A few years ago when we began with zeal our frugal journey, I realized one the best ways to save on our weekly grocery budget was to cut out bottled drinks and mixes. I began serving water at each meal.
After a few months, my husband told me that he liked having something “other than water to drink” at each meal. “But it is so cheap and good for you!”, I argued. Well he didn’t budge, so I challenged myself to find a way to put something else on the table at dinner time besides water. We still drink water at every other meal and as drinks throughout the day. I watch for the occasional coupon and good deal on juice at the grocery store, but I have found a family of 5 can go through a lot of juice! So over the years I have found several ways to serve up frugal and tasty beverages from home that can handle our thirsty crew.
Photo by me 
One of our favorite drinks has become Sweet Iced Tea, and with tea you can make some amazing variations either by adding fruit to it, or purchasing fruit flavored teas. I haven’t calculated out the costs but a large box of tea can yield me many gallons of iced tea for very little cost. I often make up a gallon or two in the morning and keep them in the refrigerator.
We also make up large batches of lemonade in gallon jugs and keep that on hand. I can purchase lemons 2/$1 at our local farm store so making up a batch of this also very inexpenisvely. I purchased a small electric citrus juicer on clearance that makes this go really quick. I also like to grab bags of oranges reduced at the grocery store and make up yummy orange juice for a healthy morning beverage.
To keep things interesting, I make variations on lemonde such as Three Citrus Lemonade and Summer Strawberry Lemonade. We have also enjoyed variations such as Three Citrus Lemonade and Summer Strawberry Lemonade. We have also enjoyed variations such as Maple Lemonade and Honey Lemonade! I also found a great little pdf download here of various lemonade recipes to try.
Photo from muuuusics
In a time crunch, I have also sliced up lemons and limes and just put them in iced water to steep for a while. this atleast gives water a little “zip” and my husband doesnt mind drinking it that way.
Photo from FLOODkOff
I have also find a little garnish makes a frugal beverage extra special. Try a sliced lemon or lime wedge on the side of the glass or a few mint leaves in your iced tea! I freeze bits of lemon, lime, or fruit in my ice cube trays and add them to our drinks for some extra flair.
Not only are these much better for you than those sugary juice drinks at the store, they cost pennies on the dollar to make as well!
Do you have any frugal beverage ideas/recipes/tips to share? I’d love to expand my repertoire of beverage offerings, so do share!
{ 1 trackback }
{ 5 comments }
Fantasic site, thanks for the info. keep up the good work.
These are wonderful ideas! We drink water for every meal here, with the exception of goat milk occasionally.
I grew up in the South, so sweet tea is a must!
Kelly from Faithful Bloggers´s last blog ..Maintaining Honesty in Product Reviews
Those are great tips:-)
Susie’s Homemade´s last blog ..Friday Foto Fun with Boo Boos
I do this too. But mostly I serve water.
Buildeth her house´s last blog ..Feminine Friday
We often use milk products and I will put creamers, coffee, or even cocoa for cheap drinks. We buy raw milk so it has lots of cream for taste and protein and enzymes for health.
Farrah Suzanne´s last blog ..French Friday Part Deux
Comments on this entry are closed.