I read an article in my Self magazine this month taking about alternatives to plain Water.

They suggested fixing a tray of fruit juice ice cubes.

If you're bored with bottled water and crave more flavor than you get from a lemon wedge, fix yourself a tray of fruity juice cubes. Pour 1 1/2 cups pure cran-raspberry juice into an ice-cube tray, drop 2 or 3 frozen raspberries or blueberries or a strawberry into each cube and freeze. Each fat-free cube provides at least 10% of your daily Vitamin C needs and turns water into a delicious drink all for only 13 calories.

Here's to drinking our water in the New Year!

That's a great idea!

I am very fond of putting sugar free syrup in my Water. The ones by http://www.davincigourmet.com are really good. I am very fond of their watermelon flavor in water. strawberry and raspberry are also great.

Here is a good tip for making Protein shakes. Freeze bananas - peel, cut and toss in a baggie in the freezer. Then just take a few of the chunks out and toss them in the blender with your shake and it makes it cool and thick. Ok, that's not a water trick - but it IS a good frozen trick. It is also a great way to save bananas that are about to go brown before you can eat them up.

You could probably do the same frozen shake thing with other fruits as well - I have not tried that yet, but now that I thought of it I will have to do so!

I checked out the syrups.....at your link....are they all sugar free? How much of it so you have to use?

Birdee:D

Hi Birdee,

I tried the syrups too... thanks to Kiera. I am using the sugar free white chocolate in my coffee. I think the amount you use will depend on your individual tastes. I don't like things really sweet and I tend to feel that Splenda is a bit too sweet and has an after taste if you use too much. I ordered the "plunger" (can't remember what they called it), just like they have at the coffee shops... so I put 1-2 squirts in my coffee. I started out with only 1, but I think I like 2 best.

They are not all sugar free, but the company does seem to have the biggest Sugarcreek collection I have ever seen. The delivery was quick and the price was cheaper than in the grocery store.

I haven't yet tried them in my Water, oatmeal or Protein shakes like I have seen Kiera suggest, but that is next.

If you try them, I hope you enjoy!

Birdee - The davincigourmet people have both sugared and sugarfree syrups, you just have to check out their site. They also have a splenda based chocolate sauce which I have been thinking about trying - but of course if I do that I will have to have some icecream to put it on top of. It still has calories, but not nearly so many as normal chocolate sauce. I am sort of saving that as a gift to myself when I get down 100# or so. by then I will feel entitled to some ice cream.

As to how much do you use. That is really one of those "to taste things. I put about three tablespoons in a quart of Water and that works for me. I did not get the pump things so I measure everything in spoons.

For oatmeal doctoring I put about a tablespoon per cup serving of oatmeal. I like hazel nut for that. They used to have a danish pastry flavor but they discontinued it. The gingerbread flavor is also nice in oatmeal.

The syrups are not like pancake syrup - they are basically just flavoring - so they are more like the consistancy of vanilla extract than actual syrup. That threw me off when I first bought them - so i thought i would toss it in so you would not be surprised too.

It is possible to get davinci gourmet syrups in the grocery store. I beleive they have a page on their website listing the stores that sell them. They don't usually has as good a selection as the online store though.

Kiera

Banded by Dr. Cadiere on 28 April 2003

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