Top Five Low Carb Beverages

Tired of water and sugar free soda? Does the sight of your friends sipping from Starbucks cups make you quiver with jealousy? Luckily, there are more options out there than ever for diabetics or the low carb dieter, and here's a list of just five:

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze. You know that milk is loaded with sugar, but soy milk makes you want to retch. So what do you do? Try Blue Diamond's Unsweetened Almond Breeze drinks. Almond milk has a mild, nutty flavor and can be used in recipes as a substitute for cow's milk. Certainly, you can sweeten the original or vanilla flavored with the low carb sweetener of your choice whether that be splenda, stevia, erythritol or something else, and drink it by the cupfull. But the real stand-out performer in Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze lineup, is their unsweetened chocolate almond milk. At only 2 net carbs and 45 calories for an eight-ounce cup, you'll think you died and went to Hershey Heaven. Heated in the microwave, it's an unbeatably rich hot chocolate low carb beverage that blows Swiss Miss out of the water. If your grocer doesn't have it, ask for it, then log into www.netrition.com and order a bunch with Netrition's very low, flat-rate shipping charge.

Davinci's Tea Concentrates. You know that Davinci's makes delicious and indispensible sugar free syrups. But did you know they also make sugar free tea concentrates? Just add water, and you can have a low carb beverage for any kind of whether. Iced Green Tea or Hot and Steamy Chai are just two of the concentrates now available to perk up your day.

Powdered Drink Mixes. When you just can't stomach another sip from your water bottle, but you know you have to stay hydrated, there's a quick solution for you. Crystal Lite now makes singles that can be mixed into your water bottle for ease at the gym or on the go. But if you hate the taste of aspartame, you're not limited to Crystal Lite. Consider good old-fashioned unsweetened Kool-Aid. Add Splenda to some fruit punch for some nostalgia, or find a more kid-friendly sweetening blend like Erythritol and Ace-K. Unsweetened drinks like Kool-Aid give you the flexibility to choose the sweetener you like the most, with the sweetening power that suits your taste.

Smoothies. Maybe you have a favorite low carb shake mix. Keto Banana flavor gets rave reviews, and several Atkins shakes are considered to be of high quality. But even if you don't have a favorite shake mix, you can still make a smoothie of your own without all the added sugar. As it turns out, Greek Yogurt has far fewer carbs than its American counterpart. Add some ice, a few strawberries, and your favorite sugar free syrup, and you'll have a worthy low carb beverage to brag about as you sip it by the pool.

Lattes. You needn't have Starbucks Envy anymore. First of all, Starbucks is now offering a line of sugar free lattes with skim milk that won't break your low carb budget. But if you're more worried about your wallet, and you don't trust the kids behind the counter to avoid hidden carbs--a company named Big Train has come to the rescue. You'll savor every sip of Big Train's Low Carb Blended Ice Mocha, Vanilla Latte, and Caramel Latte. With only 2 net carbs per 16-ounce serving, it'll allow you to indulge without feeling the slightest bit deprived.