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The little guy is drinking a lot of juices recently and since I am concerned about his teeth I have been looking at delicious sugary drink alternatives!

glass of water with glass and limes in with text overlay - 10 healthy sugary drinks alternatives

This is just as important for adults too for both maintaining a healthy weight and dental/overall health. You know the kinds of drinks I am talking about: fizzy, soda, artificial fruit juices that contain a lot of added sugar or even alcohol!

I know I sounds like one of the mean people trying to take away all the fun stuff but I am a firm believer in being able to find healthier alternatives that are also delicious so that you won’t miss them or think twice about cutting them out of your diet. Plus it sets a good example for the kids!

Side Effects of too much “Added Sugar”

  • Rots your teeth (lets not even mention dental costs)
  • Contributes to weight loss
  • Addictive – making you consume more sugar (and so the cycle continues)
  • Leaves you feeling more hungry
  • Increases Heart disease risk

Putting It Into Perspective…

4g of added sugar on the label = 1 Teaspoon of sugar (if you were putting it in yourself.)

So the 330ml Coca-cola that you get to sit at your desk in the afternoon = 35g added sugar which is the rough equivalent of 8 and a half teaspoons of sugar.

“Fine, I’ll buy the diet one instead, less sugar in that” and you would be right, however, to make it taste sweet and leave you wanting more they add other chemicals in which have been linked to an assortment of diseases (nothing 100% proven but why risk it?).

Plus there are a load of healthy alternatives that are good for you too so why not trade in your sugary drinks for 1 week and try out some of these bad boys!

Fruit Infused Water

Add fruit slices to cold water and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours – once it is done you will have healthy homemade fruit infused water. You can also add fruit to your water bottles and take it on the go with you (or even on your runs)

*Plus you can eat the fruit after too = BONUS*

fruit infused water for sugary drink alternatives

Fruit/ Herbal Tea

There are so many options here for different blends and infusions, each with their own benefits. Generally, herbal teas are healthy, full of antioxidants and great for flushing your system when you need a detox of all the sugar *Hint, Hint*. Some of the flavors you can go for are: cranberry, orange, lime, liquorice, ginger, rhubarb, blueberry. (There are literally hundreds). 

Be sure to check the labels though to ensure you aren’t buying low quality with added sugar!

herbal teas sugary drink alternatives

Seltzer Water 

If you feel the need to be fizzy then seltzer is the way to go, it’s basically just carbonated water with minimal additives). Add to fruit juices or alcohol instead of lemonade and soda water.

Water

The good old fashioned kind, there’s plenty of it! Tap water or bottled mineral water is the best sugary drink alternatives, we are made up of 75% of it after all. If that’s not enough of a reason, check out my post Why You REALLY Should Be Drinking Water.

water for sugary drink alternatives

Coconut Water

This is a great alternative to sports drinks – full of electrolytes for recovery and very refreshing too! (don’t drink it in excess though because coconut in large quantities act as a laxative)

*We have the coconuts now all we need is the beach.*

coconuts

Mocktails

A great alternative to fizzy drinks or alcohol when you’re out on the town, switch the coke or lemonade for a mocktail! Be wary that even natural fruit juices can contain a lot of sugar so choose wisely from the menu! These can be fun to experiment with the kids or at parties, to come up with cool names but instead of using bought juices, try adding some blended fruit instead.

*Top Tip: Dilute them using icy water to thin them out if the blend becomes too sweet or thick*

mocktails

Milk

Try not to go overboard on this because it can be quite fattening, but milk is a great substitute because of it’s obvious source of calcium (you might as well drink something nutritional instead) – if you aren’t a fan of plain milk (like me) then try low-fat milkshakes (below).

Low-Fat Milkshakes

Ditch the ice cream and for sugary drink alternatives blend semi-skimmed milk, ice and a banana for a creamy healthy low-fat banana milkshake option!

*You can experiment with different fruit and combinations e.g. strawberries/blueberries – far more exciting than the rubbish sugary alternatives*

low fat milkshakes

Smoothies

Similar to Mocktails but made by blending real fruit to keep them thick! Reduce the natural sugar content by adding water as a base rather than fruit juice.

We love smoothies are they are one of our favourite sugary drink alternatives so why not check out some of the previous recipes I posted such as:

Vegetable Juice

In the same realm as smoothies except, instead blended vegetables (or you can buy store-bought vegetable juice instead if you don’t have a blender.)

Did I miss anything off? Leave a comment in the section below and let me know your favorite healthy sugary drink alternatives 🙂

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Healthy sugary drink alternatives that are great substitutes and will make you wonder why you never broke up with sugar before!

43 comments on “10 Healthy Sugary Drink Alternatives”

  1. I love this Charlotte! I cannot believe it when I see toddlers drinking Coca-Cola! That is a form of child abuse in my book. We need to teach our children about healthy eating and lifestyles and I love your 10 alternatives.

  2. I have been trying really hard to stop drinking juice and pop. It’s hard because I grew up drinking it so much. Fruit infused water has been my favorite lately.

  3. Hi.
    There are lots of alternatives to soda or sugared drinks – Kool Aid.
    Soda rots the teeth.
    Genetics has a bit to do with it as some people don’t experience it as much as others.
    If you freeze watermelon you can have kind of a slushy drink which replaces the Icee’s. ^_^

  4. Oooo so many yummy alternatives!!!! I’m all about flavored water. And sparking water. My two favorites

  5. This is a great topic because my son is obsessed with sugary drinks. I also want to cut down on sugar. The Fruit Infused Water, coconut water, Fruit/ Herbal Tea, and Smoothies are my favorite.

  6. These are some great ideas! I try to drink as much water as possible, I might start adding fruit to it just to give it something extra. We need to take care of our teeth and bodies!

  7. Great post. Sugar is a tea worry and so many drinks have loads of sugar in. I’m trying to drink more water.

  8. What a great list of alternatives. I am a huge sugary drink drinker. Its awful, I would love to do the milkshakes. or even just switch over to more milk!

  9. I’ve switched out soda to water and mocktails. I’ve even added a couple to my blog which also helps me go back for when I need one to reference. It’s a great choice and a healthy one too.

  10. Great ideas! When I am craving sugary drinks, I like to cut up a few pieces of fruit and put them into a glass of water and let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour or so–it gives the water a little bit of flavor that I’m looking for and keeps me away from sugary drinks when I don’t want them!

  11. I am not a huge fan of water when I was a single girl, now that I have kids, it’s definitely something that I’ve grown to love and I make sure I drink more than 8 glasses a day. It’s the same habit that I try to teach my kids but I make it exciting for them. These sugary drinks are great to keep them hydrated as well.

  12. Some fab ideas here! I am a big fan of making smoothies, slurping on coconut water and drinking herbal teas – my favourite has to be Pukka from Cinnamon it’s delicious!

  13. I love your list of non-sugary drinks. There are so many great options. I’m a seltzer water addict. Though even seltzer can be bad if you become an addict like me and drink it too much because too much can actually compromise the enamel on your teeth. But if it weren’t for that, I would drink it all day. Even so, it is so much better than drinking soda. The sugar content of soda is crazy.

  14. These are great alternatives! I love the idea of fruit infused water. I’m bad about drinking too many sugary drinks and I know they’re horrible for you.

  15. We sometimes really have to keep it interesting when it comes to water. I love drinking fruit infused water especially during the summer. Not only is it tasty, it’s also packed with benefits as well!

  16. I am proud of the fact that we only drink water and seltzer in our house. I think the fruit and seltzer combination like lemon or lime is a great alternative.

  17. I am big into smoothies! I make them almost every day for breakfast. They are definitely an awesome alternative.

  18. It’s crazy just how much sugar can be added to drinks – especially fruit juices!! Something that as kids we thought were so healthy and they have hardly any nutritional value! Love these ideas instead for sure!

  19. This is all important information. I drink a lot of water! It is my go to drink almost all the time. However, I do love a flavored drink every couple of days. My kids love juices too, but I make sure they are limited to two a day (IF that much!!)

  20. My kids would live off juice if I would let them. But I know about the harmful effects of too much sugar, so I limit them. They like smoothies too, and the youngest loves coconut water. I also water down their juice when they get it to help reduce the amount of sugar they are drinking each day.

  21. It’s so tempting to rehydrate with sugary drinks in the summer, but it’s not very beneficial! These alternatives are great!

  22. I LOVE your list of ideas. My Witches drink a lot of water, which is quite good. Now and then they have pure orange juice, which I don’t like to give too much!! I want my kids to be healthy and have good teeth!! Great Post!!!

  23. This is such a handy list – it is so easy to reach for those sugary drinks when we forget that we have such a wide variety of healthier drinks available to us

  24. We love fruit infused water. W have these bottles where you can put the fruit inside a plastic part which goes inside the bottle and then infuses the water. OMG it is so delicious and just gives water that extra bit of nice ness

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