"And don't you DARE give them soda!"
It's the rule more and more parents, terrified of childhood obesity, are leaving with grandparents when they drop the kids off for a day at the beach. And they've got a point — study after study is pointing the finger at carbonated soft drinks as one of the chief contributors to a host of societal health problems, including obesity, certain kinds of diabetes, tooth decay, even scurvy. Well, not scurvy. But you get the point, which is that, along with other dietary considerations that you're probably getting sick of hearing about, lots of grandparents are deciding that their kids and sodas don't mix.
That's kind of a bummer, because sodas have long been a favored weapon in the grandparents' arsenal of treats. Fortunately, we're here to help you re-arm with flavorful drinks that will keep the grandkids happily hydrated, and you, on their parents' good side.
This list of options will make stocking your cooler for a day at the beach into, well, a day at the beach. They're not all sugar-free, but they all have specific benefits that make them appealing to parents and kids alike - and you won't feel that silly drinking most of them, either.
Izze
Recently, former President Bill Clinton helped broker a deal with the three major soft drink manufacturers to restrict the sale of sodas in schools. This made the folks at IZZE drool, because they're one of the best-known makers of a new kind of carbonated juice drink that features the fizzy appeal of a soda and the wholesome image of fruit juice. IZZE echoes soda with its nifty orange-slice logo (think Volkswagen) and its 12-oz., real-glass bottles and 8.4-oz. "slim" cans. And with flavors like Clementine, blackberry, blueberry, and pear, the taste is really, well, juicy.
Cost: About $4-5 a pack
Availability: National grocery, club, gourmet shops
Nutritional High Point: No added sugar, just juice
Honest Kids
Remember watching your son clumsily try to stab open the hole necessary for drinking his Capri Sun? Those great little foil pouches are back, but now they're being used by Honest Tea, a company devoted to organic products like high-end teas, fruit drinks, and, this year, a line of kids' beverages. Honest Kids comes in 6.75-oz. pouches in lemonade, grape, and tropical punch flavors. While it's only 10 percent juice, that flavor comes through at a lower calorie count than other products, and it's all certified USDA organic, which means you've not only got the parents beat on the obesity epidemic, you've regained the high-end moral high ground.
Cost: About $5-8 a pack
Availability: National in Target and Whole Foods
Nutritional High Point: Low sugar; only 40 calories per serving; 10 percent juice
Nestle Waters Aquapod
Form is more important than fluid in this case, as the folks at Nestle Waters (you know them as Poland Spring, Arrowhead, Ozarka, Deer Park, or Ice Mountain) have come up with a fun, kid-friendly container known as the "Aquapod." This footed, 11-oz. globe looks like the product of a union between a Nerf football and a bottle of Martinelli's apple juice; it really puts spring water right in their little mitts.
Cost: About $3 for an 8-pack
Availability: National grocery chains, drug stores, club stores, convenience, and anywhere else you find water
Nutritional High Point: It's water. Nothing wrong with that.
Hint Kids
But we don't like water, they say. It doesn't taste like anything. Ah, you say, try this. It tastes like apple, or kiwi-strawberry, or tropical punch, or grape, or mixed berry. But only a little bit. You might say, only a Hint. This product is an "essence water" that contains no sweeteners and just a bit of fruit flavor. It's got no calories, comes in a pretty cool 15-oz. bottle, and has all those nifty flavors named above. The founder of Hint, Kara Goldin, was an executive at AOL until she had four kids, and decided she, too, was one of those no-soda people. Here you have her fifth child, HINT.
Cost: About $1.59/bottle
Availability: National, but you'll have to hunt for it at gourmet and health food stores.
Nutritional High Point: It's water, too. No calories or sugar, but a bit of fruit flavor makes it more drinkable.
SoyBlendz
Not a catchy name for a great-tasting smoothie, so you'll have to sell it a bit. For a snack or morning recharge, though, this is the stuff. Mixing fruit puree with whole soybeans - no chalky soy protein isolates in this stuff - gives it the consistency of a fruit-stand smoothie. For smoothies, you're usually worried about a pretty big calorie wallop, but SoyBlendz comes out on the lower end of the scale at 230 per 10-oz. bottle. It's also packed with the nutritional value of soy. So, while it's a little bit higher on the sugar scale than we'd normally like to see (33 grams), it's also got a very healthy amount of protein.
Cost: $22 for 12
Availability: Nationally at SuperTarget, other grocery stores
Nutritional High Point: In addition to 10 g of protein, it's also got 3 g of fiber.
Adina World Beat Beverages
These spicy, fruity juice blend "coolers" bring a touch of the exotic to any beach scene, with flavors like Lime-Mint Mojita (no, no booze in there), Gin-Jah and Bissap, and funky, colorful labels with various folks seemingly enjoying the "World Beat" rhythms that run through all of Adina's drinks. All use fair-trade or organic-certified ingredients, have an excellent balance of sweet and tart, and are just plain unlike anything else on the scene. This small San Francisco company's drinks are going to please adults and kids alike.
Cost: $3 for a 16-oz. bottle
Availability: Nationally at natural and gourmet food stores
Nutritional High Point: Loaded with vitamin C and other juicy goodies.
Home
