The greatest contributor to the obesity epidemic in our population, especially in our kids, is probably sweetened drinks—not just soda but also fruit juice, sweetened coffee and tea, and energy drinks. I got out of the habit of drinking sweet liquids long ago. My favorite drink now is water—if it’s pure. I also love sparkling water, plain or with a bit of lemon or lime, and, on occasion, unsweetened iced tea. If I want alcohol, I prefer red wine and cold sake. I’ve put some creative drink recipes in this section, including a few cocktails and some colorful combinations of fruit and vegetable juices, most with little or no added sweeteners. Try some with breakfast (not the cocktails); use others with starters when guests arrive.

Recipes marked veg are vegetarian, those marked v are vegan, and those marked gf are gluten-free. The symbols veg*, v*, and gf* indicate recipes that can be modified to be vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free by substituting or omitting specific ingredients.