NEW Favorite Phase 2 Beverage

Many people are addicted to diet sodas. They are VERY bad for you for many reasons but the one that I consider the most prominent reason is that the artificial sweeteners communicate to your body that you are hungry and they make you crave foods. THAT is REALLY bad while on the VLCD.

On one of the yahoo groups I read often someone suggested plain carbonated water with flavored stevia drops. I finally found some seltzer water that had no sodium and no sweetener. It is simply bubbly water. I took it home to chill and have had LOTS of fun experimenting with various flavored stevia's to make my own sugar free, sodium free Soda!

Thus far my favorites have been:

Vanilla Cream Stevia = Cream Soda
Root Beer Stevia = Root Beer
Orange Valencia Stevia = Orange soda
Orange Valencia AND Vanilla Cream Stevias = Orange Creamsicle Soda

So, if you are really in the mood for a soda treat that would be acceptable for phase 2. Start stocking up on stevia (the top shelf of my refrigerator looks like a stevia store add), and enjoy making your own sensational soda with unflavored, unsweetened and unsalted club or seltzer water! Oh, and when you are in phase 3 and cooking in coconut oil and butter daily making a greasy mess of your stove top. Put some of that plain soda on a sponge or cloth and it cleans up grease lickity split!! I keep plain seltzer water in a spray bottle for cleaning my stove top. It works better than ANY commercial cleaner on grease!

If you are not familiar with stevia, my favorite brand is Sweetleaf. You can purchase it online through Amazon, Vitacost and many other places. I always shop around for the cheapest prices. Some large grocery stores carry it and most health food stores do too. You will NOT find it at Walmart. Oh and please read labels on any other brand of stevia, especially the powdered ones. Some companies like "Stevia in the Raw" add SUGAR to the stevia. You cannot use a stevia product that has sugar added in it's raw form or in the form of maltodextrin. Be sure to purchase stevia that is just stevia.

Remember that when you first start to use stevia you must start with very small amounts or you will NOT like it. Most find it "bitter" at first. It took me a LONG time to learn how much I like on various foods. I used to HATE IT!! Now though I have come to really enjoy it. I think one reason is that my body no longer gets white, pure sugar.... so it is satisfied with fruit sugars and stevia. So do consider that it make take time for you to get used to using stevia and being satisfied with the level of sweetness it offers. Start with just a couple drops then increase little by little until it is just sweet enough but not bitter. If you struggle with the "bitterness" then try NOW Stevia Glycerite. I just bought my first bottle, but love my Sweetleaf flavors so much that I haven't tried it yet. :-)

Hope you are enjoying the Sweet Success of Phase 2!