Trying out the SodaStream machine not only allowed me the convenience of fizzy water whenever I wanted it in the comfort of my own home, it also helped curb my sugar cravings when I gave up sugar & sweeteners.
When I was told by my Naturopath that, for my health, I had to cut sugar & caffeine (amongst other things) out of my diet completely and cold turkey, you can probably imagine how I felt. I cried. Every day I was eating bags of candy and I was also drinking 2-4 litres of Coke or Barq’s rootbeer, not to mention all the sugars and sweeteners in the everyday foods we buy at the grocery store. Cutting sugar out of my diet was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. It took more will power than I thought I possessed and I would have random, dark, struggle days, where I ended up doing things like sitting with a big bowl of homemade buttercream icing and just finishing it off. That of course just left me feeling sick and horrible. Addictions are tough and sugar is no different, it just happens to be mainstream and considered acceptable in society. You can read about an alternative frozen dessert here.
One thing I knew though, was that I couldn’t even have a little bit of pop because I would not have the will power to give it up again. My whole life I drank sugary drinks. My parents gave us Kool-Aid, Tang, juice, pop, chocolate milk, milkshakes, floats, etc., no one knew how bad sugar was for our bodies back then, and because I didn’t like water, I was never forced to drink it. Now, years later, here I was, only able to drink water. It was becoming harder and harder to not have a pop. Thankfully when I was at a point where I felt I couldn’t continue, my friend suggested an alternative that she was enjoying. Perrier or even just plain fizzy water with lemon juice. Oh my gosh. The euphoria I experienced guzzling that first bottle was amazing and I learned that as long as I had those lovely fizzy bubbles on my tongue tantalizing my taste buds, I could control my sugar cravings. I started carrying my own water with me all the time. When I would go out of town the first thing I did was go to the grocery store and buy myself bottles of fizzy water. While I became incredible hydrated the only problem was I was back to drinking 2-4 litres and having to purchase all those 2 litre plastic bottles.
One day when I was out shopping I saw the SodaStream (website here) machine for the first. I didn’t know anything about it so I went home, started doing research and tried to figure out if it was worth the money, and the time, to fizz my own water. After one too many times of the store being out of fizzy water or me forgetting the cart to carry my 9 or so 2 litre bottles of fizzy water up to my apartment, I decided I didn’t just want to give it a try, I needed to. Thankfully my Mom gave it to me for my birthday. She also gave me an extra canister as well as three extra 1 litre bottles, which I quickly learned, were almost a necessity when you drink as much water as I do.
The SodaStream machine is incredibly easy to use. My machine is the SodaStream Source and it has three LED lights representing the fizz level of the water but there are several different styles and colours to choose from. The only downside is at times, between the gas and the machine, my bottle almost explodes off the machine but this only happens randomly and it has never been a problem. Also, after two years of constant use the lights on my machine stopped working but I can quite accurately gauge the fizz level after all this time so it hasn’t been a problem for me. With my consumption, each CO2 carbonation canister lasts 7-10 days on average, but again, that depends on consumption. I know that it has lasted months for some people. You also get money back when you return your used cartridge and buy a new one, so that helps with the cost.
The carbonated water can be drunk by itself, you can add lemon juice or another all natural flavouring, or you can add the SodaStream syrups. I’m personally not fond of the syrups though because they are full of sugars and/or other sweeteners. Also, the carbonation is added to the water before any flavourings are added, otherwise you will end up with water shooting everywhere and you run the chance of the flavoured water damaging and wrecking your machine.
There are different machines (affiliate link for USA) available in different price ranges so you can make a purchase choice depending on how much you enjoy drinking fizzy water and the quantity you consume. For me, the availability, ease, convenience and cost, all make my SodaStream machine my favourite, and number one, kitchen appliance. Here is how I carry my fizzy water with me.
