Decent diet/light sodas
 

My father is both diabetic and a survivor of multiple heart attacks, so he's forcing himself to do without Coke and Pepsi as much as possible. I'm always on the lookout for a diet and/or decaf soda for him that doesn't taste like battery acid.

Likewise, I'm a soda junkie -- I'll drive many miles out of my way to get my hands on something new. (A recent trip upstate resulted in the acquisition of several bottles of Moxie, which isn't nearly as nasty as many make it out to be. It's like black licorice in soda form.) I know that sodas in general aren't exactly nutritious or good for me, so I have an interest in finding ones that aren't total disasters.

Much to my surprise, Diet Coke With Lime isn't bad at all. The usual aspartame taste is there, but the lime flavor not only overcomes it, it actually complements it to a decent degree. (I've heard Diet Coke With Lemon described as "carbonated lemon Pledge in liquid form", however.) It's caffeinated, but it's a diet drink I'd actually order in a restaurant without wincing.

Most of the time, he drinks Diet 7-Up, or Diet Coke/Pepsi in restaurants. I've tried all of them and don't know how he can stand them.

The new low-carb sodas are... okay. C2 tastes like a 50-50 mix of Coke and Diet Coke, with enough of the Diet Coke aftertaste to be aggravating. Pepsi Edge is closer to regular Pepsi in taste, just "off" enough to be noticeable but still drinkable.

Caffeine-Free Coke and Pepsi are both surprisingly good; unfortunately, both are hell to find in restaurants. (Caffeine when I'm tired can be a trigger for my migraine headaches, though I haven't had that problem in a while). I curse PepsiCo for introducing Sierra Mist, as it replaced 7-Up at most Pepsi-product restaurants and tastes much worse than 7-Up does.

My current favorite is the "365" house-brand Raspberry at Whole Foods Market. $1.99 for a six-pack, and it's pretty much no-everything; no preservatives, no artificial flavors or colors, no caffeine, no sodium, no glutens, no high fructose corn syrup (they use cane sugar). It's still sugary calories, but it's damn tasty and I can avoid the "High fructose corn syrup is turning America into diabetic lardballs" vs. "Aspartame is not fit for human consumption" war while drinking it.

Oh, and my quarterly "whoop whoop" for Reed's Spiced Apple Brew.

I'm a Diet Dr Pepper junkie. I much prefer it to regular Dr Pepper, which I like quite a bit.

I thought Fresca was supposed to be good for that. Can't vouch for it personally but have friends that swear by it.

Mmmmmmm... Reed's Ginger Beer. Drank a lot of that in college. It has recently turned up at my local Wegman's.
Has anyone else tried the Mike's Hard Lemonaid (sic) Lime version? Pretty tasty, in a soda-like fashion.
- Pie

PS: There is a Mike's Light, half the calories or something like that. Not too bad. I don't know if alcohol is a problem, tho.

Schweppes makes a very good flavored seltzer. I like the black cherry especially. Very tasty. No calories. No artificial sweeteners.

I am also a big fan of the flavored selters without sweetners.

You have to read the labels though, because many of them do contain aspartame, which I cannot tolerate. (headaches and nausea)

Poland Spring has a line of flavored fizzy water that's more expensive, but much tastier than the store-brand selters.

I'm looking forward to trying some of the new Splenda beverages. I was very disappointed in C2, as it has multiple sweetners, including sucralose, aspartame, and corn sugar. What the hell were they thinking??

Reeds Ginger Beer is the bottom of the ginger beer barrel. Little to no snap, not enough carbonation.

Sioux City and Old Tyme Jamaican Style ... now those are GOOD.

Sioux City also makes a Sasparilla that's quite yummy. I love them so much I'm glad I don't have a readily available source.

I drink two liters of unflavored seltzer a day.

I know its not soda but I have recently discovered the world of green tea.

Healthy as anything but I don't care for the image of green tea drinkers (barbie teapot, etc.) so I drink it out of a dirty, oversized coffee cup. :)

How can you do that and not float away? :sick:

I drink ~ a liter when the weather is warm and I feel like I slosh when I walk.

Oops. Edited for spelling error.

HEATHEN!

Bah, I don't drink their regular ginger brew much anyway; the spiced apple flavor is my weakness. I haven't tried their "premium" no-fructose ginger brew yet, since the Trader Joe's stores around here are bastards and refuse to carry more than the Extra flavor.

I tried Lemon Ginger Beer by "The Ginger People" recently when I saw it at Whole Foods, and while I liked it, you'd probably hate it. Less carbonation than Reed's and a sweeter lemon taste than most of its competitors.

Diet Rite Cola uses Splenda (sucralose) instead of aspartame (nutrasweet). So does Diet Hansons. You can also get low carb soda syrups that you add to soda water that taste like root beer, and other flavors.

I just tried a Pepsi Edge and a C2 today. The pepsi tasted better, but I don't like either enough to drink them again, they both seemed to have a sour or acidic taste.

I've tried Arizona diet Iced Tea, and I think it is better than Diet Snapple, but neither is great.

I'll stick to seltzer, with the more expensive Pellegrino for when I want something different. When I want something sweeter, I add a splash of apple or orange juice to the seltzer.

Oh, no. The two liters is just the seltzer! I also drink two or three glasses of OJ and two or three Diet Dr Peppers!
:guinness: :drunk:

I tried a Diet Hansen's Black Cherry not too long ago, and it was extremely nasty. This was disappointing, as I really like a lot of the regular Hansen's Natural Sodas. (I can't get Tangerine or regular Black Cherry around here, but Raspberry, Mandarin Lime, Kiwi Strawberry and Grapefruit are very nice.)

Oh, no. The two liters is just the seltzer! I also drink two or three glasses of OJ and two or three Diet Dr Peppers!

I drink an absurd amount of liquids as well. During the summers as a kid, I would carry around a gallon jug of water with me, and usually emptied it twice a day. On the really bad days (105+ degrees) I could go for three gallons. But now that I'm indoors all day at work, I'm back down in the 1-gallon range.

:beer:

I highly recommend the Diet Rite Red Raspberry and Tangerine...I'm not overly fond of the white grape, and I get my cola fix with the Diet Coke with lime...

although, after drinking nothing but water for the better part of 6 months, they do have a little bit of a 'taste' to get used to.

Dagney
-65lbs

And WHEN do you get out of the bathroom to function?

Hrm...how's the sodium in it? Doesn't seltzer have a fair amount of sodium in it? I'll try it if it's low enough. Trying to get away from diet drinks that have anything artificial in it (aspartame, etc.). And plain water with lemon gets boring after a while (although I make a mean homemade lemonade w/Stevia). ;)

That reminds me: I got an offer for some Stevia products that I should be taking advantage of soon. :thumpsup:

And Clodfobble: you must have the ultimate kidneys and bladder for all that you drink in a day...I'm jealous since my kidneys are RIP. :greenface

club soda has sodium, seltzer doesn't

Good then I'll try it. :thumpsup:

30mg per 8 fl oz.

That work for you?

And Clodfobble: you must have the ultimate kidneys and bladder for all that you drink in a day...I'm jealous since my kidneys are RIP.

Actually, I'm pretty prone to infections of both, that's one reason I maintain my water-drinking even when I'm not necessarily thirsty. Also take a daily cranberry supplement. But it's true (warning: :vomit: may lie ahead for some, read at your own risk) I have a very spacious bladder. My husband used to think it was tiny since I have to go all the time, but he learned otherwise on a long car trip once... I really, really had to go, and we were stuck in standstill traffic in the middle of nowhere. I eventually had to climb in the back of the minvan and go in an empty fast food drink cup. It was the largest size Whataburger sells, somewhere in the realm of 45-50 oz., I'd estimate. I filled it to the brim, and then half full again. He has had a great respect for my bladder ever since then. :)

I found a Trader Joe's about twenty minutes away..I look forward to a foray. Any suggestions?

Brian

If you're lucky enough to find Reed's Spiced Apple Brew there, stock up. (It's "seasonal" at the ones on the east coast, i.e. whenever they feel like carrying it.)

Boylan's sodas (Cane Cola, Grape, Black Cherry, Orange, and others) are all excellent.

Again, if that one carries regular Hansen's brands, they're also good.

And, of course, I can't go in a Trader Joe's without walking out with bagfuls of non-soda items...

Such as? I've never been to a Trader Joe's. Although I hear tell that there's one now at 20th and Market st in Philly. No direct evidence though as I don't get to that area much anymore, ever since I had my car stolen there.

22nd and Market...I work just down the street from it.

Close.

Yes I am, actually. Thanks for noticing and appropriately identifying me.

Well, it's not like I'm not also one, albeit from a different perspective. You play for a different team, while I sit in the stands and heckle, but as long as the Yankees lose, everything's good.

Tried Barq's yet? One of their old lines was, "Barq's has bite!"

Be aware. Barq's has caffeine. Or did. I haven't had any recently.

Might be where the bite comes from.

I have and always will swear by Diet Pepsi. I've been addicted to the stuff since I was 14!

I really like caffiene free Diet Pepsi and have been able to find it in some restaurants, like Panera Bread. If you are looking for caffiene free diet soda in restaurants, Chik-Fil-A has Caffiene free Diet Coke. Those are the only two that I know of off hand.

I really like diet Sierra Mist too - much better than any other diet clear soda.

Not root beer, my dear, Ginger Beer. Kind of like Ginger Ale, if it had balls.

It's rather unique stuff.