All Natural Cream Soda

When you live with a guy who went to school to grow all things green, you learn a thing or two about plants.

Years ago, as I was discovering the edible world outside of the Twinkies and Spaghettios of my youth, Sous Chef introduced me to stevia. He brought home a few leaves - not an unusual occurrence in our household - and told me to take a tiny little piece of one and chew it. My instinctual trust in my Sous Chef battled with my other instinct to not put strange things in my mouth, but I did as he instructed, and was surprised by how sweet the leaf was, despite the minuscule amount that had touched my tongue.

Stevia leaves are about 30 times sweeter than sugar, and ingesting it has a negligible effect on blood sugar, unlike cane sugar, which gives you a "sugar spike".

In fact, a recent study found that stevia actually increases the effectiveness of insulin (the hormone responsible for sugar metabolism, and notably either hindered or absent in diabetes sufferers) and decreases fatty deposits in the liver. Hello.

When was the last time you read a study about the health benefits of cane sugar, or high fructose corn syrup?

A few years ago, we had to go to the natural food store to find stevia, and it was only available as a liquid additive. Nowadays, there are several commercial varieties available, including a granulated sugar substitute, but I still prefer the liquid variety. It just feels more "natural", probably because Sous Chef made his own version once by steeping stevia leaves in hot water - so since I've actually seen that process, I imagine the commercial liquid products are prepared the same way. Does anyone out there know for sure?

Another plus to the liquid variety is that it makes it insanely easy to make your own soda at home. It's a fairly simple formula:

Sparkling water + stevia + flavor = homemade soda

Not exactly rocket science, but in a world of beverages with unpronounceable ingredient lists, it's easy to forget the basics of where it all started. Try this on for size and you'll see just how much fun it can be to create your own flavors! My favorite brand, SweetLeaf, has a whole line of flavored stevia liquid - which makes it even easier!

Homemade Cream Soda

Serves 2

2 cups sparkling water
15 drops SweetLeaf SteviaClear liquid stevia
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine everything in a pitcher, or divide ingredients in half among two tall glasses. Serve over ice. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: These views are entirely my own; I was not compensated by SweetLeaf in any way. I do want to give them a shout out though, because when I tweeted a question to them they answered promptly and encouraged me to have a "sweet" day...