HOW TO...WEAN YOUR KIDS OFF SUGARY FIZZY DRINKS WITHOUT ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS, Healthy

Try animal cunning to switch your kids to no-sugar, additive-free flavoured drinks

Low-Sugar Ginger Tea
Presentation can persuade kids to give up high sugar drinks

Whatever happens to the recent Budget, the Government has recognised that kids and sugary drinks don't go together well.

Many concerned parents have already been trying to wean their kids off sugary drinks but it's not easy.  Some manufacturers of sugary drinks have been replacing sugar with chemical sweeteners like aspartamine, which are linked with side effects and health problems.  Not exactly a healthy substitute. 

The key seems to be to train your kids to drink water flavoured with fruit and vegetables, and to experiment with flavoured teas. 

Last November, Jaime Oliver's recipes for flavoured waters were published in the Times.  The Blogger drinks a lot of filtered water and tried Jaime's drinks.  They were absolutely lovely, with one proviso. Don't make the flavoured water too far in advance; the fruit shouldn't sit in the water for much longer than a day.  

Flavoured waters From Jaime Oliver 

Everyday Super Food (Michael Joseph £18.20) The Dish, the Times, 1/11/15

The following combinations are steeped in a jug of water and ice, and refrigerated for at lest three hours:

Cucumber, Apple & Mint
Add one fine finely sliced apple, strips of cucumber and a few fresh mint leaves

Strawberry
Add half a dozen sliced strawberries

St Clements
Add sliced oranges and lemons

Watermelon & Basil
Add a peeled chopped wedge of watermelon, bashing the fruit to release flavours.  Add a squeeze of lime. 

To encourage kids to drink flavoured waters: 

• use a clear glass jug to show off the fruit
• freeze pieces of fruit in ice-cubes and add them to serving glasses (plastic ice cube trays are budget-friendly)
• collect colourful, interesting and sturdy glasses  
• for special occasions, serve flavoured waters with fruit or veg on a cocktail stick and/or with a cocktail umbrella

67's home-made kids' teas with no or low sugar, are also a good substitute for sugary drinks.  They're not expensive and the ingredients are easy to find in supermarkets.   

• Jasmine tea (available in teabags in supermarkets, or - for the frugal -

  

  This mug is very sturdy! 

  loose in Chinese supermarkets) appeals to kids because it is so pale and delicate.  Make it very weak - a pinch of leaves in the bottom of a cup or a half teaspoon in a teapot. It is usually served hot but is surprisingly refreshing cold with a thin slice of lemon.
  (Try serving the tea in a robust 'embroidered' Chinese mug - about £3 in Chinatowns; fill only half full with hot tea & top up with cold water in case of accidents)  
• Berry teas, brewed in a teapot, cooled & stored in the fridge. Use as you would a cordial - an inch or two in the bottom of a glass, topped up with sparkling water. 
• Ginger tea (How to cook with fresh ginger root) is often used medicinally but also makes a refreshing drink.  Use as you would a cordial - an inch or two in the bottom of a glass, topped up with fizzy water, with a slice of lemon perched on the side.  For children you may need to add a little maple syrup and a plastic straw.  

Some eye-catching supermarket buys:

• Morrisons has a glass latte mug at £2 for 2 (the coffee-shop one pictured is from Nisbetts), colourfully striped tall glasses - ok for children's hands - for £1 each and boxes of flexible straws, 225 for a pound
• Waitrose has beautifully tinted sturdy tumblers which narrow towards the base, £1 each, and striped re-usable straws, 8 for £2

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This information has been compiled by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.