Save Money by Making Healthier ORGANIC Sodas with the Soda Stream!

I can not tell you how honestly thrilled my son was to open up a Soda Stream soda maker for Christmas. Maybe it wasn't a traditional gift for an 11 year old boy BUT for my son, it was a step towards incorporating sodas into his everyday life - and he was IN!

(IF YOU HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT ONE...Click HERE and get $10 off all Home Soda Makers with Promo Code: BESTFRIEND!)

As any of the regular follower of this blog know, my family has went on a healthier eating journey and we have been living a mostly organic lifestyle for about 2 years. It wasn't easy at first but now....it is just our everyday life. Nothing complicated - just life. 1 of the things that was hardest to kick was SODA- not just for the kids...but for me too.

We started easily with a juice only rule...That got EXPENSIVE! 5 kids and organic only juice was a drain on the budget. I quickly realized, however, that we could save some money by splitting the juice into halves and adding water. This made each jar of juice last twice as long ---and the kids never noticed! We then made a transition to juice only at meals and WATER in between. Any parent can tell you...that it wasn't an easy task but we made it happen (see 5 ways to get your kids to drink more water HERE) and now...that is simply what they do! I hear their cups being filled all day long from the tap - and I LOVE IT!  They still get soda when we go out to dinner and treat them on family movie nights with an organic soda from the grocery but DARN is that organic soda pricey at almost $1 per can!

I had been seeing a lot about the soda stream and had wondered if they sold organic flavors...I didn't seem any. They do have a "natural" line though...The  soda stream natural mixes are made with real sugar, no artificial sweeteners and NO high fructose corn syrup BUT I WANTED BETTER! I searched high and low for recipes and I saw some but they were very labor intensive or were more like sparkling waters. It was time for trial and error.

I started with juices by simply adding in a few ounces to the sparkling water made by the Soda Stream...they were good but were lacking the sweetness of a soda.  Next step was to add juice and organic agave syrup....closer but still not there. It was time for a trip to the health food store to see what may be available....SUCCESS! I found organic coffee syrups and all natural fruit juice concentrates! So far, I have found the following to work well: vanilla, black cherry, grape, and even caramel. The amounts are going to vary based upon the bottle size and the sweetness that your family likes but know that you can experiment in any way you want. You can even make your own concentrates at home with frozen fruit! Now... I also said we SAVE MONEY with this thing and we do! The 4 pack of organic soda that my hubby used to buy the kids was over $1 per bottle and once it was gone....it was gone. The fruit juice concentrates cost around $10 per bottle BUT so far have made TONS of soda!

Some of our finds that worked!

Here is how we do it:
1. Start with the soda stream. Fill with water to the water line and do a solid 4 pumps of carbonation (the instructions say 3..since when do I listen to instructions)

2. Add 7-8 tablespoons of your favorite fruit juice concentrate.

3. Add maybe 4 tablespoons of Organic Agave Syrup. You can use whatever sweetener your family chooses. We like Agave and it is liquid so it is perfect. If you choose to use traditional sugar - melt it in the microwave first with a small amount of water. Liquid sweetener is best!

4. Roll it! DO NOT SHAKE IT but lightly roll the bottle to incorporate the flavor.

5. ENJOY!

I hope you love this simple and easy way to have fun with your kids while making cool and funky sodas!

Have you found great ways to make your kids some healthy sodas with the soda stream If so..share your favorite recipe!