DIY Drink Mix

I notice all of the ready made, easy to use, premixed, God only knows what is in it foods and drinks. There probably isn't anything wrong with it, until you begin to read the fine print on the ingredient lists. One thing I have noticed lately is all the "healthier" juice drinks and teas that are hitting the shelf at your local stores. On the outside of the can or bottle it will say something like, "healthier" and "less sugar", it sounds really good, you think you are getting a drink with less sugar and no artificial sweeteners, until you turn it over and read on the ingredient list that it not only contains sugar and corn syrup, it also contains sucralose, the generic form of Splenda, some contain aspartame and another sweetener that hasn't gotten much media time, acesulfame potassium.

The problem is it says NOTHING on the front label about having any sort of artificial sweeteners, so you believe that you are getting a wholesome, juice or tea beverage, it's even being done with some of the energy drinks, I find this deceptive. It used to be that you had 2 choices, either you had sugar in the drink or it was sugar free and contained artificial sweeteners, now they are blending these and not stating it clearly on the labels. There are many people who are sensitive to artificial sweeteners, there are many people who don't want to put that sort of garbage into their bodies, and now drink companies are putting this into so called, healthy beverages and hiding the fact in the small print on the back of the container. See the examples at the bottom.

I had stocked up on unsweetened powdered drink mixes before moving off grid, I still pick them up when I find them on sale. Kool-aid is a favorite, I'm still a kid at heart. I generally don't make up a whole pitcher of Kool-aid, we just don't drink it fast enough and the lack of refrigeration is also a problem. I was happy when I found Kool-aid Singles, you can pour one packet into a glass of water or into a bottled water, one packet, one serving, that is convenient!

Then I read the box, those rascals put sucralose and acesulfame potassium in the drink mix along with sugar and fructose! It says nothing on the front of the box about containing any artificial sweeteners, it didn't say sugar free, it merely said less sugar which sounded good to me.

Well, I decided I could make my own drink mix that contained the amount of real sugar that I want, and I can make up one drink at a time if I choose. I had lots of Kool-aid powdered drink mix, the kind that comes in a packet that you have to add sugar to.

One problem that has to be overcome is the sugar, in its granular form, it will not readily dissolve in cool or cold water, so I pulled out my coffee bean grinder. I use this for spices (I have never used it for coffee), I made sure it was absolutely clean, then I measured out one cup of sugar, then I placed a small amount of the sugar into the grinder and pulsed it into a fine powder. Once I did the whole batch/cup, I poured it into a wide mouth jar, I added one packet of Kool-aid, I chose pink lemonade. I replaced the lid on the jar and shook it until it was combined.

I poured a glass of water and added a heaping spoonful of the drink mix, it dissolved almost instantly, I drank it and it was perfect! I just finished my second glass. In the next few days, I'll make up more batches with the different flavors of Kool-aid that I have lots and lots of.

You can use a blender or food processor to buzz the granulated sugar, I just use what I have on hand. You could also just use powdered sugar, but there is an extra ingredient in powdered sugar, it is corn starch, I assume it is to keep it from clumping, I will continue using my method. :)

Click the links to see some examples of the deceptive labels, you should note that nothing on the front of the bottles/cans indicate they contain artificial sweeteners, they are not sugar free, they do in fact contain sugar, AND sucralose and/or aspartame. I am not picking on these two companies, there are many more who do this as well, these are just 2 very well known companies with well known products. I know that Snapple does carry some lower sugar beverages that do not contain artificial sweeteners, just read those labels!

http://www.snapple.com/products#/noni-berry-juice-drink/?id=juice-drink

http://www.snapple.com/products#/kiwi-pear-juice-drink/?id=juice-drink

http://www.monsterenergy.com/product/meanbean.php

http://www.monsterenergy.com/product/energy.php

Wretha

Thanks for visiting!
.
.
.
.
.