I just bought myself one of those home-made popsicle moulds. You can make yourself diet cherry coke icepops. Another think I saw that they are selling on an informercial is a cup to make slushees. My sisters and I had these things in the 70's, they are really old school, but you can make yourself a slushee.
Hawaiin Ice and Snow cone ice shavers are great too.
I used to have a hand crank model (exercise to boot) but due to my arthritis, I bought an electric model. I buy sugar free syrups like Torani's, and I'll also make my own using mixes like Crystal Light (but using only about a fourth of the water called for) and put it in a squeeze bottle to store in the fridge.
I'm not on Atkins, but ever since I saw the title of this thread, I've been craving diet cherry coke. It does sound like a nice dessert, especially poured over crushed ice.
The dangers and risks of soda and artificial sweeteners have been greatly exagerated and/or distorted in the media. Much of the "information" out there (especially on aspartame) is actually urban legend (check out urban legend and myth busting sites like snopes.com Mythbusters has also done several episodes dealing with soda and sweetener myths).
Aspartame is the most "controversial," and some of the hype is warranted, however the actual risks of aspartame appear to be related to the fact that the digestion of aspartame pulls folic acid (a B vitamin) from the body. This isn't unusual, natural foods do this too. However, if you're eating lots of aspartame, and not eating fruits and veggetables, this can become a serious issue (as folic acid deficiency is associated with the health effects "blamed on" aspartame - such as pituitary tumors and neural tube defects of the fetus during pregnancy (such as spina bifida).
So if you're ingesting quite a bit of aspartame, whether in diet soda form or some other, it's not a bad idea to take a folic acid supplement, especially if you're not eating a great deal of veggies and fruits.
Carbonated beverages do errode dental enamel, so if you have thin enamel, you may want to avoid or limit carbonated beverages (or as my dentist suggested, use a straw).
It is true that aspartame breaks down into formaldehyde and methane/methanol, but this isn't something to be concerned about, because these are normal byproducts of digestion. A great many entirely natural and healthy foods break down into much, much higher concentrations of these substances. You can't and wouldn't want to eliminate all foods that break down into formaldehyde and methane. You couldn't eat enough aspartame to "poison" yourself with formaldehyde or methane/methanol.
Yes, some people have adverse reactions to artificial sweeteners, but the same can be said of peanut butter, strawberries, and many other foods and food additives that most people have no trouble with.
Artificial sweeteners are not "health foods" by any stretch of the imagination, but the dangers are minimal especially compared to environmental toxins that most people don't give a second thoughtto (like the toxic chemicals in our carpets, furniture, soaps, cosmetics, cleaning supplies, dryer sheets, fabric softeners and fragrances).
I'm not on Atkins, but ever since I saw the title of this thread, I've been craving diet cherry coke. It does sound like a nice dessert, especially poured over crushed ice.
Sounds yummy. I rarely drink diet soda (opting for water instead) but sometimes you just want something different. I will have to find these.
When did Diet Cherry Coke become dessert?!
