Raw Vegan Valentine’s Raspberry Ice Cream Spider Float

I don’t know about you, but I grew up with SodaStream. When I was growing up in Australia, commercial soda was reserved for guests and special occasions. My mother was very strict about healthy eating, and even natural soda was a treat. But whenever we were allowed to indulge, we made our own homemade sodas using fresh lemon, lime, and orange juice. It was a sad day, when we packed up the SodaStream! It, along with many of my childhood possessions, were boxed up and put in storage when we moved to Singapore in the late 80’s. 

We never found the SodaStream when we moved back to Australia more than 12 years later. However, I would satisfy my SodaStream addiction whenever I would visit my friends, Stephanie and Rod, and their children Isabella and Carlos. They would always greet me at the door (and still do) with a huge hug, and one question, “would you like a SodaStream?” No, they were not trying to sell me their machine. By this, they meant a “homemade fizzy lemonade.” So, I am dedicating this post to them, because every time I “make a SodaStream” I think of them!

So how did I finally reunite with my long lost love? Last year I was interviewing eco companies at the Go Green Expo with Jeff Davis from Go Green America TV. When we hit the SodaStream booth we were overwhelmed by a huge wall of empty aluminium cans and plastic soda bottles. This was accompanied by alarming statistics about how much waste and consumption is created every year by the commercial soda industry.

Statistics like:

• Americans drink over 40 gallons of fizzy drinks per capita every year?
• 460 billion beverage cans and bottles are manufactured worldwide every year, and recycling rates are below 25% nationwide.
• 141 billion beverage cans and bottles go into our landfills every year!
• It can take over 400 years for plastic bottles to begin decomposing.

Soda Stream’s catch phrase is “Drink Soda The Smarter Way”. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

During the interview, as I sipping on my home made ginger ale, I fell in love with SodaStream all over again. This is a very cool company!

Now, for those of you who may write to me and caution me about the dangers of carbonated water, let me admit that I drink very little soda. I really only drink carbonated water as a treat when I am throwing a party and making mocktails and punches such as my sangria, cherry limeade and lemonade. But SodaStream makes this SO much easier and WAY more affordable. It is also a really fun way to include children in the party planning process.

The SodaStream Fountain Jet is a fantastic healthier option for those people addicted to commercial soda and in transition to a healthier lifestyle. Instead of consuming all of that refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and aspartame, you can make your own natural sodas! In addition to providing your body with a healthier beverage option, you are also being a more responsible steward of the planet by reducing your consumption of transportation fuels, as well as plastic and glass bottles, and aluminium cans. Soda Stream is also friendlier on the hip pocket with the average carbonation bottle yielding litres of soda! You can also return your used carbonation bottles to Soda Stream, where they are cleaned, inspected, and then recycled and filled again with beverage-grade CO2 drawn from the air!

During our interview at the Go Green Expo, SodaStream kindly offered to give me a machine. I don’t normally accept free merchandise. But I agreed, if I could also one away to one of you! So this month, I am thrilled to be giving one lucky winner a Soda Stream Fountain Jet Starter Kit valued at $99.95.

I was very excited when my SodaStream arrived at the door, and I hope you will be too! 

Using a SodaStream is literally child’s play. The SodaStream Fountain Jet is light weight and free standing. The basic unit is very small, doesn’t take up much room on the counter, and does not use any electricity or batteries. I literally assembled my unit in 5 minutes, and that included taking it out of the box!

Here’s what I got:

• 1 soda fountain carriage
• 1 reusable carbonator
• 2 plastic reusable water bottles
• 9 flavourings bottles
• 12 Trial Sized Samples of Soda Stream’s most popular flavour.
• 3 “My Water” flavour essence bottles. These are all-natural and unsweetened. These are my favourite! Just add a few drops to water without any sugar or calories!

As SodaStream says: “Make Fresh Fizzy Soda from Water in 3 Easy Steps – Fill, Fizz, and Flavour.”

• Fill – fill your reusable water bottle
• Fizz – carbonate the water using the machine
• Flavour – add your desired flavourings

Over 60 flavours are available for purchase, and all soda mix flavours are made without high-fructose corn syrup and aspartame.

Top Reasons To Buy A Soda Stream:

• This machine is the ultimate earth-friendly soda machine.
• Be more green and reduce your consumption of bottles and cans.
• Reduce the energy that is wasted transporting billions of gallons of soda every day.
• The Soda Stream does not use electricity or batteries.
• No more lugging or storing heavy bottles of soda.
• You can control the quality of the product you are consuming. Control the amount of fizz in your sodas. Enjoy healthier soda free from high fructose corn syrup or aspartame by using the convenient Soda Stream soda mix flavors. Or even better, create your own simple syrups or flavors using natural unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices.
• Save money - each SodaStream soda costs literally pennies! 

I have to say that the SodaStream flavours taste pretty darn close to the real thing. The soda has the same fizz as commercial soda. Better still, you can control the fizz with Soda Stream. Some people like a milder fizz, some people like it really fizzy. You can also control the strength of the flavour and the amount of sugar. I personally like to use fruit juice and non alcoholic extracts!

Trust me, give Soda Stream a go and you will not be sorry. It is SO much fun for the whole family! Did you know that an average family of 4 can save over 2,000 bottles and cans by switching to Soda Stream?

I decided to feature a fun ‘family-friendly” Valentine’s Day dessert recipe using the Soda Stream. I LOVE floats, or “spiders” as we call them in Australia. I wanted to create a really decadent sugar-free vegan fruit float this year, and I came through in spectacular fashion with this raw vegan raspberry spider float. This tastes delicious with vanilla, coconut or chocolate ice cream. They are all slightly different but equally fabulous. I made these with Scott and Katy and we were all in PIGGY HEAVEN they were so good!

Katy took the s'blended photo! She is such a great friend! Happy Valentine’s Day :)

**No payment was received for this review. However complimentary product from SodaStream was accepted.