This Mama Cooks! On a Diet: Aquafina's new enhanced water drink, Aquafina Alive

Pepsi has recently spruced up its Aquafina water line with Aquafina Alive, another contender in the "health and energy" water product arena. The water comes with ingredients like caffeine, electrolytes, antioxidants, fiber and vitamins.

Always interested in satisfying my desire for the perfect energy drink - and a cheaper alternative to the $1.50 a can stuff I buy by the case at Costco - I told Aquafina's social marketing person to send me some samples.

First I tried Aquafina Alive Satisfy (10-calorie peach mango flavor with 3g of fiber or 10% DV). They claim that this is one of the only waters on the market with a significant amount of fiber to help lightly fill you up. However, I have seen drink powders from Kellogg's that contain 10g of fiber. Still, I thought it tasted pretty good and there was no noticeable "grittiness" from the fiber.

Aquafina Alive Energize (calorie-free orange lime with caffeine, and 10% DV of Vitamin B) is enhanced with about as much caffeine as an average cup of coffee and is a good source of B vitamins. LOVED THIS. It was tasty and not too sweet. Plus, I did get a little caffeine lift. I'd buy this again. However, my local store doesn't carry it at this time, darn it.

Aquafina Alive Protect (calorie-free berry pomegranate, with 10% DV of vitamins E and C) is a good source of E and C vitamins. This drink was way too sweet, and that's coming from someone who has a major sweet tooth. Still, I would recommend it if you were sick in bed with a head cold or the flue. You wouldn't notice the taste, you'd stay hydrated, and it contains vitamin C to help you get better.

There's also Aquafina Alive Hydrate (calorie-free lemon, with electrolytes, sodium and potassium), which is enhanced with electrolytes to replenish the nutrients an active body loses throughout the day. I didn't try a sample of this because it's not on the market yet. However, its seems like a good alternative to high calorie sports drinks like Gatorade.

Bottom Line: Aquafina Alive costs more than name brand diet soda and is obviously much more expensive than tap water with a slice of lime. However, it's comparable in price to similar health water drinks. Plus, unlike some of them Aquafina Alive is much lower in calories because it contains Splenda instead of sugar or corn syrup. If sports, health or energy drinks are your thing - and they are mine - I'd give Aquafina Alive a try.

If you're concerned about cost, you may want to look into the various energy/health drink powders from Kellogg's, Crystal Light, Lipton, and other drink companies. Seems there's a whole slew of new energy drinks coming to your local grocery store. Summer's coming and you'll be thirsty - give them a try!