Week 13 Countdown to Unprocessed Foods: “Real” Beverages

Week 14 Recap:

I was challenged to have at least 2 different fruits and/or vegetables with each meal. Well, although I didn’t do it at every single meal or snack, I am proud to say I did this at most meals- if I had to guess I’d say around 60-75% of my meals for the week. I spent more than one week working on this challenge and will be spending the following week focusing on the next part. Even when we get busy, distracted, or aren’t able to get it all done in a week, it’s good to know we can make progress.

So, there’s room for improvement for me. How about you?

Week 13: “Real” Beverages

That means limiting all drink choices to water, tea, coffee, milk, limited juice, and wine in moderation (one drink for us ladies, possibly two for men). Tea, coffee, and the like should only be mildly sweetened with a little honey or 100% maple syrup according to the challenge website.

For me, most of this challenge won’t be a difficult task as I already try to drink this way (carbonation has always made me sick so I gave up soda as a child). With that said, I have a sweet tooth and I inherited multiple “bitter receptor” genes so cutting down the sugars/sweeteners will be the biggest challenge here for me.

Tips for Week 13: “Real” Beverages

• 1 serving of 100% fruit juice is only 4 ounces.
• 1 serving of wine varies depending on the type but table wine is generally 4-5 ounces; if you’re drinking port wine or something else, check out this graphic.
• Consider drinking tap water from a purified source and check for BPA-free containers.
• Bored of water? Consider jazzing it up by adding slices of fruit or herbs (check out some examples here) and you can always sweeten it a little bit.
• Tea comes in a variety of flavors and caffeine content so try out different samples, combinations, and add slices of fruit or herbs to enhance flavor. If you want to try herbal tea and aren’t sure what you like, I suggest buying assorted sampler packs for affordable prices (usually online) or stop by a place like Teavana to try some out before you spend any money.
• If you can’t tolerate coffee, want a caffeine-free alternative, or want to add flavor to your coffee without creamer, consider products such as Teecino (chocolate mint is my go-to) and Choffey.

What about you? Do you think you can clean up your drink choices? Even if you can do it for at least half of your choices, or even one meal a day, it’s progress.

Here’s to continuing to add two fruits/vegetables per meal AND only drinking “real” beverages. Next week I will recap on how both of these challenges are going for me.