To be cross there’s artificial sweeteners in most drinks now?

[Worriedmummy2400]

I’m starting keto so cutting down the carbs considerably but I don’t want to up the artificial sweeteners either. I like lemon squash but all the brands seem to use sweeteners that aren’t great for you. Like diet drinks do. Is there a low carb so no sugar squash that uses a better sweetener? I’ve been told by a dr to cut down caffeine and artificial sweeteners. I hate water and don’t drink it plain. Help!

Some of us like flavour though. Totally joyless to eat/drink something that’s has no taste/flavour. No enjoyment in life without nice food & drink!

I buy Rocks as it has real cane sugar, not artificial sweetener. Once diluted, it’s far better for you than many other foods and drinks without a sugar tax. It contains sugar though. If you want sugar-free, leave some water in a jug in the fridge with slices of orange or lemon or cucumber or even strawberry in it. Serve with ice.

Try
Belvoir Farm - no added sugar, lemon & lime
Teisseire Citron Syrup (harder to track down) - except if you go to France
Sainsburys Sicilian lemon & mint cordial the taste the difference one
Bottlegreen lime & mint cordial has no artificial sweeteners (I like it a lot)

I have no problem with stevia head wise as it’s natural the dr said. He said stick to xylitol or other natural ones. Just going to try the drops. I’m not a coffee drinker so it’s decaf tea I’m looking at too but I like a squash type drink in the day too. It gets hot in the office. And I’m not sure low carb wise about milk. Though I can’t imagine tea no milk and I hate plant milks. I know I’m a fussy one but I’m ND.

Thank you for the warning about lemon water and teeth.

We make cordials - pretty easy to do in the slow cooker. We use sugar, but you could try without.
Otherwise try fruit/herb tea cool. You can make the night before and cool, or leave a tea bag (or leaves) in a water bottle for a few hours. Lemon balm is nice. Or mint, fennel seeds, raspberry/blackcurrant leaf or whatever you fancy.
A few drops of apple cider vinegar in sparkling water tastes quite nice.

DH likes beef oxo cube in a mug of hot water.

Rocks, fevertree and Cawston press are what i drink now - hate sweetners

This! A bit of barley juice or squeeze some lemon into tap water in bottle. Xx

Be careful with Bottle Green, they have now admitted they use Stevia but they list it as “natural flavouring”. I’m in the SOS group and if you search Bottle Green on there, there’s the correspondence between them and some of the group. I wondered why I had a terrible migraine and vomiting when I had the mango & passion fruit cordial 🙁

I cannot abide artificial sweeteners either. Don’t like the taste and they affect me badly.

Mostly I drink water or hot drinks though.

Do you have any recipes that you like and can share?

@OppaDoppaDoo

Lemon Cordial (also works for any citrus fruits, or mix thereof)
3 lemons, washed and sliced. 625g sugar. 900ml boiling water. Add all to slow cooker and stir until sugar has disolved. Cook on high for 1 hour, reduce to low and cook for another 2-3 hours. The timings are very forgiving. Switch off slow cooker and stir in 25g of tartaric acid (NOT cream of tartar. Tartaric acid stops fermentation and you can buy from homebrew shop or Amazon). Once cool, remove lemons and pour into sterlised bottles. I now have a metal funnel with a strainer in it, and this has made things so much easier. Store in the fridge, dilute to taste. Recipe says it keeps for a month, but personally ours is fine for a few months.

Blackcurrant cordial (works for raspberries too)
150-300g caster sugar. Zest & juice of 2 lemons. 450g blackcurrants.
Put sugar and 300ml boiling water in heated slow cooker (on high). Add lemon juice/zest followed by blackcurrants. Cook for 2-3 hours until blackcurrants start to soften and burst. Strain and transfer to sterile bottles. Store in fridge for up to a month (but as above we will keep it longer). Dilute to taste. This is great if you have your own blackcurrants as you don't need to remove all the little stems etc. Raspberry cordial is extra nice if you add some mint for the last hour or so.

I have dithered over leaving the tartaric acid out of the lemon/citrus cordial. The blackcurrant recipe doesn't call for it, and I'm not convinced fermentation would happen in a fridge as I can't brew in the garage over the winter... The kids are older now, so may risk them getting tipsy in the name of science!

Thank you! I love the sound of that metal funnel with a strainer - off to Google it now.

I got this one. So much easier. Enjoy!

We buy Belvoir cordial, or make lemonade which is lovely diluted with sparkling water.