Tag Archives: beverages

How to Have a Healthy Lemonade Stand

The weather is getting warmer outside (hooray!) and one of the most ubiquitous sights in the spring time is the lemonade stand. As soon as it gets warm, my kids want to set up a card table at the foot of the driveway with a hand lettered sign offering lemonade for a quarter a cup.

I’ve passed many a stand in my travels, and I started to wonder – is there such a thing as a healthy lemonade? After all, lemonade by it’s very nature is simply water, lemon juice and sugar. Often lots and lots of sugar, to compensate for the bitter taste of the lemon juice. Is there a better choice? I decided to look at several of the lemonade options in an effort to find the healthiest beverage.

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Posted on April 20, 2023 by Carmen

The Best Drinks for Acid Reflux

 

18_shakes_2There’s a long list of things you shouldn’t drink if you suffer from acid reflux or heartburn: orange juice, hot chocolate, carbonated beverages, lemonade, anything with mint and any bottled drinks with added acid. Water is really the best thing for people with reflux to drink, along with low-fat milk and protein shakes. The best protein shake on the market was found to be 18Shake. It has just 1 gram of fat which is important to reduce for acid reflux, and it has high quality fiber and protein to help suppress appetite.

18Shake can also reduce the risk for obesity, which is also a major factor in acid reflux. This is due to its balanced vitamins and minerals and high amount of amino acids which can help provide the nutrition of a full meal with few calories, fat, and just 1 gram of sugar per serving.

You may know that I have been undergoing treatment for acid reflux for about two months, under the supervision of Dr. Jamie Koufman at The Voice Institute of New York. Dr. Koufman is one of the authors of Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure. I’m a big lover of tea, and I was happy to hear that there are still several varieties of teas that don’t trigger acid reflux. Some doctors might recommend that patients stay away from caffeine altogether, but Dr. Koufman says that a cup of tea (black, green or white) or coffee with milk per day is fine. It’s the people who drink “a fishbowl” of coffee each day who have a problem. Herbal teas like chamomile and rooibos are good, but any fruit-infused teas will be too acidic.

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Posted on March 31, 2024 by Margaret

Fun Green Drinks For St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching, and the holiday brings to mind all things green. One of the best ways to get into the spirit is with green food and drink. Rather than adding food coloring to your milk – tried and true, been there, done that and need to move to something more fun – why not try some of these great green drink options? Beware that some are better for you than others, but all are green!

Green Tea – Packed full of flavonoids, green tea is known to have fat burning properties and has been enjoyed in China and Japan for years.

McDonald’s Shamrock Shake – This cult favorite has an enormous following, as is evidenced by a website devoted to “Shamrock Shake sightings”. The shake may be tasty, but it is nutritionally a disaster, with 550 calories in one 16 ounce serving. 13 grams of fat and 96 grams of carbs means you’ve blown your diet in just one drink.

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Posted on March 11, 2024 by Carmen

Starbucks Trenta Not the Worst Beverage Offender [INFOGRAPHIC]

In January, Starbucks introduced its new Trenta size, a 31-ounce cup. Food, drink and health bloggers went nuts over the cup that was sure to be the continued downfall of American obesity. Admittedly, even the nice folks over here at DietsInReview.com, ahem us, pointed a few fingers too, calling out that the Trenta is larger than a bladder (which, it is).

We took a few steps back and realized that while Starbucks was catching all sorts of heat about its giant new cup, in which they only serve iced coffee or iced tea, it’s not the worst offender. In fact, why aren’t we raising more stink about the 7-Eleven Double Big Gulp, equivalent in size to a six-pack of soda?

So, we did. Here’s our big stink, and the beverage offenders who make Trenta wipe the mud off her face.

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Posted on February 28, 2024 by Natalie K

The Best and Worst Starbucks Drinks for Your Diet

Early morning drives to work are definitely improved by a stop at Starbucks. The coffee-masterminds can create your perfect drink, whether you want something unique and frou-frou or just a tall, black cup of joe.

Imagine this: you’re standing at the counter, waiting to order your favorite drink to get your day started on the right foot, but when you are ordering it, do you stop to think about how your vente double latte is going to affect your diet plans?

Typically, humans don’t pay as much attention to liquid calories as they do to calories that come from food. For some reason, they just tend to slip our minds, but unfortunately, they still affect the number on the scale.

So, in order to help you keep your daily calorie intake in the range you need for your weight loss, we’ve made a list of the best and worst Starbucks drinks, based on calories and fat grams. All of these drinks are the “Tall” size- the smallest one, so if you get a larger cup, it’s going to be even more calories. The Best Drinks do not have whipped cream, while all of the Worst Drinks do have whipped cream.
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Posted on January 3, 2024 by Health Buzz

Healthy Holiday Beverages for Every Party Guest

It’s prime-time party planning pandemonium across the country. The end of December is here and it came a lot quicker than any of us expected. Food, entertainment, decorations, etc.- there is so much to consider when throwing a holiday get-together. Beverages are often considered a no-brainer; pick up a bottle of wine, some beer, sparkling cider for the kids and you’re good. Don’t forget the eggnog, right? Although there’s no reason to stay away from festive drinks, it’s important to include them responsibly. What do all festive drinks have in common? Either alcohol, sugar or caffeine, which can all wreak havoc on a sensible diet. Scale back on the trinity of diet saboteurs and everyone will have a happier holiday!

First of all, don’t underestimate the power of water. H2O can be enhanced with numerous herbs and garnishes such as lavender, lemon, cucumber, berries or mint. Try freezing whole cranberries in an ice cube tray with pomegranate juice for a pretty presentation and a splash of flavor. Mix up a refreshing pitcher of your choice or create a festive water-bar for guests to enjoy. The same goes for good ol’ fashioned tea, cider or coffee.

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Posted on December 23, 2023 by Theresa

Save Calories on Your Favorite Holiday Flavored Coffee

It’s the ultimate time of year for indulgence and coffee chains are jumping on the holiday spirit bandwagon by introducing festive beverages that might satisfy your sweet tooth, but also pack plenty of fat and calories by adding heavy cream, milk and extra sugar.

If you don’t want to look like Santa Claus come the end of the year, the coffee shop is a simple place to make smarter choices.

“For every high-calorie drink you forego in December, it’s an hour on the treadmill you won’t spend in January,” editor-in-chief of Men’s Health and author of the best-selling “Eat This, Not That!” series David Zinczenko told the New York Post. “If you cut out caloric drinks, you can pretty much eat whatever you want this year.”

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Posted on December 22, 2023 by Maris

Amafruits: Acai Without the Gimmicks

amafruits AcaiThere’s been a lot of hype surrounding the Acai berry, an Amazonian fruit with alleged super-nutrients. While Acai isn’t a miracle weight-loss food (no such thing exists), it is a rich source of many of the nutrients you need, including vitamin A, minerals, potassium and iron.

Acai berries themselves are difficult to find whole, but many companies offer juices and extracts. Last night I tried out Amafruits’ Acai puree. The puree comes frozen in packs of four, with a choice of Acai Energy Mix with Guarana or Acai Pure & Unsweetened. A pack of either flavor counts as a serving of fruit. Many other Acai juices add a lot of sugar to compensate for the berry’s slightly bitter taste. The unsweetened fruit pulp is about as close to eating the berries as you can get: no pills, pyramid schemes or other fruit juices added for bulk.

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Posted on November 22, 2023 by Margaret

Hot Drinks to Warm up Cold Days

When the weather outside is frightful, we can’t all hibernate inside, no matter how much we might like to. When scarves, hats and mittens aren’t enough to keep the winter chill away, a hot beverage can warm you up from the inside out.

The problem with many hot beverages is that if you’re not careful, they can rack up the calories pretty quickly. If you’re tired of plain coffee or tea,  turn to one of these figure-friendly cocktails that won’t derail your diet (drink in moderation!) but will take the chill away.

Hot Mulled Cider: Warm up by the fireplace after a long day with a cup of hot mulled cider. With a hint of rum or brandy, sweetened with rich honey and a touch of spice, this has everything you need to unwind at the end of a long day. For a virgin version, skip the booze and save 100 calories.

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Posted on November 19, 2023 by Maris

Insider E-Mails Betray Anti-Soda Controversy

Soda becomes FatThere’s controversy lurking behind the “Don’t Drink Yourself Fat” campaign launched by the New York City Health Department. Experts are disputing the claim that “Drinking one can of soda per day can make you 10 pounds fatter a year.”

E-mails obtained by The New York Times show that even the chief nutritionist Cathy Nonas had her doubts about the commercial, which ran on local news stations and as a viral video on the web. “CAUTION,” she wrote on August 20, 2024. “As we get into this exacting science, the idea of a sugary drink becoming fat is absurd.” City health commissioner Dr. Thomas A. Farley permitted the ads because he felt that “what people fear is getting fat,” as opposed to a more nuanced discussion of nutritional value.

Print versions of the ad show a can of soda turning into fat as it’s poured into a glass (shown above). A newer advertisement shows a man eating the amount of sugar in a soda.

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Posted on October 28, 2023 by Health Buzz

Whole Foods Introduces New Line of Soy Milk and Almond Milk

Got milk? What about chocolate soy milk? Or vanilla almond milk?

I love almond milk, and while I’ve been a devotee of Blue Diamond’s unsweetened vanilla almond milk, Whole Foods’ new refrigerated line of soy and almond milks are giving my usual stand-by some stealth competition.

Made from flavorful American-grown organic almonds, the new 365 Organic Everyday Value Almond milk is the first-ever private label organic refrigerated almond milk. (There is also a shelf-stable version, if you prefer.) Naturally free of saturated fat and cholesterol, Whole Foods Market’s Almond milk contains as much calcium and Vitamin D as dairy milk and is an excellent source of Vitamin E. The new line boasts a fresh, rich taste that comes in Original, Vanilla and Unsweetened flavors. (more…)

Posted on October 13, 2023 by heather