Very boring logistical question about squash

[Teachingquestion]

I am giving fair warning that this thread is boring!
I drink a lot of squash , as I don't like fizzy drinks or fruit juice..
Some things are atarting to bother me about it. The plastic bottles, I'd like to cut down on these. The sweetener, and the chemicals.
I won't drink just plain water. What can I drink? I still want it to be low cal, but sweet.
Ideas : glass jug in fridge with cucumber minty water. Cold fruit teas again stored in fridge and maybe sweetened with honey?
How can I stop the squash? Any ideas gratefully recieved.

If you start drinking just water, to the exclusion of everything else, you’ll get into it. Get a filter jug and stick it in the fridge, it’ll make things more pleasant.

Water with a slice of lemon or lime.

Alternatively water is easier to drink through a bottle with a straw.

You can get water bottles that make water taste like fruit juice. Would that work?

I used to drink huge amounts of squash, but artificial sweeteners give me migraines and in recent years it’s very difficult to find squash without them so DH has to make a special trip to Waitrose (can’t afford to do our main shop there!). I do drink a lot less of it these days, mainly due to cost. To start with, just running out and not having any in stock for a while will really get you out of the habit. Then if you don’t want to give it up completely just have it as a special treat at a certain time of day. If you get into the more posh squashes you can buy in different flavours it can feel a lot more special, and you’ll appreciate it more as an occasional treat. Lastly, and there’s no logic to this, try drinking water from a bottle. I would never want to drink squash from a bottle, but will happily glug water from a bottle. If it’s in a glass it feels a lot more natural to add squash to it. I have managed to cut down hugely over the last couple of years. I do very much recommend going cold turkey for a couple of weeks to get you started.

What about making your squash increasingly more dilute so you end up with just water?

I drink kombucha. I don't like sweet drinks at all and I don't like flavoured kombucha but I get plain, active kombucha delivered to the house from a company called leftfield. They do four varieties based on different tea. It is expensive but I don't drink alcohol any more so it works out OK for me.

Some premium cordials are in glass bottles if that makes you feel better?

I did this. I haven't drunk squash in years when it was the only thing i would drink for a very long time. I hated water. Try it OP! It's so much healthier.

Am I the only one who thought this was about squash , the ball game .. ? As for what you call squash the drink I call it dilute or it brand name . And I find it nauseatingly sweet . I love pure natural water .

I know you’ve said you don’t like fizzy drinks but would fizzy water be any good? You still get that sharp sensation in your mouth, which may be what you like about squash. But like any fizzy drinks it’s not great for your teeth.

I used to get Rocks squash from Sainsburys and I think it’s available in most supermarkets. It doesn’t have any artificial additives.

You can drink water. It’s just about getting over the hump of craving sweet squash and there will
be a readjustment period. A bit like if you stop putting sugar in tea - you hate tea for a month but you eventually are happy with it and then if you accident my drink sugared tea it’s awful. There’s no reason you can’t drink water. Get a jug and add cucumber or mint or lemon and have a go.

Squash nowadays is riddled with artificial sweeteners and they’re so bloody awful.

I definitely won't stick with plain water, I will need some flavourings

Haven't heard of this , am intrigued!

I've seen these but they are too expensive.
I fancy the idea of the ginger one though

I'm not a fan of fizzy water unfortunately thanks for the tip about Rocks

https://shop.air-up.com/gb/en/how-air-up-works

im not affiliated in any way.

Non-fizzy lemonade? Lemon, sugar syrup, water, ice. Could do the same with limes, crushed berries etc. I often make mocktails and cocktails with leftover jam- put ice and water/lemonade in jar, screw lid on and shake.

Look out for cordials on offer- they're not always extortionate. You could just have one bottle a month, or fortnight. Same price as the cost of your squash bill I'm sure?

They're called air up. I've never used them, but they have a scent pod near the opening so you get a fruit flavour, but all you are drinking is plain water.

https://shop.air-up.com/gb/en/bottles

Weirdly I never considered making my own!
Will investigate

You don’t need some flavourings, you’ve just got into the habit of consuming them.

I found Mr Fitzpatricks do no added sugar cordial in glass bottles, low calorie and they're lovely, but obviously more pricey.

Have a look at frozen berries as a cost cutting measure. I would pop them on the hob with a dash of sugar and water and cook them down, then strain and leave to cool. You could concentrate them further but if you have time to do it once a week I wouldn't worry. This recipe seems fairly straightforward

A bit of fruit is ok, we don't need to be scared of flavourings. Water is great but fruit is great too!

Squash? You mean diluting juice surely
M&S do some nice fruit cordials in glass bottles. They're much milder than the likes of Robinson's which I find too strong unless I just use a splash.

Thanks for the tips, will definitely try making my own. Seems quite easy and will probably be delicious.
I'll get myself a glass fridge jug as well