Making soda at home with Soda Stream

I'm not going to lie, I would be a HUGE soda drinker if it weren't for all those darn calories. I grew up on soda, my parents drank it so I drank it. But as an adult, and as a parent myself, I have to be more careful about what I drink and let my children drink. That's why when I heard about Soda Stream I was so excited. They send you all you need to make soda right from home and it has fewer calories and less sodium than regular commercial soda brands.

Making your own soda is super easy too. You just fill the reusable bottle with super cold water, twist it on the machine and press the carbonator button until it makes a loud buzz and then repeat as many times as you would like (up to five times) for your carbonation level. I like 3 pushes, it gives it about the same amount of carbonation that you'd find in store bought soda. Although for the Root Beer flavor I like four pushes, it gives it a little extra bite and is so good! Once you've done that you add the flavoring and shake it a bit and you're all set to enjoy a tasty soda.

I mentioned before that Soda Stream soda has fewer calories and sodium than regular brands. It really does, just checkout the label below from a bottle of the Root Beer flavoring:

It might be a little hard to see, but it has 35 calories and 2mg of sodium per 8oz. Compare that to 110 to 120 calories for commercial brands of root beer. The statistics for the other flavors are just as good. Soda Stream soda tastes just as good but is better for you! Oh, and those of you wanting to avoid products with high fructose corn syrup there isn't any in the regular flavors, and no aspartame in the diet flavors of Soda Streams soda mixes. It just gets better and better!

Another advantage to Soda Stream soda is that it's better for the environment than commercial soda. You eliminate waste by using the same bottles over and over again. No more throwing away bottles, cans and cups with every soda you drink, that seriously eliminates a lot of waste! These reusable bottles last for 3 years, as long as you take care of them properly. Also, the highly concentrated soda mixes mean minimal packaging. So drinking Soda Stream soda is the greener choice too. With as much soda as some people drink this could be a big boost to our environment if we could get more people making their own soda.

Now that I've told you all about these awesome machines, how would you like the chance to win a Soda Lover's Start-Up kit (value approx. $115)? What you will receive with the kit is:

- 1 Fountain Jet Black/Silver Home Soda Maker
- 2, 60-liter Carbonators, makes approx. 120 liters of soda
- 2 Carbonating Bottles
- SodaMix: to make 36 Liters of Soda
- 3 SodaMix bottles (your choice) - each bottle makes 12 liters of soda

That's a whole lot of soda...you'll be set for awhile and you'll have a lot of fun making it.

Now for what you have to do to win:
- You must live on the continental US (sorry no HI, AK, Guam, PR, etc.)
- Visit Soda Stream and find a flavor or two you'd like to try. Then come back to this post and leave me a comment telling me your choice(s).
- Don't forget to leave a valid email if it's not in your Blogger profile so I can reach you if you win. Don't worry, I won't use the addresses for any other purpose.
- This contest ends on September 24, 2008 at noon MDT. I will pick a winner using random.org soon after that time. I will email the winner and they will have 72 hours to respond. If I don't hear from the winner I will choose another, again using random.org.

Extra credit for extra entries:
- Add the button for this contest to your blog then come back and leave me another comment, code below:


<a target="_blank" href="http://redsoxmommy.blogspot.com/2008/09/making-soda-at-home-with-soda-stream.html"><br/><br/><img border="0" width="125" alt=" Win a Soda Stream Soda Maker" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/luvlife26/blog/finalsodabutton.jpg" height="150" /></a>
- Blog about this giveaway, linking to this post and Soda Stream and leave me another comment with the link to your post.

Good luck!

CLOSED...A winner has been chosen!