Glucoholic - Sugar Free Snacks

This week we’re taste testing the new Diet Cherry 7UP Antioxidant. The antioxidant comes in the form of ten percent of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin E. This is another fitness play that unfortunately falls short because Dr. Pepper/Seven Up chose to use aspartame to sweeten this drink. As the first drops hit your tongue you detect the familiar lemon and lime flavors of 7UP, and then the cherry flavor hits you and you’re sure you’re really going to like this drink. Then the aspartame rains on your parade with its favorite weapon - horrible aftertaste. This soft drink would have been so good with Splenda as a sweetener. If you are one of the chosen few that has been able to get used to aspartame aftertaste, then this sugar free drink is a definite buy. For everyone else, be sure to stay tuned for an upcoming review of 7UP products that are sweetened with Splenda.

Nutritionally, Diet Cherry 7Up Antioxidant is not bad. Each eight ounce serving contains only 30mg of sodium. The Vitamin E is a definite plus, but does not provide enough incentive to overlook the aspartame aftertaste.

Federal Trade Commission Endorsement and Testimonial Guidelines Compliance Statement: Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. has in no way paid for this endorsement. No cash or in-kind payment was received from Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. by Glucoholic.com.

Over a year ago we reviewed Strawberry Powerade Zero. We’ve been drinking it pretty regularly around here, but lately have been trying to get out of several ruts at the same time. What better opportunity could there be to try another great Powerade Zero flavor? Well that’s just what we did. Grape Powerade Zero did not disappoint! This beverage had the same smooth, thirst quenching qualities as its strawberry sister. The grape flavor was excellent and less syrupy than some of its competition. We put the taste right up there with Grape Propel, and this is a good thing, since one or the other is usually sold out at our local grocery. Great taste with less despair - always a good combination.

The awesome quote on the shoulder of this bottle proclaims “Believe it. What you hold in your hand is indeed zero calories. Yeah, that’s right. You can stay hydrated with electrolytes + B Vitamins… without adding calories. How you like them strawberries?” This is ironic, since this flavor is grape. Marketing folks are so clever.

The nutrition information for the grape flavor is exactly the same as for the strawberry flavor. For review, the highlights are: zero calories, zero carbs, 55 mg of sodium, and 35mg of potassium.

Federal Trade Commission Endorsement and Testimonial Guidelines Compliance Statement: Coca-Cola has in no way paid for this review. No cash or in-kind payment was received from Coca-Cola by Glucoholic.com.

Over a year ago we did a review of Archer Farms Diet Orange Cream Soda. We enjoyed that soda so much that we kept an eye out for more diet flavors from Archer Farms, and picked up a four-pack of the Diet Black Cherry Cream Soda flavor to review. After consuming half of a bottle we were horrified to notice that the back of the label reads BEST BY 23/AUG/2009. Awesome! It’s kind of difficult to fairly judge a product’s taste when all you can think about is that product tasting old, so we won’t try. A description of the product’s mature taste would be “not enough black cherry soda, and too much cream soda.” There was also some pretty bad aftertaste uncommon to sodas sweetened with sucralose, but maybe it was fermentation. We’re really not trying to knock Archer Farms’ products - we tend to like them very much.

However, the comments and emails we got in response to our review of the Diet Orange Cream Soda indicated that people get very frustrated with the hit-or-miss nature of finding well-stocked Archer Farms products in Target stores. It doesn’t seem to be improving since now you can’t even count on what’s on the shelves being fresh. Maybe we should have been more careful; but seriously, when was the last time you checked the expiration date on a bottle of soda?

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About six months ago we reviewed SoBe Lifewater Black and Blue Berry flavored water. We said that we were looking forward to tasting some of the other flavors. We should have stopped while were ahead. The Yumberry Pomegranate Lifewater flavor is a real disappointment. First off, what is a yumberry? It turns out that yumberry is another miracle fruit. Given the other 42 miracle fruits we’re supposed to be consuming for our health each day it’s getting a little hard to keep up with. This low carb, low calorie water is not horrible - it’s just that we were expecting so much more. The flavor is a little too tart and not nearly sweet enough. If you really enjoy those grass blends you can get at the juice bars, then you might like it. It’s got dandelion in it. Otherwise, stick with the Black and Blue Berry.

On a positive note, the nutrition information is almost exactly the same as for the Black and Blue Berry Lifewater. Each serving contains 6 grams of carbohydrate and 25mg of sodium, and a respectable amount of Vitamin C and other vitamins. You could do worse, but we would rather have the taste and the nutrition. Better luck next time SoBe!

Happy Labor Day to all of our U.S. readers! Welcome to another great product review to everyone out there. This week we’re testing EAS Advantedge Chocolate Fudge Shakes. We’re happy to say that these shakes taste fine and are easily competitive with competing products from Atkins and Slim-Fast. They are so similar that it would be hard to pick a winner out of the three. The chocolate flavor is good and the shake seems to be a little less chalky than some of the other brands’ shakes. We’re happy to recommend them, especially if you can find them at a good price.

Nutritionally, the EAS Advantedge Chocolate Fudge Shakes are very competitive with other brands. Each 11 ounce shake contains only 110 calories, 3 grams of fat, 20mg of cholesterol, 280mg of sodium, and 2 grams of digestible carbohydrate. You’ll also get 540mg of potassium and 17 grams of protein in every shake. You’ll get twenty percent or more of twenty different vitamins and minerals in each shake as well. These shakes are sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame potassium, and contain milk and soy.