Flavored water packets...

Flavored water packets vs plain water...What's everyone drinking? I can't seem to "live" without my water packets!

I drink both.  When I want to change things up, I'll add a flavor packet to my water and go.  I don't do it every day but at least several times a week.  I make sure it doesn't have the sugar/calories.  I treat it like tea or lemonade.

I don't really use packets or anything... I used to have a serious addiction to the fizz of soda, so I began just drinking flavored seltzer instead (meaning no sodium, sugar or harmful chemicals- just zero calorie flavoring and carbonation). Polar makes all kinds of awesome flavors and where I live they're less than a dollar for a four serving bottle.

I just drink plain water. I don't get any flavourings, squash or anything. If I want something different, I just have a cup of coffee or tea, but other than that, plain water ahoy. :)

The only thing I add to my water is ICE .  For the past 20 years, it's all I ever drink throughout the day.  If I'm really feeling wild & crazy, I'll add a wedge of lemon or lime. 

I used to only drink plain water - sort of against all the flavorings. 

But . . . then I tried Mio.  This is the best flavoring ever!  No after taste or sinking to the bottom like Crystal Light. You can make it as mild or sweet as you like.  I like only a little flavor so it lasts much longer than the 24 servings listed on the bottle and it helped to really boost how much water I drank throughout the day.

I've also discovered another use for it.  I put a squirt in cottage cheese and it was great! It also works in plain yogurt if you want just a hint of flavor.

Water, straight up! Hold the sugars, artificial ingredients and preservatives, please.   :)

Totally with you on adding flavor to my water with lo-cal packets.  My current favorite is Cherry Pomegranate.  I sometimes sprinkle a little of it in my iced sun tea as well for some additional flavor.  By the way, I am okay with the artificial ingredients as I think the fact that I now get in lots of water that way is a benefit that outweighs the negative.

Original Post by hackerk:

Totally with you on adding flavor to my water with lo-cal packets.  My current favorite is Cherry Pomegranate.  I sometimes sprinkle a little of it in my iced sun tea as well for some additional flavor.  By the way, I am okay with the artificial ingredients as I think the fact that I now get in lots of water that way is a benefit that outweighs the negative.

Crystal Light is made with Splenda, or sucralose. They just came out with a natural alternative. If I remember right it's called, "Nutreese" or something like that. Will be interesting to see if they start using it in products that are currently using Splenda. I'm a fan of Crystal Light also.

My husband used to use the crystal lite packets, but you know if you use the same container over and over again to mix the stuff it starts to build up a weird white residue that you cannot wash out. So i started making fresh lemon juice by just juicing lemons and keeping a squeeze bottle in the fridge. I have no idea what that residue is, but if it doesn't come off plastic i wonder how long it sticks to your cells?

I used to use the Mio enhancer a lot, untill i read about how long food dyes stay in your system - so now i just enjoy an ice cold glass of water, and if i need something for it i add my lemon juice...

I use to but now that I am more active, I want my H20. There are times it tastes too PLAIN so i spritz it with lemon or lime. :)

Unfortunately, I've never been a fan of plain water.  So I've used the Crystal Light packets, but my favorite has always been the Lipton Citrus Tea To Go packets.  I know they use an artificial sweetener, but it's light and I drink just plain water in between.  I'm trying to ween myself off the flavored water, but its taking a while.  Not sure I'll ever completely be a plain water fan - but I'm trying.

I'm guessing the residue comes from the sweetener though I'm not really sure but it will wash out.  We use the 32 oz gator/power-ade bottles so that the neck is big enough for the brush that we use for the bottoms of tall glasses, etc. will fit through it and we wash them on a regular basis.  We used to use the half gallon bottles but sometimes it would start to turn and taste funky before we could get it all drank. Then we switched to the single serve packs and just use the half gallons to keep the water cold in the fridge.  I don't like mine too strong so one single serve pack is perfect for the 32 oz for me.  Also, we go to Dollar General stores and pick up the Crush brand that has Orange, Grape, Squirt & Strawberry and have everyone hooked on them.  You get six packets for a dollar there.  My doctor told me that the benefits of drinking flavored water outweighed the possible risks of the sweetener as without the flavoring, I rarely drink water at all.

I typically find most of the flavor packets to have a funky aftertaste or for the taste itself to just be downright weird, but the Crystal Light raspberry lemonade one is delicious (and pomegranate lemonade, too...not sure if it's by Crystal Light but it's good). I don't really like completely plain water either, but when I do drink it, it's gotta be cold. I'm an avid tea drinker, though.

Flavor enhancer. Health reducer.