Homemade Soda

                         

Let me start by saying, there are few things in life that get me as excited as anything kitchen related - especially kitchen gadgets. I've been contemplating purchasing the Sodastream for a couple of years now. After a necessary(?) trip to Costco today, I bit the bullet and came home with one. Yay! Merry late Christmas to me? Sure.

We are lucky to get our water from an artesian well and let me tell you, it's the best tasting water I've ever had. I never buy bottled water anymore, but I do love sparkling water (and the occasional soda) and up until now I've had to buy it from the store. I'm thrilled to create my own fizzy water at home! 

Here is what I'm not so thrilled about - the syrups that come with the Sodastream. All of them contain sucralose, also known as Splenda. And a plethora of other cancer causing chemicals. Is it really that hard to create a healthy soda? 

So off to Google I go, to search for a healthy syrup recipe. Let me just say, there are a lot of bloggers out there creating some great recipes and a lot of bloggers that don't have a clue what 'healthy' really means. Sigh. Someone actually created a syrup from Kool-Aid powder and tried to call it healthier than the Sodastream syrups. Um...no. 

Then I cam across a great recipe using just fruits, herbs and honey. Simple, delish, and good for you. Provided that you are using organic fruits/herbs and raw, local honey. I had organic strawberries on hand and fresh mint that is somehow surviving in my severely neglected winter garden. Strawberry Mint syrup it is! I can't claim this recipe, so here is a link to the original creator:  

http://www.theyummylife.com/Fruit_Herb_Honey_Syrups

If you like to add a little flavor to your fizzy water, try out the honey based syrup. I may even use the syrup to flavor an herbal or green tea. It's worth the little bit of effort to feel good about what goes into your body. Homemade, organic syrup for your Sodastream! No more nasty chemicals and a soda you can feel good about drinking!

The best thing about Christmas...

....is having children to create the magic of the season for. This year my son is four years old and could not be more excited about all things Christmas than if I took him to the North Pole to visit Santa Claus himself. The greatest thing about my little guy is how much he believes. It is with every fiber of his being that he truly embodies the Christmas spirit. That makes it all the more fun to bake cookies, build gingerbread houses, compose letters to Santa, and indulge in the hilarity of the Elf on the Shelf. Our little elf is the first thing on my son's mind when he wakes up each morning. He is so eager to know what kind of mischief the elf has gotten himself into overnight. Here are a few pictures of our elf, Faccu and his adventures around our home. (Yes, Faccu. Don't ask). 

If you are interested to know how I made our elf able to be posed, the trick is 16 gauge jewelry wire, piped into his arms and legs. Using a stitch ripper, I removed one stitch from both the arms and legs, bent the end of the jewelry wire with needle-nose pliers (so it won't poke through the little elf) piped the wire up the inside of the arms/legs, trimmed the wire to fit and again bent the end of the wire. Then tucked the wire into the ends of the hands/feet and sewed the stitch back into place with a simple needle and thread. I then cut small pieces of Velcro to fit the size of his mittens and hand sewed the Velcro to the bottom of each hand. If you want to make him stand up, to walk the little dog perhaps, simply create a doll stand out of the same jewelry wire used to create his bendy arms and legs. Easy peasy!