Don't you just hate it when you ask for a sugar free drink in a pub or restaurant and all they've got to offer is diet cola or water?

Or you're offered a pure fruit juice - "Well, that's sugar free - isn't it?" No it isn't - the sugar that occurs naturally in fruit juice is very high and that will play havoc with your blood sugar levels. But here are a few drinks you might like to try...

I got so fed up of the standard cola offer, I decided to experiment with mixing the different sugar free drinks that are available and you might like to try these alternatives to 'just cola'.

1) The first experiment I tried was to mix a diet cola and diet tonic water in the same glass. Then I added ice and lemon. The mixture gives a slightly sharper taste and it makes a very long and refreshing drink on a hot summer's day.

2) Then I tried splitting a pure orange fruit juice (you could also try pineapple or tomato juice) with a friend and added sparkling water to my half of the juice. You could also try mixing your juice with diet tonic water.

3) If you want to make a refreshing drink at home, this pineapple slushy will hit your dry spot:

Take 1 can sugar-free ginger ale, add 1/4 cup of unsweetened pineapple juice and ice cubes.

Place in a blender and blend until the ice-cubes are crushed and you get a slushy mixture.

Why not experiment with other unsweetened fruit juices? And, if you want a little bit more of a kick, you could add rum extract to give it more flavor.

If you have any more ideas or recipes for sugar-free drink I would really love to hear about them.