Soda Pop Alternatives

Want a drink that pops without drinking traditional soda pop? Learn how to make your own healthy fizzy drink.

Culinary chef and nutritionist Sheree Clark shares her favorite ways to quench her thirst while keeping her health in mind. Sugar, artificial sweeteners and colors, and phosphoric acids in leading national brand sodas are linked to diseases from diabetes to cancer. So what exactly do you do when you crave that fizzy flavor?

Sheree recommends trading up from the national brands to something a little bit more natural. Check out the labels, and watch out for artificial ingredients and additives.

If you want to make something at home, fill a glass or jar with water, split a vanilla bean down the center, and let it soak in the water overnight. If you like your drink fizzy, use sparkling water instead of flat water. You’ll have something that tastes remarkably like a delicious cream soda. For a fruity soda alternative, add tart cherry juice to sparkling water and vanilla stevia. Add a few squeezes of lime to tarten it up.

A shrub is a soft drink made by mixing vinegared syrup with carbonated water. Sheree makes hers with apple cider vinegar, mineral water, and raspberries. So next time you’re jonesing for an unhealthy carbonated beverage, get in your kitchen, and make one of these tasty, refreshing alternatives.

Discover other beverage alternatives by Sheree Clark!