Going Right To Town

In addition to yogurt, another thing we go through a large quantity of in this household is seltzer. Yeah, yeah, you killjoy, we should just drink water, but that gets boring. And at all times, but particularly when we're dieting (Did I mention David is doing South Beach along with me? He is, but he's doing a lot of whining about it, I will note) you just gotta have a little bit of zizz in your life. Seriously. The fizzy bubbles on your tongue and down your throat, you gotta have it. That's why I need my Diet Pepsi or Coke, too. I constantly try to watch my intake, but seriously. I need it. Life is too short to never have anything zizzy. 

Earlier this week, Marcia (who is no longer blogging) told me about another way to reduce my carbon footprint:  Make my own seltzer and soda with a SodaStream. (Warning: a click on their site starts a video, in case you shouldn't be doing that at work or something. Not that you would if you shouldn't be. But, you know, turn off your sound. Heh.) 

Make my own seltzer. Really? 

Yes! It makes perfect economic and ecologic sense. In the case of the seltzer, no more big, heavy plastic bottles to a) lug from the store, b) have hanging around the kitchen, c) have to return for recycling, and d) before it even gets to me, be driven by the big rigs to my store, and all that that involves in terms of petroleum. (When I talk like this, I start to worry about putting a whole shitload of long-haul truckers out of work. Gah. There is no winning. Is there?)

The claim is that it makes seltzer (from my own filtered tap water) for 25c a liter, which is a huge saving, right there.

And a friend asked me Why? when seltzer is so cheap anyway. Well, in addition to that huge dollar saving right out of the gate, I'll let the box tell you more reasons:

Well, anyway, I stopped in Sears when I was in Burlington the other day to search for one, because the website says that the Burlington Sears store carries them. Not. They had a few bottles of the soda flavoring syrup, but no soda makers. I had put it out of my mind, but last night I was doing grocery shopping to stock up on yummy South Beach Diet foods, and I was about to put two 2-liter bottles of store-brand seltzer into my cart, $1.00 each, when out of the corner of my eye I noticed the SodaStream logo, now familiar to me because I was in search of it the other day. And hot damn, it was right there in my grocery store! Even better, it came with a $10 rebate

and there were far more choices of flavoring syrups available than there were at Sears, as well. I chose Diet Cola, Diet Root Beer (that's Abigail's favorite), and Diet Grapefruit, though I am mostly interested in making unflavored seltzer with this thing. And when I checked out, the woman bagging my groceries said, "These are SO COOL. The guy was demonstrating them the other day, and it TASTES GREAT!" 

And who are you gonna believe if you don't believe the grocery-bagging lady?

Though I have not yet tried it to see if a) it works and b) it tastes good, I'm going to be optimistic that this will not be JUST ANOTHER GADGET cluttering up the counter and be found in next year's Goodwill donation box. 

I figure I've already saved $12, what with the two bottles of seltzer I put back on the shelf and the $10 rebate. And we're not even talking about all that Diet Pepsi I won't be buying if this gives me a reasonable-tasting alternative to that. At this rate, this thing will have paid for itself in a month. Or less. 

The cost of this starter kit was $79.99. I got the low-rent version. Marcia got the fancy top-of-the-line one with glass carafes instead of plastic -- THAT is really putting your money where your mouth is on this whole anti-plastic thing, but I live in Northwestern Vermont. I am sure that the store manager did not and will not stock the expensive version, because it just won't sell around these 'ere parts. I am just beside myself with glee that, so soon after I learned about this thing, it was actually HERE in my neck of the woods.  

So now I've got my reusable mugs, my reusable shopping bags, my reusable to-go eating utensils; I'm making my own yogurt, I'm growing as many of my own vegetables as I can; I'm eating as locally as close to 100% as I can; I'm using cloth towels and napkins instead of paper; and I'm making my own seltzer.

And none of it is really that hard.

Smugness abounds. 

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P.S.  The CO2 canisters are returnable/recyclable, and since this unit was sold at my local supermarket, I am going to assume/hope that that means they will handle the recycling of the canisters, too. Fingers crossed.

Comments

[Kristen]

You rock that green card, lady!

[noonie]

hehe, I've been toying with getting one of these for a while now... have to warn you though, as a child our childminder had one and the coke syrups never matched up to the name brands. But I like mixing fruit juices with fizy water always done if for my kids when they were little.

[gayle]

Would this be like the "seltzer bottle" that clowns used to carry around in olden times?

[Lynn]

You really are about to become totally self-sufficient! Perhaps you could also get a few sheep and spin your own wool.

I may try the yogurt making though!

[Marcia]

Still loving my sodastream, but a hint. Watch the fill line inside the cap (it's about half an inch down for 1 liter)....my son misunderstood and was filling his cap to the top. Gaaak! The cola may not taste exactly like Coke/Pepsi, but is passable, especially when you get used to it. (Give it two weeks.) I'm quite fond of the "sprite" version and the root beer is pretty good. Oh, and you can make a single, 8-oz glass if you have a bottle of prepared seltzer in the fridge, so you don't have to make a whole bottle of this or that. If your local store doesn't exchange cartridges (you take back an empty, they give you a full one for half price), Williams Sonoma does. My son has his picked up by Soda Club when they bring supplies. Between the SS and my cappuccino machine, I am in beverage heaven!

[Angie]

Norma, you are the best source for new, cool, and interesting stuff. I love my soda water but hate to lug it. I wonder if I'll see a source for this in Wisconsin?

[Vicki]

I never knew!! That's amazing. (Let me know, Angie, and I'll do the same...)
; )

[Val]

http://suwannee.ifas.ufl.edu/documents/ColorPivotJanuary-March2010.pdf

Scroll to Page 5 and try the laundry detergent - cleans really well, very economical, and ecologically 'responsible'

[Kym]

More great ideas! Thanks! :-)

[melanie]

hope you bought that wonderful gadget (i have one--love it) before 12-31-09. looks like your rebate has expired. :-(

[Ally]

They sell them at that kitchen store on Church Street. I don't really drink soda anymore but I wanted to try it, and my impression was that it didn't taste quite like the "brand name" sodas. I think I tried lemon lime and root beer. And it didn't seem to be as fizzy as regular soda for some reason. But like I said, I'm no soda connoisseur. Hopefully it makes perfectly fizzy seltzer water for you!

[Norma]

Oh, Crapola!  You are right, Melanie.  Looks like THAT was a scam.  (Though I am going to go back to the store and see what's up, because they clearly were advertising the rebate.  We shall see.)

[Reilly]

I'm a touch confused here. Wouldn't the "Diet Cola, Diet Root Beer (that's Abigail's favorite), and Diet Grapefruit" be full of sweeteners, preservatives & additives and all the other rubbish? Seriously, I'm only asking.

[Seanna Lea]

I will have to check that out. My big soda weakness (the only one I have left) is diet root beer, but my husband drinks what he calls Placebon (diet caffeine free cola) and we go through a lot of packages each week.

[Mary]

We have been using this for several months and like it very much. No more lugging bottles home from the grocery and it saves money in the long run. I am buying one as a wedding gift for a young couple who likes seltzer water.

[Joannah]

It's too cold to think about seltzer. I'll have to revisit this post next spring. There will be a spring, right?

[Becky in VT]

What I'm wondering is this: can you get the CO2 cartridge re-filled? You've already reduced and I'm sure you know re-use is better then recycle!

Seriously, I know a lot of home-brewers who get their CO2 tanks (for the kegs, of course) refilled. Why shouldn't you be able to re-fill the seltzer tank?

[Cheryl S.]

No zizzy for me. Never liked it. I can tolerate a little beer, but probably because it's not nearly as fizzy as soda pop. Even then, one beer is usually my limit.

[Kristin]

My dad has had his own seltzer maker for years and I've been wanting one. Thanks for the tip. I'd never heard of this brand. I prefer to have just the bubbles without flavoring, but the best homemade soda we've ever made is ginger ale. So good with lots of fresh ginger. If you like ginger ale you'd love the homemade stuff.

[Sarah]

This sounds interesting. I wonder what all you will discover with your new beverage accessory.

Ah, SB'ing together, eh? That is great for support, as well as simplifying some things. Yes, it can add challenges as well, but I really hope the benefits are greater than the challenges.

[kmkat]

Good for you! I am quite a fan of the zizziness, too. May need to look for one of those gadgets...

[Mike]

This is a rehash of the 50's Norma. Our family had one. I filled up the empty carbon dioxide cartidges with ground up match heads to make rockets (which often exploded rather than flew, which is why I now have hearing aids.) The downside is the cost of the cartridges. We eventually just gave it all up and bought bottled stuff. And I had to give up my dream of rocket propelled flight.

[paula]

OK, I have been wanting one of those. Thanks a lot, Norma. I have to get one now! I am drinking La Croix seltzer as I read this. I go through a lot of seltzer.

[Cookie]

Woo Hoo!

You're really on a roll!

[Holly]

I am dying to know how this works out for you. I have a serious Diet A&W Root Beer addiction, and that stuff ain't cheap!

[Tish]

When I was a kid, my dad had a soda maker. It was a red aluminum bottle with a silver squirt lever and little silver co2 cannisters that screwed onto the side. We all thought it was the coolest thing in the world. He mostly used it for bar drinks but if there was any fizzy left over we'd put it in orange or other fruit juices in a highball glass and be sooo cool and would occasionally go back to his soda jerk roots (his HS job was working at the soda counter in a pharmacy/deli in NJ) and make us floats or other soda drinks. Hmmm- wonder if he still has it somewhere?

[Tish]

Oops- run on sentence. Should have been Sorry.

[alke]

And now you have a reason to grow berries in your garden. Make juice - add water and bubbles, and you don't even have to buy the expensive flavour-bottles.;-)

[elizabeth a airhart]

oh we had one when i was growing up
it was silver,memories, cept we were
told drink the whiskey straight
seltzer on the side do not mix

not too much no need to explode
in the middle of the night

[Melia Shell]

Another cool and beneficial, nutrient-rich do-it-at-home project is brewing your own kombucha tea. Easily googled for info. I just got my first Scoby last week! Be on the look-out for 1-gallon mayo or pickles jars for brewing. Thrift stores will sometimes have large glass jars with spigots for making "solar" tea in the summer. The nutrients in the K.T. are super...

[Birdsong]

I got DH a SodaStream for his birthday at the beginning of December, and he has never loved a kitchen appliance as much! (Well, maybe his deep fat fryer... but he gets a lot more use out of the SodaStream). San Pelligrino still has a lot more calcium than our local spring water, but the possibilities are endless with mixing at home....

[Geri]

Amazing! Love the green approach here. I've kind of weaned myself off the seltzer thing,only indulging maybe once or twice a month, usually with a diet coke or root beer.

[Kelly]

Norma you have the most interesting tidbits! Your past couple of posts have got me thinking about how often making the effort to waste/use less leads to increased quality of food/life. We started a garden a few years ago, not at all huge or that successful by your standards, but with it our summer eating is so much better, and we give extra stuff to neighbors, and we've gotten to know them better etc. And this year I made the decision to have no paper/waste in my kids' lunches, which I always packed every day before school (sandwich on wheat, apple, cookies etc.) healthy but just OK. I started looking for lunch ideas on the internet, which led to collecting bento boxes from Japan, with stacking boxes, side cups cute bags, chopsticks, etc. Now we pack lunches after dinner the night before, they have much more variety. i.e. Throw a handful of blueberries in a cup next to your left over pasta salad. Make a wrap on a wheat tortilla with the dressing on the side so it doesn't get soggy. Anyway, this whole project, which my husband says is rediculus, has made our lunches more healthy and more interesting, which is just a side benefit to eliminating waste.

[Marisa]

We have the sodastream!!! We've had it for about a year. Best purchase ever, since we drink seltzer like it's water. (HA!) You are going to love it. Couldn't be easier and it's so awesome that I don't have to lug bottles of seltzer home. We've don't do the soda mixes because they all have fake sugar in them (even the non-diet) but then we don't drink much soda anyway. Curious to know how it works for soda!

It takes less CO2 if you make sure the water is really, really cold before you fizz it.

[Logo Design]

I like the design of this sodastream. it is a good logo.

[Monyca]

I got my boyfriend one for Christmas and even though I'm not much of a soda drinker, we have both been enjoying it. I drink seltzer with a little bit of cranberry juice, he makes bottles of the cola and the Dr. Pepper-type drink (Dr. Pete or something?) We ended up buying 2 extra bottles (4 total, my intro pack came with 2), so that we can always keep a few in rotation. We've exchanged the C02 canister at a local home / kitchen store, without a problem. Good luck, hope you enjoy it!