drink a whole bottle in a day before, but that's not really very healthy and so the less said about it the better right?
So.
Several of my friends also love Dr Pepper, and as you can tell from the preamble to this blog post, one of them wanted me to find a healthier alternative to Dr Pepper, that tasted just as good. Which is almost impossible.
Almost.
For me, I had to find something I enjoyed as much as Dr Pepper, but not something that tasted just like Dr Pepper because that's impossible.
I walked up and down the drinks aisle looking at various drinks. Looking to see what caught my eye and what flavours were available. Who knew that there were so many? I ended up picking up a few bottles of cordials and various different fruit juices as well as various mixers and a few other fizzy drinks just in case I needed them because my experiments didn't work. My sister also persuaded me to give various fruit teas a try, claiming that I'd like them if I only gave them a chance and so I spent a small fortune buying various varieties that again caught my eye and that I thought that I might enjoy.
I started with the teas. I tried a lot of different flavours and wouldn't you know my Sister was right. I do love my fruit teas, in fact I found out that there are some flavours that taste great both hot and cold! I must admit to occasionally adding some sweetener to sweeten some flavours up, but it's more a case of enhancing them... honestly!
With regards to my soft drinks I tried a lot of different mixes. Some worked, some didn't and some drinks have become the sort of things I would serve at parties, or put into a large drinks dispenser and drink on a nice warm day at a BBQ in the garden. I guess in the end I found several replacement drinks for Dr Pepper, none that match Dr P to be fair, but several that are enough to keep me away from the Dr P!
So, what are they?
I found a really lovely Cherry Cordial which when mixed with Soda Water and Mint, has become my drink of choice and my number one replacement for Dr Pepper, but it can be expensive so I try to ration it out with other drinks.
Flavoured water is a big hit with everyone in our house, Lemon Slices, Lime Slices, Cucumber Slices, Sprigs of Mint, quartered Oranges and handfuls of Raspberries and Strawberries and even honeydew melon or one of my very favourites Rosemary Lemon water, especially as the Rosemary is picked fresh from my garden! I'll add some recipes soon because I hope you'll like them as much as I do.
I love to drink Fruit Juices mixed with Soda Water or Tonic Water and occasionally with Lemonade... Which actually leads me to the main reason for writing this blog post now.
The past week, BB and I have been having a bit of a Watermelon thing. We've made ice lollies, fruit salad, fruit lollies, fruit shavings and even a Watermelon Cooler, our favourite drink of the moment!
Not Quite A Health Drink - What You Want To Read
The one drink that I love more than water, is Dr Pepper. I have been known to "accidentally" drink a whole bottle in a day before, but that's not really very healthy and so the less said about it the better right?
So.
Several of my friends also love Dr Pepper, and as you can tell from the preamble to this blog post, one of them wanted me to find a healthier alternative to Dr Pepper, that tasted just as good. Which is almost impossible.
Almost.
For me, I had to find something I enjoyed as much as Dr Pepper, but not something that tasted just like Dr Pepper because that's impossible.
I walked up and down the drinks aisle looking at various drinks. Looking to see what caught my eye and what flavours were available. Who knew that there were so many? I ended up picking up a few bottles of cordials and various different fruit juices as well as various mixers and a few other fizzy drinks just in case I needed them because my experiments didn't work. My sister also persuaded me to give various fruit teas a try, claiming that I'd like them if I only gave them a chance and so I spent a small fortune buying various varieties that again caught my eye and that I thought that I might enjoy.
I started with the teas. I tried a lot of different flavours and wouldn't you know my Sister was right. I do love my fruit teas, in fact I found out that there are some flavours that taste great both hot and cold! I must admit to occasionally adding some sweetener to sweeten some flavours up, but it's more a case of enhancing them... honestly!
With regards to my soft drinks I tried a lot of different mixes. Some worked, some didn't and some drinks have become the sort of things I would serve at parties, or put into a large drinks dispenser and drink on a nice warm day at a BBQ in the garden. I guess in the end I found several replacement drinks for Dr Pepper, none that match Dr P to be fair, but several that are enough to keep me away from the Dr P!
So, what are they?
I found a really lovely Cherry Cordial which when mixed with Soda Water and Mint, has become my drink of choice and my number one replacement for Dr Pepper, but it can be expensive so I try to ration it out with other drinks.
Flavoured water is a big hit with everyone in our house, Lemon Slices, Lime Slices, Cucumber Slices, Sprigs of Mint, quartered Oranges and handfuls of Raspberries and Strawberries and even honeydew melon or one of my very favourites Rosemary Lemon water, especially as the Rosemary is picked fresh from my garden! I'll add some recipes soon because I hope you'll like them as much as I do.
I love to drink Fruit Juices mixed with Soda Water or Tonic Water and occasionally with Lemonade... Which actually leads me to the main reason for writing this blog post now.
The past week, BB and I have been having a bit of a Watermelon thing. We've made ice lollies, fruit salad, fruit lollies, fruit shavings and even a Watermelon Cooler, our favourite drink of the moment!
BB and I cut the top of the Watermelon off, we used a hand blender to mush up the inside of the watermelon and then I poured it into a jug so we could make sure it was really smooth and blended. I'm not going to say anything about the mess we made, but let's just say I had to clean up the ceiling!
We added some lemonade to the Watermelon mixture and poured it back into the Watermelon. It was amazing and even Top Ender who doesn't like fizzy drinks enjoyed a glass.
And so in summary I guess what I'm saying is I don't think I'll ever find a drink that will replace Dr Pepper in my heart, but until I do find a replacement, I'm having plenty of fun trying out all the new drinks!