Is Diet Soda good for you?
10 years ago, the answer would have been a resounding, “YES!”
No calories? No real sugar? Same pop fizz? Sign you up…
Fast forward to today, and we hear the opposite: “NO! Artificial sweeteners are bad for you!”
Until now…
Meet Zevia—a new type of soda debunking the whole “soda is bad for you” campaign.
Composed of carbonated water, erythriol, tartaric aci, Reb A (stevia), natural flavors, caffeine, monk fruit extract and citric acid, the drink is an excellent alternative to the Diet Coke, Pepsi One and Coke Zero you know and love.
The main difference?
Stevia—the artificial sweetener used in Zevia—is derived from the stevia plant, stevia leaf extract (also called rebiana), is deemed the natural alternative to artificial sweeteners.
Unlike aspartame, sucralose or equal, Stevia is not synthesized in a lab (man-created) and does not have the same side effects like:
- A spike in insulin
- Increased appetite
- Bloating, constipation, diarrhea and gas
- Foggy brain
- Blurred vision
- Rapid heart rate and/or chest pains
- Headaches and migraines
- Nausea
- And cancer
Although Zevia is by no means a replacement for straight-up, refreshing water (you still need to drink about half your bodyweight in ounces of water each day for energy, digestion, metabolic and health), it does answer the call for a “little bubbly.” (P.S. You have to check out my Root Beer Float Recipe below and find Zevia at a store near you).
THE RISE OF PROCESSED FOOD
It’s really cool to see the food industry catching up with the need for genuinely better alternatives for foods on the shelves.
Although the diet industry has certainly been producing “low fat”, “low sugar”, “gluten-free”, “low carb” products for a number of years—just because the label says it’s healthy, doesn’t actually mean that it is.
It’s like going to Whole Foods Market and buying the “organic” Mac & Cheese along with the “organic” chicken nuggets and “organic” Rocky Road ice cream, and calling that dinner.
In other words: Just because the label says “heart healthy” or “organic” doesn’t mean it’s actually real food your body recognizes as real food.
Let me help you. Here are some of Thrive’s top packaged “real food” products in a store (or online store) near you—replacements for some of your old childhood favs or former “Standard American Diet” routine gone real:
(lets make this easy to read/look at)
OLDIES & GOODIES: PROCESSED FOOD ALTERNATIVES
Sodas
Old: Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke, Sprite
New: Zevia, La Croix, Topo Chico
Breads
Old: English Muffins
New: Mikey’s Muffins (coconut and almond flour based)
Old: Tortillas
New: Siete Tortillas (Coconut, Chia or Almond + Cassava flours)
Old: Sandwich Bread
New: Baseculture Bread, Guiltless Superfoods (seed based)
Old: Bagels
New Awesome Bunz
Cereals
Old: Special K, Kashi, Fruit Loops
New: Wildway Grain-free Granola, Wildway “Oatmeal”, Paleonola, Steel-cut Gluten Free Oats
Pasta
Old: Spaghetti, Fettuccine, Ravioli (all grain and flour based)
New: Capello’s Fettuccine, Gnnochi & Lasagna
Pizza
Old: Digiorno, Tony’s, California Pizza Kitchen, Little Cesar’s, Pizza Hut
New: Capello’s Pizza, Guiltless Superfoods Mini-Pizzas
Chips
Old: Pringles, Lays, Ruffles, Doritos
New: Jackson’s Honest Sweet Potato Chips, Purple Potato Chips, Sea Salt Potato Chips, Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips
Old: Tortilla Chips
New: Way Better Snacks Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips
Crackers
Old: Wheat Thins
New: Simple Mills Rosemary & Sea Salt, Jillz Crackers (nut, seed and cassava flours)
Old: Gold Fish
New: Simple Mills Cheddar Crackers (cassava and almond flour)
Cookies
Old: Oreos, Nabisco, Chips Ahoy
New: WB Cookies, Caveman Cookies
Chocolate Bar
Old: Hershey’s, Snickers, Reeses, Butterfinger
New: Eating Evolved, Heavenly Organics, Dark Chocolate (70-80% or greater), Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, Antidote Dark Chocolate
Popcorn
Old: Popcorn
New: Lesser Evil Himalayan Sea Salt Popcorn, Homemade kernels with coconut oil
Protein Bars
Old: Pure Protein, Cliff Bar, Luna Bar, Quest Bar
New: RX Bar, Bulletproof Bar, Exos Bar
Recipe: Root Beer Float
Ingredients
- ½ – 1 can Zevia Ginger Root Beer
- 1-2 Scoops 1-ingredient “ice cream” (below)
- Pinch of cinnamon
Directions
Blend together until creamy and slushy. Enjoy!
Recipe: 1-Ingredient Ice Cream
Ingredients
1 Frozen Ripe Banana
Directions
Peel the bananas and cut them into coins.
Place bananas pieces in a freezer bag. Freeze banana pieces for at least 2 hours, if not overnight. Blend and pulse frozen banana pieces in a small food processor or powerful blender, occasionally scraping sides. Blend until smooth or creamy. Add any add-ins of choice (like nutbutter, coconut butter, almonds, honey, cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate chips). Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until solid.