My mother was a soda fanatic; apart from the occasional bottle of tonic water or bitter lemon (in the summer, G&Ts were the rule, not the exception), carbonated beverages weren't allowed in our house. This meant, of course, that they became the forbidden fruit, something that my sisters and I craved with a single-minded intensity that was somewhat frightening. As we got older, however, we outgrew carbonated beverages and, once I learned about high fructose corn syrup, most sodas were scrubbed from my list permanently.

Even so, I sometimes get the desire for a cool, refreshing carbonated beverage. While the emergence of organic sodas has been great, they don't have very wide distribution and I sometimes find myself gasping at the cost. After all, when I'm paying two bucks for a soda, it's officially moved from being a refreshment into being a delicacy. Luckily, my neighborhood, which is largely Hispanic, offers a wide selection of reasonably-priced Latin American sodas, many of which are surprisingly free of artificial ingredients. Of these, my favorite is the Jarritos line.

Jarritos is a Mexican soft drink company that was established in 1950. Its sodas come in a variety of fruit flavors, including tamarind, lime, pineapple, strawberry, watermelon, and mandarin. They are sweetened with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup, and often use natural flavorings. While I don't advocate drinking them every day, Jarritos come in handy when the soda bug overcomes my healthier tendencies, and their low price (under $0.75 for a 16-ounce bottle) makes me feel a little better about my weakness. Also, to be honest, they make the perfect counterpoint to a spicy taco or a bowl of salsa and chips!