Sodastream users?

[holmquistc]

Hey guys.  So I'm really wanting to lose weight but I, unfortunately, hate water.  However, if I can add some sort of healthy flavoring I would.  I, of course, love soda.  I discovered the SodaStream machines.  Do any of you use it?  How do you think it would help in losing weight?  Of course, wouldn't want to use any classic soda flavorings like Coke or any of the usual unhealthy ingredients.  I'm thinking I would drink more water if I had that satisfying carbonation.  Thanks for your feedback!

[GershonSurge]

I prefer Your-In stream. 

[holmquistc]

Heh, no seriously 

[Baltoscott]

My wife and I have one.  We seem to go through phases in using it ... a lot for a few months, and then not at all.  We just carbonate the water and then put the bottle in the fridge -- no flavorings.

[Soippi]

My wife & I have one given to us a year ago. We both are slaves to soda. Most are filled with stuff we all should stay away from. Carbonation has a small amount of Carbonic Acid which dentist advise us to avoid.  I love carbinated drinks because of the cooling effect of releasing  the gas hense why I'm addicted. If you use some flavoring stick to the ones most healthy!    😄

I hope this gets you closer to your quest for a better answer.

[Dominique]

I fail to see how one can hate water: it’s not like water tastes bad, or strong, it has no taste at all. So I can see how drinking it may not be enjoyable, but not how one could hate it to the point of refusing to consume it. Once you understand it’s the best thing you can drink (for health), it’s better to just suck it up, even if it gives you no particular enjoyment. If you absolutely must add something to make it bearable, why not squeeze a free drops of lemon: it would still have hardly any calories, but would taste, well, a bit like lemon. Or why not make tea (which you can drink hot or cold, as you wish)?

It’s perfectly possible to acquire a taste for plain water, just like you can also acquire a taste for foods that don’t taste much like anything (but you know are good for you). Sure, pizza and ice-cream taste much better than plain chicken and broccoli, but it’s not impossible to educate your palate to tolerate blander foods, that are almost always better for your health. 

[tingletangle]

I like carbonated drinks too, but I never drink soda's. Instead I make a kombucha-like drink, consisting of black tea and juice. I use a ginger bug to make it. It is not very sweet, but it has nice taste, good bacteria for your gut and bubbles.

[219Liz]

I hate water. I actually have my soda stream on my desk at work! Use it daily. I use to put mio in it. Have switched to a walmart store brand....of course it adds fake surgar, but the walmart one you  can get with no dye so it doesnt stain everything when it hits the ice and splashes out! I have used mine about 5 years and totally recommend.

[Sherrysmith0304]

I actually stopped drinking soda completely using carbonated waters.  I realized it was the carbonation that I was craving.  I am planning to purchase a soda stream so I do not have to keep buying canned or bottled carbonated water.  

[Soippi]

Thank you for your reply, Would you send me more information on how to make?  I have tried kombucha and like Ginger. I would like to try to make a Ginger Kombucha but struggling to get a bung. I do have some basic brewing equipment to try.

[tingletangle]

it is easy and you do not need equipment. First, make the ginger bug: Slice ginger very thinly, or grate it (I slice, I hate grating ginger...). Put it in a glass or empty marmalade jar with one tbs of sugar and some water, e.g. half a cup. The amounts are not critical. Everyday add a bit more ginger, water, and sugar. After some time you will notice some bubbles, and maybe some residue at the bottom. This bug needs a little sugar once in a while, appr. once a week, sometimes add some more ginger. have a coffee filter or cloth on top of the glass to avoid dust etc. to get into the liquid. Store at room temperature.

To make the soda, I first make (black) tea (you could experiment with other teas). I make about one liter, add 3 tbs of sugar and dissolve, then add about a tbs of the ginger bug. You can play around with amounts of juice, honey or syrup in stead of the sugar, etc. To get a gingery taste, you could e.g. add extra ginger when you are brewing the tea. The bug will only make your drink taste slightly like ginger.In stead of tea, you can also use only juice or some other drink, as long as it has sugars in it.

Put the liquid in a used soda bottle. The bacteria will 'eat' the sugar in your liquid, and create bubbles. It depends on how much sugar there is in the liquid and how fast bubbles/carbonation will develop. To avoid exploding soda bottles, first let the liquid ferment without a cap - when you think the tast is just the right amount of sweetness/sourness, put a cap on for bout half a day and afterwards place in the refrigerator. If you use a PET soda bottle you will be able to feel the tension on the bottle - if you think there's too much pressure, open the bottle to let some out, then place in the refrigerator. In the refrigerator it is too cold for the bacteria to be active and 'eat' more of the sugar, and so, no more carbonation will happen.

A very small amount of alcohol will develop in the drink, and the longer you have it standing, the more sour it will become. If you leave the bug for a long time without adding to it, it will equally become sour. As soon as you add sugar (and ginger) to it, however, it becomes alive again. The bug behaves much like a sourdough - you can also brew a new batch of tea/juice by taking an amount of the drink you created in the first place.

Hope this is clear, otherwise google 'ginger bug' to get more information.

[Soippi]

Thank you @tingletangle, I have gotten some Ginger last night and started rounding up the gear to try this ext'd weekend. My wife & I are enjoying our Sodastream, she more than me. I'm looking for other natural beverages. 

I've been researching the ferminting drinks, and the questions are piling on higher than answered. I am going to start w/creating a Ginger Bug and then a SOCBY . . .  

[Soippi]

We have been making lots of bottles everyday. . . We have a Target that has a few consumables and bought  several new bottles. Note: The stanless 1l bottle is taller than my machine. . . but the odd colored bottles we started with are shorter & wider than it. Be mindful when buying accessories.

We haven't gone through a CO2 bottle yet, but we haven't seen how Target does a gas bottle exchange. I might be up to buy one other CO2 bottle, but don't want to start a collection either.