Drink Up: Two Cool New Beverages to Quench Your Thirst
Tired of drinking down your meal with the same sodas? Your taste buds will be awash with gratitude when you sample these new brews.
Going Coconuts
Seems everything cools comes out of Brazil these days – Acai berries, Brazilian blow outs, and the latest craze, coconut water. Once only sucked from the hairy husk of an actual coconut, now this refreshing beverage can be found at just about every grocery store. But not satisfied with the original, ZICO brand has added flavorings and juices to concoct an assortment of coconut water drinks including chocolate, pineapple, mango, and passion fruit. While the natural flavor drink has zero fat and zero cholesterol, the boosted drinks up the calories but still nets about half the calorie count of regular fruit drinks; and all the ZICO products contain five naturally-occurring electrolytes, including as much potassium as a banana. Many enjoy coconut water to hydrate after exercise, as an alternative to sports drinks, but with the new flavors, coconut waters are finding themselves at the dinner table, and even in cocktails. As most fans of coconut water will agree, its best served very chilled. ZICO Chilled Premium Coconut Water and Juice Blends (ZICO Chilled Juices) are available in the refrigerator aisle of major grocery stores nationwide.
Tea Time
Parents everywhere cringe daily as they pack their kids’ lunch boxes and slip in a juice box, knowing they are sending their child off with the devil in a cardboard package. Typically these juice boxes are loaded with unhealthy sugar and who-knows-what chemicals; but darned if they are the handiest option for busy working moms and dads. Until now, the pickings of kids’ drinks in boxes was dismal, but Drazil Kids Tea is changing that. The herbal tea company was launched by Christine Wheeler, a former Procter and Gamble brand manager, who wanted to bring Japan’s tea culture to the US in an effort to offer a better option for parents and kids. Herbal tea has many health benefits for kids, giving them needed antioxidants and minerals, and helping combat childhood obesity, to which experts agree sugary drinks are a major factor. Drazil is the first herbal tea mix with 100% juice added, for mild sweetness, which helps kids enjoy the tea flavor. With 35% less sugar than typical juice box drinks, Drazil cuts the sugar and keeps the antioxidant and minerals. Drazil tea drinks are sold at southwest grocery retailers, including select Whole Foods, Southern California Bristol Farms, Amazon and www.drazilfoods.com.
