Warm weather is a’coming and so now seems like a good time to talk about hydration. You getting yours? Some folks find it easier to get their 64 oz. a day in the warmer months. Others struggle all year long.

We here at BF would like to point out a few things:

• 64 oz. is a minimum. You can actually drink MORE water if you want to.
• You SHOULD drink more water if your diet is “above and beyond” in the protein arena. If half your daily calories come from protein, you should be drinking lots and lots of water. Your kidneys will thank you!
• According to our nutritionist: anything non-carbonated and non-caffeinated counts toward your liquid total
• Also per nutritionist: water in foods, though hard to measure, also counts. So if you’re getting a lot of water and a lot of protein, those water-filled veggies are just helping the whole love train along!

So having said all that…in my house I cut out all soda after RNY. I could have said “well the kids like it…” but the truth his that sodas (especially regular ones) are empty calories. They don’t give you anything back. My eldest daughter’s favorite, Mountain Dew, gave hear nearly 46g of sugar per serving – and there were 2.5 servings in a bottle! Yowsa!

Needless to say this presented a challenge. I mean my kids like plain water but not at every sitting. They are also growing away from the “milk…it’s what you drink!” phase of their existences. Recently they have started something, though, that I am liking…especially in the warm weather. Drink mixing!

That’s right…drink mixing. It’s simple really. They take two different kinds of Crystal Light and combine them in a pitcher. Simple. But soooo many possibilities. Here are a few that we really like (all from Wal-Mart’s “Great Value” line):

• Strawberry + Orange Early Sunrise – served with frozen, fresh-cut pineapple chunks instead of ice cubes
• Strawberry, Orange, Banana – we used to mix this then GV came out with their own blend.
• Iced Tea w/ Peach + Strawberry – which tastes good but my oldest says it looks like “pee in a cup…”
• Grape + Fruit Punch – with frozen grapes instead of ice cubes
• Lemonade + Orange Early Sunrise (or cherry, or strawberry)

See where I’m going with this? Now if you really do miss the soda vibe…and if you are a ways out (I’m talking 9 mos. + probably) you might invest in a small bottle of soda water. Just a little tip of the stuff in your Crystal Light can make it into a very refreshing spritzer.

So go on…git yo’ drank on!