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How Do You Like it? Water Enhancer With or Without Chemicals

June 28, 2011   52 Comments

If you don't think this little bottle in front of you is cute - you need your eyes checked. The concept - add a some flavor to your water is a good one.

MiO Water Enhancer Review

And, Kraft, has come out with a marketing campaign that is making this stuff FLY off the shelves. My research (spoke to one stocking guy at Stop & Sop) says people are buying it like crazy.

Yes, Snack Girl paid her $4 to try this in the hopes that it would be another route to less soda consumption. MiO is zero calories and promises such flavors as strawberry watermelon, berry pomegranate, and sweet tea.

Here are the ingredients:

mioingredients

What do you think it tasted like? I was hoping for something that tasted like strawberry watermelon - but it was more like a bitter flavor of KoolAid. Yes, dear readers, it was like drinking CHEMICALS - no surprise here since that it what it is made with!

Instead of going on and on about how we need food companies to serve us less chemicals and more FOOD - I am changing the subject.

blueberrytwist

Doesn't that look good? No chemicals here unless you count spices as chemicals. I found this amazing book, "Cool Waters", on Amazon.com (see below). It has 50 recipes on how to infuse water with flavor using fresh fruit, spices, and ZERO sugar.

I know it is hard to believe, but you don't need artificial colors or sweeteners to get some flavor in your water. Sorry, Kraft.

Below is a blueberry lemon flavor (with an added ginger kick). The book also features recipes for strawberry kiwi, watermelon with basil, and pineapple and lime - seriously delicious water.

Take the $4 you would have spent on MiO and buy some fresh blueberries instead. You will love how they taste and they are so much better for you.


Blueberry Twist Recipe

recipe and photo reprinted with permission from "Cool Waters" by Brian Preston-Campbell (serves 4)

1/2 cup fresh blueberries
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1 large pinch of ground ginger
1 cup still water
4 cups chilled sparkling water

1. Place the blueberries, lemon zest, ginger, and still water in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large pitcher.

2. Add the sparkling water, stir gently, and serve.

For one serving - 10 calories, 0 g fat, 3 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 0 g fiber, 0 mg sodium, 0 Points+


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52 Comments:

I tried mio about 2 months ago. I have to agree it is disgusting. It left an aftertaste in my mouth and I felt like it upset my stomach as well. I'll stick with just plain old water over this! I also felt weird because it was full of color, like was I coloring my insides?!?!?!

i have to disagree. i like the berry pomegranate flavor. i drink a ton of water and sometimes can't take the bland flavor. i figure if it's between not drinking water and drinking some chemicals, i'll take the chemicals.

I saw this one day and out of curiosity, I read the ingredients. It sounds gross on ingredients alone.

Thanks for the book suggestion. I'll be looking for it.

On another note, how come Gatorade hasn't sued Kraft yet for the misleading packaging?

@tea-bag - I didn't try the berry pomegranate - I wish I had tried all of them before I wrote the review but the price was prohibitive. I will keep it in mind next time I go shopping. Thanks for your comment!

Try True Lemon or True Lime packets... it's crystallized lemon and lime in packets. All natural, no presevatives whatsoever.

What a horrifying little bottle! My teenage daughter was just telling me that her friends are really into this stuff - always so scary when kids are the ones drinking this crap.

I wanted also to give a shout-out to Vitamin Water Zero as an alternative to plain water (especially if you're on the run and need to get something at the gas station). From what I've read, it only uses Truvia and a miniscule amount of fructose, no artificial colors, etc. I'd love to see snack girl review these drinks, but as of right now, I haven't seen anything scary about them!

I love water just the way it is and drink it all day long. I have since I was a kid and I'd carry my plastic collapsable cup to school. Thanks for posting this. No need for chemicals when we have fruit if you want to add some taste to your water!

I love drinking sweet delicious (no added flavor) WATER!

water tastes AMAZING if you eat some steamed/boiled ARTICHOKE first!

I'll just stick to the chemicals in my Propel Zero, thank you very much.

Or for pennies a glass you can make some suntea. Or learn to drink plain water. It's good!

I understand some people's need to flavor their water. I live in a place where the water is not delicious. So I filter it and add citrus flavor (lime juice is my favorite).

thanks for the review, sg. i've avoided buying these due to the cost, and wondered how they worked. herbal teabags are the best and quickest way to add flavor that i've found. i'm not a fan of anything carbonated, so i drink tea very often. green, black, oolong, you name it. i'm a huge fan. hot or cold. i love it all. sweet as a treat, unsweet most often. to add some nice flavor to any tea i keep the herbal (celestial seasonings) tea bags on hand and throw one in with my plain black or green tea bags as they brew. they add a nice flavor. you can mix them up or do them on their own: peach, blueberry, apple, and the list goes on. it's 20 tea bags for about $2.50 at our walmarts here in texas so you can't go wrong there! just brew up a peach herbal tea bag all by itself and chill it for your own "flavored water"!

Besides water, there is not one real ingredient in that list. Propylene Glycol is used to make anti-freeze. They also put it in many deodorants and cosmetics - I can't use them because it makes my skin burn. Half of those ingredients are derived from genetically modified corn. What a travesty to the human body.

I've never tried it nor would I ever...sucralose is just another name for Splenda...and who would want to drink/eat/consume something w/that along with the other slew of chemical crap in that?

I'll stick to natural fresh made juice, smoothies and adding my own fruit to water to make a great infused drink.

I work at a tea shop so this time of year I ice so much white tea. It's full of antioxidants and very hydrating and my store only buys loose tea without preservatives, colors, or chemicals. Plus, there are a bazillion yummy flavors!

I remember writing this before but if I want flavor water, I pour boiling water over fruit. It works best with berries and it doesn't need any sweetener. Brown pears are good too. Other than that I enjoy plain water, almost everything else just makes me thirstier.

I have to agree with you snack girl, I bought this in hopes that it would taste like tea, since sometimes it's just a pain in the booty to brew a cup then ice it. I have to say it was gross, it hurt my stomach and my girlfriend tried it as well with the same results too sweet and tastes like chemicals. I think I'll stick to brewing tea.

In response to Mitaukano, you can buy cold brew iced tea bags. Check it out! :)

I have recently embarked on my quest to stop drinking soda. I can't cut it out cold turkey - I drank too much every day, but I'm down to one serving a day and hope to wean myself off it within the next few weeks.

I am lucky in that I've always like drinking water with lemon juice added. I don't even need any sugar with it. But my beverage of choice has become iced Tangerine Zinger tea.

I have a little 4-cup coffee maker at home. It has never seen a single coffee bean. Instead before I get in the shower in the mornings I pour 3 cups of water in, then put 3 teabags into the carafe, and finally turn it on. Before I leave for work, I fill my water bottle (32oz) with ice, then pour the brewed tea over the top of it.

Yum!

I have some berry pomegranite Mio in my drawer at work right now. I bought it on sale. Yuck. There is a reason it is still in my drawer. The crystal lite and even sugar free Hawaiian Punch singles taste better than that stuff. :P

I was all excited about it at first when I received my free sample. Berry flavor was very good and I was getting hooked on it. lol! but there are too many red 40 and poly sor & pot..discouraged me... i already consume too much already... and besides... i need to drink plain spring water, i found myself depending on just the enhancer to replace good old h20.

a few strawberries sliced in a jug of water will make the whole thing taste lightly of strawberries! So tasty. Also works with cucumber, lemon or orange slices, and probably mint leaves too.

i agree completely, thanks for posting. I tried it too, once. it will be headed to the trash today. would love to make some naturally- thanks for the recipies!

If you want a water enhancer made with REAL ingredients, try the concentrated green tea liquid drops you can buy in a natural-foods market (Herba Sway is a good brand). Add a few drops to a bottle of H2O and presto -- teatime. In half a flash. And it's really a tast-tea beverage (LOL)

Thanks for posting this. As someone who steers clear of anything and everything with artificial sweeteners in it, I'm happy to see a recipe book with options for flavored water. Any artificial sweeteners, even the "new" ones like Truvia and Stevia give me bad migraine-like headaches. Even one glassful. When I want to drink flavored water I use TruLemon when I need something fast or if I have time, brew up some tea and ice it.

great ideas about infusing water! i luv cucumber water.

about 6 months ago i stopped using all those drink mixes. i starting using the green tea bags (decaf, fruity, plain) that were just sitting in my cupboard. i just fill my 1 lt refillable bottle with cold water and toss in a green tea bag. it "brews", flavors the water, has zero calories and i figure i get some antioxidants. tastes best within an hour or two.

I got a free sample bottle of this a few months ago. I read the ingredients and refused to use it. I did buy some water flavoring from an online company that is just flavor and a bit of stevia, and that's OK, but in the end I'm learning I prefer my water flavored with real fruit or just plain. :)

No wonder we're in such bad shape. We always need our foods "enhanced." I'm not mad at any of the "food" companies whatsoever. They'e out to make money because we keep swilling and shoveling "food like substances" into our mouth and get upset when something doesn't taste like something else we're fond of... Water is water...Learn to drink it. . . plain.

this is great information, I have seen this product on the shelf @ market, but the price was over my budget. I'll stick with my own sun tea with fruit teas.

I'm so happy that I don't mind drinking water plain! My husband hates it but has found he really likes plain sparkling water (and so does my 3-year-old).

I love the MiO...the peach tea is the best. it only takes a little bit to spruce up the plain taste of water

Really glad I lost my bottle of it somewhere in the desk/backpack/car shuffle. How nasty! Grosses me out that my roommate loves the stuff.

I'm fortunate to love water just as it comes. Water and kombucha are my go to drinks. I occasionally treat myself with fresh squeezed orange juice and margaritas, very occasionally.

I must admit I do like flavored water. I drink True Leon Lemonade and Crystal Light Pure. Both are sweetened with Stevia (Crystal Light Pure also adds a bit of sugar) and have no other artificial additives or colors.

The bottle expires 1 month after you open it....not cool.

Is there a company that sells orange water? You know, the liquid on the top when fresh squeezed orange juice settles for about an hour. I would buy it by the barrel!

Sometimes I add a little orange or welch's grape juice to my bottle water just to give me the flavor that I sometimes crave.

@Cathie.. lol... what kind of chemicals..never tried it? lol!!

Thanks for the info. Saw on TV and was gonna run out and get some, but 24 servings amounts to 10c per serving. I love my Propel Zero, and it has added vitamins, etc. Thanx again.. I wont waste my money.

I have been buying MILO in all favors and I hate the price but I love the taste. After drinking pop and coffee all day I now stop drinking all of that and only a small amount of juice and alot of water

I can not drink water plain unless I am very very thirsty. I had been drinking cokes for years and wanted to stop, but found that instead of drinking cokes and switching to water, I just stopped drinking much at all. I was getting dehydrated. Mio is not as good as Kool-Aid in fact, I haven't found anything that is as good as real sugar. However, if it comes down to coke/dehydration/Mio water then I am gonna stick with Mio for now. I just wish there were more flavors because the only one that I like is Fruit Punch. I can tolerate the other flavors though. I see that Mio has new Blueberry Lemonade and Lemonade flavors and I can't wait to try those but they have not came out here yet. As for making my own fruit flavored drink, well I usually don't have time for all that.

I got a couple of these sent in the mail free for a FB promotion and all I can say is THANK GOD I didn't waste my money on that crap. Your right it tastes like pure chemicals!

Ok I get the whole natural ingredients like real fruits to enhance water and make it taste better, but your using that argument for a product whose goal is to enhance water quickly and on the go like people who are most likely to use this product are. This isn't a product that people would necessarily use when they are at home relaxing. So I don't know I just feel like it's dumb to give alternatives that would take time and being at home (or a place with a blender and whatever other things you need) to a product that's main appeal is being on the go and quick to use.

Hi

I do not want these added chemicals either.....I also drink a lot of water and every now & then a flavor is refreshing....solution cold brew tea bags. Individually wrapped, I take them with me.....take a one liter water bottle then add one cold brew tea bag then let seep for 2-3 minutes....delicious. twinings makes a cold brew tea in mixed berries. No chemicals....

I love my water infuser and then I use my Cool Waters book for inspiration. Also, a fun refreshing drink I used to get when I lived in ca was iced jasmine tea with fresh lime juice-no sugar necessary!

Thank you again, Snack Girl for all

Your great thoughts! I don't like to get on mailing lists, but I very much enjoy your site and look forward to all the great emails :0)

I disagree, I have used the Mio for almost a year. There are some that seem artificial, but others that tase pretty good. I guess each person has their own preferance.

I saw a tip. Freeze watermelon for ice cubes! Especially if your drinking a watermelon drink it won't water it down :)

I have used the Crystal Light and the Dasani versions of these water flavorings. The Crystal Light iced tea, the Dasani mixed berry, Dasani grape, and the Dasani pink lemonade taste fine. I use these at work. At home, I flavor my water with a small amount of either cranberry juice, lemonade, or grape juice. I also use an fruit infusion pitcher like the one shown....with either lemons, lemons and limes, or strawberries. Works for me. I've given up most soft drinks now and am much better off for it.

I have started using different extracts to my water today I'm drinking almond water got a medicine dropper and added the amount to taste so I didn't over pour

You did not list the sugar content. For diabetics who want to avoid artificial sweeteners the sugar content is essential.

Thanks for the article, it was very informational but need the sugar content to make it applicable to our situation.

What in the he**? I just bought this and trust me, never again! The taste is disgusting and I have the strawberry watermelon. YUCK

40 drinks per bottle??? Based on what control group?? Likely mice not humans!! Like to know % of people who factually got 40 drinks per bottle? If I follow company directions the drink tastes like water with no flavour at all!! To get any noteworthy taste other than coloured water I have to use 4 squirts per bottle of MiO that renders the bottle to empty. Come on already and produce how you came up to 40 drinks per 1Mio bottle and detailing exact procedures and methodology and number of people in testing other than those in your employ. Conclusion: I think you’re really stretching the actual number of drinks one can receive per Mio bottle. Looking forward receiving your email reply and please don’t refer me to a telephone number to call an email would suffice.


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