It's not hard to find low calorie, low carb drinks in the cooler weather, as long as you take your coffee or tea black. I do, but unfortunately, Pete doesn't. Still, switching to a no-calorie sweetener and skim milk wasn't too hard. The hot summer weather brings new challenges, though. Sure, we should all drink water. Lots and lots of pure, clean water. In fact, it's the only beverage we ever need, and Pete does drink plenty of it. Me? I love water after a run or in the middle of the night, nice and cool and refreshing, but the rest of the time I just prefer more flavor. Statistically, I'm not alone. Even Pete, with his healthy water habit, craves something else sometimes.
When choosing a summer beverage, try to keep in mind what you don't want in your drink, and work back from there. You want to avoid lots of sugar, natural or artificial, and calories of course, too. Using the coffee example, you could enjoy iced coffee - REAL iced coffee, i.e. strong, black coffee over ice, with a small amount of sweetener and skim milk, if you prefer. Avoid the obscenely delicious dietary disaster that is the Toffee Mocha Poetccino from the Drowsy Poet Coffee House. Any of the coffee milkshake type drinks are off limits if you're eating healthfully.
Rather than working backward to your options, try staring with water and working forward, adding flavor without too many unwanted ingredients. There are tons of delicious flavored drink mixes on the market today. Carefully read what's in each of them and try different kinds before you settle on your favorites. Beware that some of them are full of sugar and artificial colors and additives, too. Read those labels! Alternately, add something you already know the contents of to your water. It's hard to beat sparkling water with a splash of fresh lime and cranberry juice. Add just enough of your favorite juice to tint the color and add subtle flavor, and use 100% natural juice with no sugar added.
If you're looking for something a bit more adult in nature, try some of the new low carb, low calorie beers available. Even beer snobs will enjoy Sam Adams Light, and lighter lagers like Michelob Ultra can be refreshing on a hot summer evening. Take a page out of the '50s and cut your wine with sparkling water for a grown-up seltzer, or try a light Sangria. Watch out, though, because alcohol is ultimately dehydrating and nothing but empty calories. Hard alcohol in particular is nothing but fermented sugar. Besides, too many drinks and you'll never make it to the gym in the morning.
Of course, you could always stick to the classic - water. There's a world of difference in the available waters out there, so try different options to find one you'll actually drink. I grew up on well-water filtered through the glacial granite of Maine - no wonder I'm a water snob! But even the tap water in Florida is okay with our faucet-mounted filter. Experiment with different sources and you'll be surprised by how varied water can be. If you ultimately choose bottled water, burn an extra 11 calories by walking that empty water bottle to the recycling bin! Now that's the way to hydrate healthfully in summer.
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