Healthier sodas are officially making a splash. As kids, most of us had refrigerators full of Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew or whatever was our favorite (or our parents’ favorite, more likely) to freely drink.

Now that we are parents and more educated on the dangers of huge amounts of sugar, as well as the disgusting and sometimes downright disturbing things that go into artificially sweetened diet drinks, we are a little more choosy about the drinks we bring home from the grocery store.

The trend of choosiness has finally begun to spark a fire of new lines of sodas and fizzy beverages to satisfy the longing for something cold, sweet, and tingly while keeping in line with our more guarded diet choices.

Yay!

Stevia-sweetened beverage makers are especially taking advantage of the new trend, using the plant-derived sweetener that is said to be 100x sweeter than sugar. However, that twangy after taste has been a serious problem and have turned many off to drinking “healthier” beverages with stevia.

One exception to the lot is Mountain Zevia, made by Zevia. They of course use stevia to sweeten their drinks, but the Mountain Zevia seems to somehow dodge that nasty aftertaste. So, health-conscious fans of Mountain Dew, rejoice!

Another exception would be Steaz’s blueberry-pomegranate flavor soda/tea. It’s loaded with fantastic flavor and has the added benefits that come along with organic green tea. What’s not to love?

Nothing but cold, fizzy cola will do, you say? Don’t worry, there’s no need to fall off the wagon on a hot day. Veri’s cola flavored soda will meet the need for cola flavor as well as fizziness. It’s made from only six organic ingredients and is creepy chemical-free.

Summer is coming, and so is the craving for cold refreshment. Hopefully, with the help of a few of these stevia-sweetened options, we can make it!

Image via Wikimedia Commons