A New Favourite

When I was pregnant with Gage, I craved and ate Captain Crunch cereal and nectarines (not together) like they were going out of style. With this pregnancy, in the earlier months it was anything citrus and as cliche as it sounds, pickles. During the last 2 months however, I've been craving carbonated, sugary, beverages, with COKE being at the top of the list. I've always been a Coke drinker, as that is my drink of choice during social outings (I'm not one for alcohol) but my desire for it has increased ten fold. The problem with this, is that drinking a lot of Coke, as I'm sure you're aware, is consuming quite a bit of sugar and caffeine. Plus, it was giving me heartburn. BUT, my craving was (is) still here so I needed to come up with a different solution.
Hence my new favourite carbonated beverage (okay, it's not really my favourite as nothing will ever top Coke, but it's good enough).
Vanilla Soda.

It's so simple yet so delicious, and the best part is that you can control the amount of vanilla syrup you put in so it can be as sweet or not so sweet - whatever floats your boat.

You need:
Can of club soda
Ice Cubes (don't get me started on my craving for crushed ice)
1/3 cup (or less, or more) of vanilla syrup

Mix all together and enjoy!

Vanilla Syrup:

1. Add 2 cups of granulated sugar to 2 cups of water in a saucepan
2. While constantly stirring, heat mixture over medium/low heat until sugar is dissolved and liquid is clear
3. Remove from heat and add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, give it a quick stir to incorporate the vanilla
4. Pour into the container of your choice (I use mason jars), let cool and then enjoy!