One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to eat healthier, but we often neglect the calories we consume through drinks. Whether it’s your morning kopi or a cocktail to unwind at night, there are plenty of easy ways to make your daily drinks healthier.
With quick changes of habit and some small but worthy investments along the way, here’s how to unlock healthier versions of fruit juice, Milo, fizzy drinks, and even regular drinking water.
Image credit: Food Network
Fruit juices are a quick and convenient way to boost your vitamin intake, especially if you don’t fancy eating actual fruits. Whether you’re buying or making your own, try to opt for cold-pressed fruit juices instead of blended juices or smoothies.
What exactly is cold-pressed juice, you ask? The method involves using a hydraulic press to extract a higher volume of juice content. The result will also have a smoother and more homogenous consistency, without the pulpy, foamy and separated concoction you’d get from blitzing with spinning blades.
This means you won’t have to stir or swish your cup and manually emulsify your drink every few minutes. And because more of the fruit can be consumed, you’ll be able to relish more of the fibre and nutrients.
Image credit: Food Navigator
We all love a rich and creamy cuppa to kickstart the day. But if you require regular non-kopi-o caffeine boosts, the high fat content from milk or creamer could be contributing to weight gain and other detriments to your health. This includes high cholesterol levels, which is linked to greater risks of heart disease.
If you can’t bear to swap out your beloved lattes and cappuccinos for an Americano, ask for healthier milk options instead of creamer or full cream milk. There are choices aplenty, including soy, nut, and oat milk.
Besides being dairy-free and a good option for those who are lactose intolerant, they are also lower in calories and have added health benefits depending on which type you choose. We’re talking higher fibre, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D to help strengthen your bones.
Image credit: Periuk
Milo has been a staple in our lives since childhood, serving as the quintessential breakfast companion. Fun fact though: there’s actually a specific recipe for Milo in order to make it fall within the original 4.5 Health Star Rating standards, qualifying it as a Healthier Choice drink.
That’s right, your beloved Milo won’t continue to be a “healthy” treat if you heap in tonnes of additional sugar and large globs of condensed milk.
According to Nestlé, the creators of Milo intended for each mug to contain three teaspoons of Milo powder, along with a glass of skimmed milk. Skimmed refers to a variety of milk where all the milk fat is removed, leading to a total fat content of around 0.1%.
If you want to forego the milk altogether without sacrificing the creamy thickness, pair your Milo powder with just water – but a smaller volume. You can then whip it instead of just stirring it, which will make your chocolatey Milo nice and gao.
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Those who are serious about their tipple may have tried some home bar recipes. Whenever a cocktail calls for sugary sodas, swap it out for pure soda water to get the same fizz with zero added calories. After all, you’re already getting a strong flavour profile from your liquor base and other mix-ins like syrups or even green tea.
Tip: If you love fizzy bevvies in general, a carbonator would be a solid investment. You can get a decent model from below $100, and be able to concoct all sorts of refreshing fizzy drinks whenever you desire. Think carbonating homemade fruit juices or flavoured teas, and enjoying a thirst-quenching treat that only has a fraction of the sugar and calories of store-bought sodas.
Bonus: Opt for natural BBT sweeteners if you can’t stand 0% sugar
Stevia leaf extract is said to taste close to 200 times sweeter than regular white sugar
Image credit: Healthline
Singaporeans’ love for bubble tea is undeniable, and you might find it hard to go cold turkey on such a widely beloved drink
If you have to get your BBT fix and can’t stomach 0% sugar, a good alternative would be to choose natural sweeteners such as honey and stevia. The latter refers to an extract from the stevia plant, which is a powerful sweetener and offered at select bubble tea chains in Singapore.
In the case of honey – not only will you be getting a naturally sweetened drink with slight floral notes and caramelly flavours – you’ll also get nutritional benefits such as an antioxidant boost and aided digestion.
The human body is made up of close to 60% water, and we all know that adequate hydration is key to ensuring everything runs smoothly – from organ function and a clear complexion, to smooth bowel movements.
The rule of thumb is to clock roughly two litres of water per day. But for even more of a HP boost, try supplementing regular drinking water with cooling water to meet your daily H2O requirement while reaping additional benefits.
Three Legs Cooling Water is a household name that has been advocated across generations for its prowess in combating heatiness. You may have been advised by your mum or Ah Ma to down a bottle at the first signs of cough or phlegmy-ness, especially after bouts of eating fast food and other heaty things.
The skinny bottle and iconic “three legs” logo bring about waves of nostalgia for many Singaporeans. You’ve probably wondered how this seemingly regular water can reap such strong benefits – to the point where it can stop a developing sore throat right in its tracks.
Three Legs Cooling Water has been around since 1937, and there’s a reason why it’s still lauded as the go-to for quick and effective relief for ailments like coughs and sore throats. In a nutshell, the formulation stems from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and contains a natural mineral called gypsum fibrosum.
The mineral contains calcium sulphate, and is said to boast cooling properties. Coupled with the base formulation of de-ionised water, the drink is able to help neutralise heatiness in the body from factors like stress or excessive heaty food, and restore balance as per TCM studies.
For a lightly sweet and fruity twist, you can try out their lychee, guava, lime, or peach flavours.
Besides wreaking havoc on your throat, heatiness is also said to disrupt bodily functions and manifest in conditions like headaches, breakouts and rashes. Hence, regular consumption of Three Legs Cooling Water is an easy way to prevent those pesky ailments.
After all, the drink pretty much tastes like mineral water, so you don’t have to worry about chugging any nasty strong-tasting TCM concoctions.
As you celebrate Chinese New Year and dig into a plethora of sinful yet irresistible snacks, make sure to have some Three Legs Cooling Water on hand. It’ll help to offset the overindulgence and quell heatiness before it brews into a full-fledged bout of sickness.
Prevention is indeed better than cure, and a bottle or two a day could very well keep an MC at bay.
This post was brought to you by Wen Ken Group.
Cover image adapted from: Periuk, Food Navigator
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