Frugal Family Life - What to Drink

July 1, 2008 | Written by: Kati Chevaux

The bright side of high food prices is that they are forcing us to reevaluate what we need versus what we want or what we buy out of habit. If we make the right kinds of changes to save money on food, a magical thing starts to happen. The food can actually get healthier, and the load of throwaway packaging going to the dump gets smaller.

One of the most elegant of these changes has to do with what your family drinks. The bottom line is that we can get by on water. The free kind. Use a filter or drink healthy old tap water to quench everyday thirst. In doing so, you can cross off lots of items from your weekly grocery list: soda, sports drinks, single serve drink pouches and boxes, cases of bottled water.

Why is serving water so wonderful? The benefits of clearing out drinks you buy and replacing them with free water from the tap go way beyond saving lots of money each week. First of all, compared to sweetened beverages like soda, Capri-Sun style drinks, and sports drinks, water is healthier. Most sweetened beverages offer extra sugar and calories but no necessary nutrition for the family. Even if the label says ‘with vitamin C’ or some other nutrition come-on, the real question is whether you or your kids actually need the extra vitamin C or other nutrient of the day. The answer is probably not.

Artificial colors are also a mainstay ingredient in most sweetened kids’ drinks and sports drinks. There is some research that shows that artificial food dyes and preservatives can influence children’s behavior. However, the effects seem small and there is a big variation in how different children respond. There are better reasons to avoid artificial food dyes, though. Food should come from nature. Do you really want your family to drink something made from water, sugar and artificial food dye everyday?

By switching to water for most of your thirst-quenching needs you’ll also avoid excess packaging. Drinking everything from a single serve can, bottle, box or pouch means lots to throw away. Drinking water from a cup means nothing to throw away.

If you are worried about how your family will respond to such a drastic idea as drinking water, there are ways to help the transition. Set out a cold cooler of water with a self-serve spout and reusable cups so your kids can help themselves during outdoor play time. It may eventually turn into a water battle, but that’s okay. It’s just water. Individual and reusable water containers or bottles are a must for outings. Let your kids pick out their own or personalize with stickers or permanent marker drawings. Finally, if you make the change to water, there will be plenty of families still serving the pouches and bottles at parks and parties. Your kids can indulge occasionally instead of everyday.

And if you need just one more benefit to help you make the switch - how about less work for you? Spilled water? No sticky mess in the car, no stains on the couch, no worries.

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