Dropping soda is possibly the quickest way to drop a few pounds. It's not just that the high fructose corn syrup in most soda is bad for us, new studies are coming out that even diet soda can inhibit weight loss. My clients, as they use the Somaception method, are asked to cut out even diet soda as we believe that artificial flavors and sweeteners interfere with the body's natural ability to sense what is good for it.
Hibiscus flowers are available online, at many specialty stores like Trader Joes, or locally at any Hispanic grocer. I buy a bag of hundreds of flowers at my "mercado" for about 2 dollars. The recipe I use calls for only 7 flowers. Less than a dime's worth!
My favorite recipe:
8 cups of water brought up to a rapid boil and then brought down to a simmer as the rest of the ingredients are dropped in.
7 hibiscus flowers
5 whole cloves
4 tablespoons of honey
Simmer the cloves and hibiscus for 10 minutes then drain and cool the mix with some ice or cold water to bring the total up to 12 cups of liquid. This yields a rich tasting purple mix. You can add some fresh lime or lemon to bring up the tartness if you like.
Now comes the tricky part: How to make this into soda? I bought a small soda charger. These are the things you see in the old Three Stooges movies where they seltzer each other. You can find them at specialty stores or on eBay for around $30. They take little CO2 cartridges to charge and give the soda it's fizz. My niece loves this and begs to make "purple pop" every time she comes to the house. I'm happy to oblige since it keeps her off the commercial stuff.
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