One would have thought that by now, Diet Coke would be gracing the shelves of every corner store in all towns and villages in Oaxaca, Mexico. But not so. Venture out of the state capital, and even into the suburbs of the city of Oaxaca, and finding a diet soda, be it Pepsi, Coca-Cola, or other brand of sugar-free beverage is a chore. But if one asks, knows the names of the products available in Oaxaca and elsewhere in southern Mexico, and follows some additional sound advice, one can enjoy the vacation and drink guilt-free. Yes, there are powdered sugar-free beverages of different brands, as well as Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, and more.
Selection of Diet Drinks in Oaxaca, Mexico, for Calorie - Conscious, Weight Watcher and Dieter
The following is an enumeration of the most commonly encountered diet sodas and sugar-free powdered beverages available in Oaxaca and elsewhere in southern Mexico:
- Diet Coke as we know it is simply known as "coca light," labelled "Coca-Cola Light, available in cans, in 600 ml plastic bottles, and larger sized plastic bottles such as 1 liter, 1.5 liters, 2 liters, 2.5 liters, and occasionally other sizes... it all depends on the store and promotions for the diet soda. A variation on the theme of course is Coca-Cola Zero, in cans and plastic bottles.
- For Pepsi in Oaxaca, there's Pepsi Light, and on occasion Pepsi Max. Once again this diet pop comes in cans and in a variety of plastic bottle sizes, but the variety is not as great as it is with Coke.
- The Soriana supermarket chain, the largest in Mexico, has its own brand of diet cola, currently commonly encountered in cans. In the past it's been carried in bottles. Soriana appears to be struggling, at least in Oaxaca, with knowing what to market. It's also had other flavors of its calorie-free diet sodas.
- Other companies produce calorie-free diet soda found on supermarket shelves as well, so be vigilant. For example, the Chedraui supermarket chain has its house brand of diet soda.
- Clight, which is found in Canadian and American stores is also found in Oaxaca supermarkets, for a fraction of the price, sometimes on sale for as little as 2.5 pesos per package which makes 1.5 or 2 liters of diet drink. There used to be a similar product, Blight, but it hasn't been around lately. But ZUKO Light can be found in the same area as other powdered sugar-free drink mixes, again extremely inexpensive. Soriana also has its own brand of diet powdered beverage mixes. Between the Soriana house brand, Clight and ZUKO, there's a tremendous range of flavors of diet drinks gracing the shelves of major Oaxacan supermarket chains, including mango, tamarind, grapefruit, strawberry, raspberry, horchata, mandarin, organge, pear, red grapefruit, watermelon, apple, peach, and yes, more.
- Nestea has a few flavors of diet drink mix in the same supermarket area, such as green tea, a touch of pomegranate and tamarind. One can sometimes find Nestea prepared diet drinks in cans and / or bottles. Nestea brand sugar-free beverages cost more than the Soriana, ZUKO and Clight brands.
What To Do as a Tourist in Oaxaca, Mexico, to Ensure a Supply of Diet Drinks for the Trip's Duration
Start the vacation with different sizes of bottled water, in plastic bottles, so there will be a variety of sizes available for then filling later on with diet drinks. There is always the option of simply pouring the powder into full water bottles, but for the frugal, another option exists in Oaxaca, and in fact throughout Mexico.
In the US and Canada, one pays $4 - $6 for a five gallon plastic jug of water. In Oaxaca, and certainly in the southern half of Mexico, the same size plastic jug, labelled either 19 or 20 liters, costs only about 17 pesos, less than $1.50. Consider purchasing this large container of water to fill the smaller plastic bottles, for mixing with powdered diet drink mixes. It costs about 40 - 50 pesos for the deposit, but so what. And of course, don't forget to buy a small plastic funnel.
With a supply of flavorful diet drinks in the hotel room, lined up on the dresser waiting to go, sightseeing in the city of Oaxaca and its central valleys and marketplaces will be much more refreshing and weight watchers and calorie counters will be anxiety-free, and able to quench their thirst without concern about breaking the diet.
Final Words of Advice for Sugar-Free Drink Lovers Visiting Oaxaca and Wanting to Stay on the Diet
There are two important final pieces of advice and considerations for tourists to Oaxaca and elsewhere in southern Mexico wanting to drink only diet beverages:
- It's impolite and imprudent to simply sit down in at a market food stall or restaurant in Oaxaca and pull out one's own Diet Coke or pre-mixed container of sugar-free beverage. Accordingly, first ask for anything sugar-free, and if the restaurant or stand does not have anything diet, ask if you can drink the diet soda or beverage in your purse or knapsack.
- With the price of packaged, powdered diet, sugar-free drinks on supermarket shelves in Oaxaca, consider taking home 50 or more packages. You can't beat the price, nor the selection of flavors.
Alvin Starkman - Alvin Starkman runs Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast. He is a paid contributing writer for Mexico Today (http://www.mexicotoday.org).
