Raise a glass of bubbly (water of course) to this neat machine

Summer may be coming to an end (noooooo!) but my family's consumption of "fizzy water" is never going to slow down. To say we're fans of the bubbly stuff would be putting it mildly. But we've got a new secret this year. A fun, eco, delicious secret.

 

It's the SodaStream Jet and it's absolutely amazing.

This water fizzifier (okay, not the technical name) adds carbon dioxide to plain old tap water--or filtered water if you're feeling chichi--and, voila, instant bubbly drinks. I's simple to use. You just attach the bottle of plain water to the SodaStream, press a button a few times and it's ready to go.

From the fizzing stage, you can add one of SodaStream's many syrups to make your own soda or, as we Canadians say, pop. It's all so practical, with no bottles to buy over and over again, no excess money spent on something you don't really "need" to be drinking and fizzy water whenever and wherever you want it.

The only thing I'm not crazy about are the syrups. We're not really into sweetened drinks in my house, anyway, but I'm particularly anti-artificial sweeteners. SodaStream syrups claim to be "natural" and made with "no HFCS", but so many of the syrups contain sucralose. My suggestion: try your own natural syrups. Maple, even.

The machine is worth its weight in gold in my house. My kids have taken to requesting homemade fizzy water with their meals and I'm happy to oblige. Though I have to say, when my son demands his with a "squeeze of lime" I start to feel like he might be taking advantage of me. -Stephanie P.

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