Flavored Water

Getting in enough water every day is tough. By the fourth or fifth glass each day, it's just boring. I'd rather just have a diet dr pepper each hour on the hour, but that's not good for anybody, or any body.

I've decided that if I can get some flavored water into the mix, I'd be more likely to drink enough each day. So one of the last times that I was at our friendly, local HEB, I grabbed several flavored waters to give them a side-by-side taste test.

Of the four that I tried from this shopping trip, two I would rank at the top; one I might try again in a different flavor; and one I would suggest they go back and start completely from scratch on the recipe.

• Fruit2-0. (For this afternoon of testing, I had the strawberry version.) This is one of my top two. It comes in several flavors. Zero calories and light flavor. Not too much of an aftertaste. Sweetened with Splenda.
• Dasani. (Raspberry tested this round.) This is another of my faves. The flavor is very light and there is no aftertaste here either. Sweetened with Splenda.
  
• Clear Fruit Lite. (Strawberry/watermelon.) Okay, wayyyyy too sweet. If they could take the flavor and sweetness down a couple of notches, I would probably try it again. (Just to be fair, I couldn't find a web site for them.)
• 02Go. (Cranberry.) Do not buy this one. This is one of those waters with extra oxygen somehow stirred in. Not to be gross and graphic, but my first sip almost came out of my nose. It tasted -- well, and felt -- like a beverage that used to be carbonated and had gone flat. The flavor was more bitter than sweet. I tried another sip, just to make sure I was giving it a fair share, and I just couldn't stomach it. That bottle was a dollar down the drain.

Just a couple of notes from the manager of the research kitchen (me): I didn't buy any of the bottles of flavored water on the aisle that were more than $1 each. And there are plenty of those to choose from. I wanted to test all like flavors, and buy all four bottles in lime or raspberry or grape, but it just wasn't possible.

I'll definitely let you know when I find another brand/flavor to add to the mix of favorites.