Good evening, friends!  It’s pretty obvious from the post title that I’m going to be talking about water.  The mention of water and hydrating might  cause you to immediately think of a certain movie…

(source)

Just me?  Oh, I see.  Moving along…

I was contacted a little while ago to receive some samples of Crystal Light Pure courtesy of Kraft Foods and was also given some tips on staying hydrated to pass along.  Many of you may not need reminders on hydration, but I sure do.  The main problem for me is when I spend large amount of time in the lab.  We’re not allowed to eat and drink in there (obviously) and that means hours can go by without me drinking anything.  I know this played a partial roll when I was fizzling out early during my second half.  Without further delay, here are the tips I am passing along!

Hydration Tips from Crystal Light Pure Spokesperson Molly Kimball, RD

1. Keep a Tally

We can’t actually tell how well we’re hydrated by how thirsty we feel. For many of us, by the time we start to feel thirsty, we’re already dehydrated, but just how much water is enough when it comes to staying hydrated? Keep a running tally of how much fluid you’re getting and aim for half of your body weight in ounces of fluid per day, plus an extra 16 ounces for every pound of sweat lost during exercise or work in the heat.

2. Flavor Up to Drink Up

Want to drink water to stay hydrated, but hate the boring taste? Add the flavor you want and none of what you don’t by sipping on naturally sweetened Crystal Light Pure. It’s got no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or preservatives and is sweetened with sugar and Truvia, a natural sweetener derived from the stevia plant. It’ll give your water light, refreshing flavor with just 15 calories and 4 grams of sugar per serving. And the Grape and Strawberry Kiwi flavors have the added bonus of electrolytes!

3. Don’t Forget about Food

Staying well-hydrated is essential for maintaining optimal energy levels, preventing muscle cramping and headaches, and more serious issues like heatstroke. But that doesn’t mean you have to force down gallons of water or bottles of sugary sports drinks. Any type of alcohol-free beverage can count toward your fluid intake – and even some foods! Some of the top electrolyte-rich, hydrating foods include all types of fresh fruit, soups like gazpacho and Greek yogurt.

4. Watch the Caffeine

For years, the widely-held belief was that caffeinated beverages were dehydrating. An abundance of research has proven otherwise, however. The amount of caffeine typically found in standard servings of tea, coffee, and soft drinks appears to have no diuretic effect, meaning that these beverages don’t cause us to lose more fluid than they provide. But remember that you don’t want the majority of your fluids to come from caffeinated drinks since most health organizations recommend we limit our caffeine intake. Instead, try to vary what you’re drinking.

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Simple, right?  Now on to the goods!  Like regular Crystal Light, the Pure line is for adding into a bottle of water (it recommends 20oz).  I received three different flavors: lemonade, tropical blend, and grape.

Please excuse the boxes, the mail people didn’t handle with care.
 Lemonade

Tropical Blend

Grape, looks similar to Tropical Blend, eh?

Lemonade:  didn’t taste exactly like real lemonade, but was close enough.  You can taste a difference between the natural sweetener and the normal artificial ones they use in their other products.  It wasn’t my favorite of the three, but still good.  The size of my water bottles isn’t exactly 20oz which made the taste more concentrated.  I definitely recommend using the right size they suggest.

Tropical Blend: my favorite of the three.  It was fruity and light with a good after taste.  Same issues with bottle size as mentioned above.

Grape: Not bad, but tasted the least “authentic” of the three flavors.  You can tell it’s grape, but that’s about it.  It not medicinal bad, but not that far off.

As regular drinkers of Crystal Light, I am glad we got to try these out before buying them.  I am not shy to use artificial sweeteners (Splenda is my fave for coffee), but I do think overdoing them is not the best idea either.  I will definitely be picking up more of the tropical blend when my samples run out.  I’m sure they’d also make good mixers for some lighter calorie cocktails.    Thanks to Crystal Light and Kraft Foods for allowing me to try these products!

Note:  I received these products from Kraft Foods to try for free as well as the tips from their R.D. spokesperson.  The tips are not mine, but the opinions on the products are.

Any day to day tasks you often forget to do?