15 Refreshing Diet Soda Alternatives Free Of Aspartame

It's hard to compete with water as the top beverage. It's abundant and widely available. Whether you choose mineral water, bottled, or filtered tap, you can't really go wrong. It has long been understood that drinking enough water is crucial to your overall health. It helps you maintain proper kidney function, keeps your skin aglow, and might even aid in weight loss. By replacing your diet sodas with a refillable water bottle, you'll be doing your whole body a favor (not to mention cutting back on plastic and aluminum waste with the reusable bottle).

While it might be a little difficult for your tastebuds to make the switch from artificially sweetened sodas to water, you can give your H2O a little boost by including some natural flavorings. Cucumber water is a refreshing and healthy option that is commonly found in spas around the world. All you need is to slice up a cuke and let it steep. The light flavor of the cucumber is just enough to add brightness and interest to the water. Plus, it never hurts to feel like you're pampering yourself.

Cranberries are a superfood, no doubt about it. Bright red and reminiscent of the holidays, cranberries are potent in flavor. There are plenty of health benefits of drinking cranberry juice, from improved gut health and digestion to fighting the formation of plaque on your teeth. They're also high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. In order to avail yourself of these benefits, though, you want to make sure that you're drinking pure cranberry juice and not cranberry juice cocktail. Pure cranberry juice doesn't contain any additional sweeteners and has a powerfully tart flavor.

Drinking cranberry juice straight might not be to everyone's taste, however, throwing a splash of the potent beverage into a glass of seltzer water with a squeeze of fresh lime creates a truly refreshing drink. It hits multiple flavor notes that will have you saying, "Diet, who?"

Cranberry's flavor plays well with lots of different flavors, from citrus to ginger, to the herbaceous notes of rosemary. You'll look extra fancy and get to stretch your mixology muscles without going near a bar.

Sometimes simplicity is key. Plain seltzer with a few slices of citrus is a timeless delight that just relies on the freshness of the fruit and the effervescence of the seltzer. Citrus fruit isn't just limited to your standard lemons, limes, and oranges. Grapefruit is an underrated fruit whose flavor brings a unique twist to the familiar citrus tang. Sliced kumquats resemble tiny oranges and have both a sweet and tart flavor. Blood oranges are visually striking and flavorful.

In order to get the most flavor out of your citrus fruits, be sure to roll them under your palm on a countertop to release the oils and juices. Also, if you're keeping the rind on your citrus, be sure to give your fruit a good scrub. You can also pair your citrus with a layer of herbal infusion by sticking a spring of rosemary, thyme, or a few leaves of sage into the mix.

Fermented foods have begun developing quite a buzz around them. These include things like kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, and kombucha, which are rich in probiotics and promote gut health. Kombucha, in particular, has soared in popularity and become increasingly available in stores and supermarkets. The fermented tea has a light, natural fizz that comes from the developing bacteria and yeast and can contain traces of alcohol, which give the beverage a kick.

Kombucha can be made with either black or green teas, which gives it not only the benefits of probiotics but also the antioxidant goodness of tea leaves. Add fruit juice to sweeten and deepen the flavor of the kombucha, or brew your own, a process that takes about 12 days as the yeast and tea ferments, giving it that trademark sour, bubbly tang. 

Brewing kombucha allows customization of the flavor, mixing and matching different fruit and tea blends. Reuse the SCOBY (or bacterial mother) between batches, much like a traditional sourdough starter.

Often seen behind the neighborhood bar wrapped in paper, bottles of cocktail bitters are a ubiquitous tool of the practiced mixologist. Originally used medicinally, bitters are a blend of herbs and spices that traditionally aided in digestion (a well-known industry cure for hangovers is several shakes of bitters into ginger ale to settle a stomach). But in recent years, folks have come to embrace these humble ingredients as a refreshing beverage too, simply added to soda water.

Angostura bitters are the most popular, harnessing a bitter orange base flavor. As the world of bitters has expanded, however, a wide range of botanical flavors has emerged. Chocolate, celery, and cherry bitters are popular variations. There are also floral and spice-forward bitters that bring botanical flavors to seltzer. There's no rumbly tummy necessary to enjoy a bitters and soda water; for those craving something bubbly and not-too-sweet, it's the ideal beverage.

A tentpole of the little kid economy, lemonade is so easy to mix up that children do it every summer to make pocket money. With only three ingredients (water, sugar, and lemon), lemonade is a versatile drink that signifies a season of carefree, lazy days in the sun.

There are tons of variations on lemonade that takes citrus in all sorts of different directions. Sweeten it in different ways that don't involve plain white sugar with, say, a swirl of honey or maple syrup; muddle in some sweeter fruits like mango, pineapple, or cherries. Or temper the sourness inherent to the lemons by adding herbaceous flavors, such as basil or sage.

Some people, inevitably, will crave carbonation in their lemonade. Satisfy this craving by topping the lemonade with a splash of soda water or citrus-flavored seltzer. The bubbles can add a fun, fizzy lift to the nostalgic, beloved beverage.

Once upon a time, it seemed like the whirring sound of the blender was as synonymous with the morning routine as a crowing rooster; but these days, smoothies aren't just for breakfast anymore. Packed with vitamins and nutrients, smoothies help fill folks up and keep them energized throughout the day. They're great for replenishment after a workout, and they're easy to make ahead of time for dispatching later in the day.

Use nut milk, dairy milk, kefir, or fruit juice as the base, then blend in nearly anything in the fridge to make a refreshing, healthy beverage. There are tons of ingredients that can instantly make a smoothie more nutritious. From leafy greens to spoonfuls of bee pollen, it's easy to build a drink, but sometimes it is best to keep it simple and easy. Strawberries, almond milk, and ice are really all that is needed to create a fun, refreshing smoothie without needing to resort to artificial sweeteners. 

Fruit juices are delicious and easy to make at home. But even those that are freshly-squeezed can be loaded with sugars, which tend to dehydrate and spike blood sugar. To enjoy the natural goodness of fruit juice without getting loaded down with excess sugars, consider diluting the fruit juice.

Pineapple and orange juice are delicious and loaded with vitamins, but the same benefits can be had without sacrificing flavor by simply replacing half the juice with either plain or sparkling water. Fruits and vegetables that have naturally high water content (like watermelon or cucumbers) are also a smart way to dilute more sugary fruits, counterbalancing the sweetness without losing nutritional value.

The sugar in fruit typically scratches the same itch that often has people reaching for soda, but it satisfies while also providing potassium and vitamins that would otherwise not be along for the ride. Add a splash of soda water to scratch that bubble itch as well, and the result is another diet soda alternative your whole body will appreciate.