Making Something Fun To Drink….. Without the Added Sugar

Written By Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

One of the things the beverage manufacturers do really well is to present their sweetened products as “something fun to drink.” Soda and other sugary drinks come in many colors and flavors.

Using this theme what we really need to do is to make something “fun to drink” if we want to kick the sugared drink habit.

Here are a few ideas that can be made and stored in the refrigerator ahead of time.

Aqua Frescas. Agua fresca is a light, non-alcoholic beverage made by blending fresh fruit and water. It is super easy to throw a few fruits in the blender with water, blending, and straining into a pitcher. If it blends smooth enough you don’t need to strain. The standard ratio is about 1part of fruit to 4 parts water. This is a great way to use up leftover fruit that is a few days old.

Examples of simple aqua-fresca-style drinks include:

•Strawberries and water with a squeeze of orange

•Watermelon and water with lime juice

•Lime, cucumber, and mint

Fruit Teas. Fruit tea examples include hibiscus, peach, or berry, or any commercially available tea that has fruit it in. These are often sugar and caffeine free and they make a super pretty color when they are steeped. You only need about 3 tea bags per quart of water. These lend themselves to being stored in the “stanley cups” so they are transportable.

Cold brew. Many people love ice coffee. A true cold brew can be brewed in a French press with cold water and coffee grinds overnight. If you use decaf that is a bonus because it can be consumed any time of day. Of course you can also just ice your coffee!

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Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

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