Soda shops selling sweet, colorful, carbonated drinks are popping up around the country. They sell dirty sodas and cream floats and personalized energy drinks with some of the most fun menu descriptors anywhere. But if you’re looking for something healthy on those menu boards, that might be tricky.

However, if the 12 cars at the drive-in don’t deter you, we’ve got tips for ordering a healthy drink at almost any popular soda shop.

What do you typically order at a soda shop?

People are ordering dirty sodas. Technically, it’s only a “dirty soda” if it’s served at Swig Drinks, the holder of the name trademark. But that doesn’t seem to matter to the millions viewing viral #DirtySoda videos on TikTok. Dirty sodas are generally concocted with a base of soda pop (Coke, Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper), a pump or two or three of a flavored syrup, topped with a splash of cream and sometimes a swirl of whipped cream.

If that sounds super sweet, it is. If it sounds high in calories, it is. Swig’s The Ring King, comprised of Dr Pepper, cupcake syrup, strawberry puree and vanilla cream, contains 170 to 620 calories depending on size. And that size can be up to 44 ounces.

Sodas with extra syrups, flavors or creams will be even higher in calories.

People are also ordering their afternoon caffeine fix, amped up. Caffeine-containing sodas can be jolted with additional caffeine-containing “energy” pumps or a couple more glugs of popular or brand-specific energy drinks, like Swig’s Reviver Energy.

The amount of caffeine in these drinks is usually impossible to find on menus – which can be worrisome to parents who are familiar with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation that teens should never consume energy drinks. (While these energy soda drinks are not necessarily marketed to teens, the drinks likely are brightly colored features on teens’ social media feeds.)

Swig’s Cloud 9, made of Blended Reviver Energy, Mountain Dew, coconut, pineapple, blue raspberry and half and half, contains about 100 to 200 milligrams of caffeine based on similar products on the market.

Why are soda shops so popular?

Social media can be thanked for much of the growing popularity of soda shops. TikTok videos of people (especially of young women in the drive-thru) taking sips of their favorite sodas are in the millions. Chatter on reality TV has given soda shops a boost. And the colorful layers of soda, flavorings and a trickle of cream make for gorgeous Instagram photos; not to mention how much fun feeds about fizzy soda pops are, like Thirst Drinks.

Part of the appeal might also be that soda shops are not “everywhere” – yet. Shops are most popular in the western United States where the soda shop trend originated in Salt Lake City, but the largest franchise Swig is expanding to the Midwest and Southeast. More and more independent shops and local franchises are bubbling up around the country. Cool Sips is in New York, Sota in Minneapolis and Maple Moose in Billings, Montana. The Midwestern chain Scooters just added sparkling floats and sodas to their menus. And Sonic added a ‘customize’ your soda feature to their app.

Just as we’ve personalized our morning coffee for the last few decades, it’s the literally thousands of different soda combinations that seem to have people coming back again and again.

Is it possible to order a healthy dirty soda?

The good news is that some franchised soda shops list the nutritional content of their drinks online. However with so many available customizations, the final calorie counts are often an estimate.

But a few shops are prioritizing healthier sips.

“We list our Water Mixers first on our menu, because they are really something special and we don’t want people to miss them,” says Chloe Rollins, Marketing Director at Thirst Drinks. “Our Miss Abby is the most popular. People say it tastes a little like a pink drink! It’s sparkling water, frozen strawberries, fresh orange, sugar-free strawberry syrup and coconut cream. It’s so delicious.”

More water-based drinks are showing up on menus. And it’s not just ordinary water. “The Water’s” menu at Sota boasts “triple-filtered still or sparkling water.”

These healthier water-based beverages are not necessarily zero-calorie. But they are also not zero-nutrition as are soda-based drinks. Frozen fruit, fresh fruit and fruit purees do contain antioxidants and a handful of vitamins and minerals. Thirst Drinks offers frozen mango, strawberries and mixed berries along with fresh lime, lemon, orange and real mint leaves says Rollins. They also have fruit purees which contain sugar, but also real fruit including raspberry, strawberry, mango, peach and piña colada.

“You can create almost any healthy drink you can dream of, there are so many delicious options,” notes Rollins.

How exactly do you order a healthy drink at a soda shop?

There are some specific tricks for ordering healthier at soda shops.

Start with sparkling water. This is a zero-calorie base. Some shops also have antioxidant-rich black or green tea.

Skip the flavored syrup. Look for real fruit purees instead. You can also ask for fresh or frozen fruits, especially if a shop also has fruit smoothies on their menu. In a pinch, 100-percent fruit juices will offer a handful of vitamins, minerals and electrolytes.

Save the caffeine jolt for the morning. Caffeine consumption after about 2 p.m. can affect a healthy night’s sleep. It may be surprising that soda shop sodas can contain as much or more caffeine as a morning coffee. Here are some drinks for comparison:

• 12-ounce Starbucks coffee: 200 mg caffeine
• 16-ounce Monster Energy Drink: 160 mg caffeine
• 12-ounces of Mountain Dew: 55 mg caffeine
• 2-pumps of a popular energy syrup: 160 mg caffeine
• 2-pumps of energy syrup + 12 ounces of soda: 215 mg caffeine

Swirl in whole milk instead of cream. Milk contains a small amount of protein and only a small amount of saturated fat. The typical swirl of cream in a dirty soda is about two tablespoons. Here’s a breakdown of dairy offerings:

• 2 tablespoons non-dairy coconut cream: 70 calories, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g protein
• 2 tablespoons of cream: 100 calories, 6 g saturated fat, 0 g protein
• 2 tablespoons half and half: 80 calories, 4 g saturated fat, 1 g protein
• 2 tablespoons whole milk: 20 calories, 0.6 g saturated fat, 1 g protein

Skip the dirty soda altogether. Order a more nutrient-rich option. Here are some healthier soda shop sippers:

• Plain lemonade + sparkling water
• Plain lemonade + unsweetened black tea (8 ounces of black tea contains about 50 mg caffeine)
• Fruit puree + green tea (8 ounces of green tea contains about 30-50 mg caffeine)
• Kombucha

Order the smallest size of soda. If you decide that you do want to try out what ‘everyone’ is posting about (we had to try it too!), pick the smallest size for your fun soda drink. Preferably, choose one with fewer flavors, creams and caffeine shots – as that will contain less sugar, caffeine and fewer zero-nutrition calories. Then enjoy it with a friend; researchers have found that slowing down and enjoying your food (and beverages) with friends can be a healthier way to eat.

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