Original Post by dragonshadows00:
Most diets will say they want you to drink about 2 liters of water per day
maybe this one just puts a fancy name on it and adds flavor to the water to get you to drink it ?
I'm with you on this one. oooo, it's SASSY! It MUST be magical! *eye roll*
Well, I took the time to research the health benefits of the ingredients in this water, and I can see how it would help by drinking this instead of regular drinking water. Most of the ingredients assist with stomach bloating, retention and also aides in the digestion of food.
Just thought I would add this! 
Sassy Water
Top 10 Belly-Bloating Foods to AvoidThe 4-day jumpstart is a great way to reduce belly bloat and start flattening your stomach instantly. You can lose up to 7 pounds! You'll drink Sassy Water (a signature Flat Belly recipe) while eating healthy foods and drinks that will help flush out excess fluid, reduce water retention, and relieve gas that can bloat your belly. Here are key foods to avoid on the jumpstart.
Salt Avoid the saltshaker, salt-based seasonings, and highly processed foods. Water is attracted to sodium, so when you take in higher than usual amounts, you'll temporarily retain more fluid--which contributes to a sluggish feeling, a puffy appearance, and extra water weight.
Excess Carbs As a backup energy source, your muscles store a type of carbohydrate called glycogen. Every gram of glycogen is stored with about 3 grams of water. But unless you're running a marathon tomorrow, you don't need all this stockpiled fuel. Decreasing your carbohydrate intake temporarily can train your body to access this stored fuel and burn it off. At the same time, you'll drain off the excess stored fluid.
Bulky Raw Foods A half-cup serving of cooked carrots delivers the same nutrition as one cup raw, but it takes up less room in your GI tract. Eat only cooked vegetables, smaller portions of unsweetened dried fruit, and canned fruits in natural juice. This will allow you to meet your nutrient needs without expanding your GI tract with extra volume.
Gassy Foods Certain foods simply create more gas in your GI tract. They include legumes, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, onions, peppers, and citrus fruits.
Sugar Alcohols These sugar substitutes, which go by the names xylitol or maltitol, are often found in low-calorie or low-carb products like cookies, candy, and energy bars because they taste sweet. Like fiber, your GI tract can't absorb most of them. That's good for your calorie bottom line, but not so good for your belly. Sugar alcohols cause gas, abdominal distention, bloating, and diarrhea. Avoid them.
Fried Foods Fatty foods, especially the fried variety, are digested more slowly, causing you to feel heavy and bloated. On the Flat Belly Diet you'll eat fats, but you'll eat the healthy kind--MUFAs (short for monounsaturated fatty acids)--that target hard-to-lose visceral belly fat. MUFAs can be found in oils (such as olive oil), olives, nuts and seeds, avocado, and dark chocolate. Yum!
Spicy Foods Foods seasoned with black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, chili powder, hot sauces, onions, garlic, mustard, barbecue sauce, horseradish, catsup, tomato sauce, or vinegar can all stimulate the release of stomach acid, which can cause irritation.
Carbonated Drinks Where do you think all those bubbles end up? They gang up in your belly! Swap these beverages for delicious Sassy Water (the Flat Belly Diet's signature drink). You'll enjoy this soothing, flavorful water on the jumpstart and can continue drinking it throughout the diet (many Flat Belly Dieters do!).
High-Acid Drinks Alcohol, coffee, tea, hot cocoa, and acidic fruit juices: Each of these high-acid beverages can irritate your GI tract, causing swelling. You can have these drinks in moderation after the jumpstart if you choose.
Some more comments about things people have mentioned here. The water itself doesn't have magical properties. People have always enjoyed flavored beverages, so there's no surprise about the sassy water. The water has psychological benefits as stated above (creating new healthy habits), and some mild nutrition and good flavor without sugar, alcohol or caffeine. And people aren't looking for magic, but for solid reasonable advice about how to eat and care for themselves. Media/advertising messages that try to sell you food create confusion about what is truly healthy and reasonable.
There is no need to muddle or crush the ingredients. Just let them steep a few hours. Be sure your mint and cukes are clean. I recommend washing unpeeled cukes with a sponge and soap, then rinsing well. If you buy a mint plant and plant it outside or in a pot, you'll not need to buy it constantly. Mint grows like a weed and needs very little care. Just some sun and water.
About the smoothie: You can make them with nonfat yogurt or lowfat soy milk if you are lactose intolerant. I recommend taking the flax oil by the spoonful with a meal if you don't like to mix it in your food. Be sure your flax oil is fresh. It should smell vaguely grassy. If it smells like linseed oil or paint, it is spoiled and you should not consume it. If it gives you gas, try taking it in smaller amounts 2 or 3 times a day with meals (3 tsp = 1 Tbsp).
I just wanted to say that my boyfriend tried this water and LOVED it. So I have to make double the recipe so he can have some too. I don’t think this water is a miracle drug, but it DOES encourage water consumption because of the tastiness.
AND I am not poisoning my body with artificial sweeteners like those flavor pouches you add to water.
This weekend BIG Memorial Day BBQ, it has been requested that I make 5 gallons of this Sassy water to serve to 60 people.
Wish me luck!
Original Post by johnnypenso:
I found a slightly different version of this recipe...
Sassy Water
2 liters water (about 8 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 medium cucumber. peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium lemon thinly sliced &nb sp; &nb sp; &nb sp; &nb sp; &nb sp; 12 small spearmint leaves &nb sp; &nb sp; &nb sp; &nb sp; &nb sp; &nb sp; 1 gullible person willing to believe this crapOkay that was a little mean...sorry. But seriously guys, when will people start accepting there are no magic solutions? Calories in vs. calories out...it's pretty simple...
Calories in and calories out? Not that simple and different foods have qualities that are good or bad. Ginger is known to settle the stomach and I put it in my coffee and sprinkle in my yogurt and on other foods. Also when it expands it has a bit of fiber in it. Lemon of course has Vit C and sperment also has some medicinal properties. It is the cucumber I don't understand but am going to look into.
I took the book out of the library in February and did the 4 day jump start right before I found CC. The first day I made the sassy water. Personally, I thought it was vile. As far as I'm concerned, water should not taste like cucumbers. And I like cucumbers. At first I choked it down, and then I just chucked it and drank regular water like I normally do. The 4 day jump start is very restrictive. I got through it, but I was glad it was over. I had to modify it because I hate yogurt and I'm not a smoothie fan. Really, the best thing that diet did for me was introduce me to frozen peaches. I had no idea how much I'd adore frozen peaches until I bought them for the flat belly diet.
For those of you who do not want to invest money in the book I suggest getting it from the library...that way you have nothing to lose if you dont like it. I also bought the pocket guide ($7 at Target). It has the complete 4 day jump start and 4 weeks worth of meals with shopping lists. I admit it is a fad diet but it takes the guesswork out of everything (even shopping) so I am going to give it a shot.
Others have already posted the sassy water so I will not waste space by reposting it.
The ingredients for Sassy Water are also alkaline and they don't want you to eat acidic foods, especially during the four day jump start. Alkaline foods are closer to the body's natural PH.
so what do you do when you can't find spearmint leaves??
most spearmint leaves are just labelled "mint" in the grocery store so look for those?
and yes this actually does help. its supposed to help with bloating from retaining fluids and from gas in your system. it helps with both of these i haven't gotten the book and i'm not a firm follower of the rest of the diet, etc etc, but THIS water helps in and of itself, the first two days were "yeeeeeeeesh" kind of days and then whew day three was such a relief my whole system felt better and for those of you out there that know drinking water helps, it does , i actually do drink 8 cups a day of ice water but this still helped more.
i never bother with reviews but actually signed up just so i could answer this one question. *laughs* its an odd taste because the lemon tries to overpower the cucumber and can't quite cut it out completely lol but its good, i still drink it regularly it feels that good and its nice to have something besides, green tea, ice water, lemon water, all the usuals
oh if you have any asian food markets in you area hawaiian ginger root is AWESOME .
Original Post by shapeshifter:
yup, I was about to say the same thing, cucumber and lemon are natural dirutetics and gingers and spearment help relieve bloating ... i'm definitely gonna make some just to drink not as a diet
I have the book and did find that the water was refreshing and I didn't feel as bloated. Now I just like the water because it does taste good (my kids didn't like it though).
I'm not particularly interested in trying a new diet (calorie counting is working great for me), but thanks for the recipe for a new drink. I'm having problems finding things I can drink. I don't like tea - the one exception is Lipton's diet citrus green tea, which doesn't taste overly much like tea and contains aspartame. I'm not a fan of lemon water, and plain water gets boring. I've been drinking a little Propel water lately, but that has high fructose corn syrup. Only 20 calories worth per bottle, but I still feel guilty drinking it. I'm always looking for something flavorful but healthy to drink, and I'll be trying this out next time I go to the store.
If anyone has any suggestions for making tea more palatable, I'm dying to hear them. I actually make a face when I drink it, I can't stop myself. The bitterness seems to affect me in the same way that the sour from sucking on a lemon would.
I suggest you try drinking some herbal teas. Forget regular tea. When I was pregnant, coffee and tea gave me the massive urps, but I loved drinking Cranberry Apple Tea. It has that tartness of cranberry but isn't bitter. There are other flavors of herbal tea you might like, but this one was always my favorite.
Corellia, I second Tina's suggestion on herbal teas. I don't like black tea either it's too bitter. There are dozen's, probably hundreds of herbal teas out there in all kinds of flavours so find flavours you like and start from there. Beware of artificial flavours and ingredients though...they aren't necessary in good quality tea. It pays to pay a little more for the good stuff. I buy most of mine loose leaf in small quantities and grind it up in my coffee grinder to my desired consistency and then use a tiny spoon I got from a stevia bottle to add 2-3 scoops. A small quantity lasts a long, long time and even the most expensive teas cost a penny per cup or less.
Speaking of stevia, try that to sweeten your tea, I have been using it for years. Stevia is an all natural plant extract with no calories and is 200 times sweeter than sugar in the same quantity. I buy only the pure powdered extract and although it isn't exactly sugar, you get used to the slight taste in difference and then prefer it over sugar. With no calories and no effect on blood sugar it's worth a shot...
tina and johnny - I appreciate the advice. I have tried some flavored teas, as I have a friend who absolutely loves them, but the ones I tried were still black or green tea based. I liked the flavors, but there was still that strong bitter aftertaste that made me cringe. I'll try some herbal teas later in the week and see if they're better. The pear green tea she had wasn't terrible, maybe I can find a pear flavored herbal tea.
I recently got this book so I will just add my comments. The ingredients in the water are NOT just there for flavor. The whole 4 day jump start part is about reducing bloating and the ingredients in that water help with that. I have not tried it yet but heard that it's very good so I will try it. The rest of that 4 day jumpstart is basically avoiding foods that make you bloat like salt, brocoli, etc.
After that, the diet basically works around eating MUFAs everyday (as someone stated above). Some Mufa examples are olives, seeds, nuts, avocados, and dark chocolate. That part of the diet I agree with and usually try to do anyway. It's a 1600 calorie a day diet. I would not call it a fad diet as it's all very healthy.
That being said, I would only follow it to a point. They really stress not eating processed foods and going organic on just about everything. While I would LOVE to do that....I just can't afford it. :(
It's a good read, but not worth $30. You can just check the book out at a library. It's not really that hard to just look up eating right online either. Avoid salting your foods, eat morre veggies and lean meats, go less processed and organic when you can, drink your water, avoid anything hydrogenized, eat the right amount of calories per day for your weight, and eat the healthy fats. Avocados, nuts, seeds, healthy oils, and dark chocolate are GREAT...just make sure you measure a serving size out as they are easy to over consume.
Corellia try going to a tea shop or some kind of specialty store for your tea and asking someone there. There are lots of teas made from just flowers or herbs and in a good store you'll be able to buy the ingredients independently. So you could by rosehip by itself for example or any other herb that goes into tea. I grind mine up in a coffee grinder and use them as loose leaf tea and they last forever that way because you get all the flavour out of them when you grind them up...
Am I the only person who thinks this sassy water tastes horrible? Everyone seems to love it..sadly i think its awful and hard to get down and if it wasnt for my desperation to get rid of my awful bloating i wouldnt go near this stuff!
you guys are so totally cool! i would totally buy the book cause i think there is a science to how our bodies work.
i was set to buy the book on amazon which you can get for about ten bucks rather than thirty. thanks to you, i can use the ten bucks to buy some of the healthy stuff.
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