Sparkling Water Recipes: Making Healthy Flavored Water at Home with Carbon8

I’m almost four months into my lifestyle changes that have resulted in a significant weight loss and I feel pretty good about it all. I met my first goal, decided to go for an additional five pounds, and I’m almost there. Some days are easier than others, but one challenge I’ve had the entire time is drinking enough water. I find water boring, no matter how good it is for our bodies, and I’ve had to force myself to consume at least eight glasses per day. Some times I have to get really creative, but I’ve finally found some real success by creating sparkling water recipes and making healthy flavored water at home.

Thanks to Carbon8 for sending me their incredible carbonated water system for home use, because now getting those eight cups in daily is no longer an issue. Every glass is custom-made for my taste preferences and it’s literally click and sip. The sleek machine looks great on my counter, its aluminum exterior fits in easily with my stainless steel and blue accented decor, and I’m not out a lot of money on expensive CO2 cartridges, as the Carbon8 cylinders are more efficient and don’t run out as often.

To make that even easier, Carbon8 has a renewable exchange program for the CO2 cylinders. Buy two to enroll, and when they are empty, send them back in provided boxes and you’ll receive filled canisters back in no time, for almost 50% less than the cost of a new one. It’s so much more affordable! There’s also a similar program for the minerals, where you’ll receive a new one monthly if you choose! (Any time you use the subscribe-and-save programs, you’ll be saving money over the one-time purchase costs.)

The process of creating healthy sparkling water is so simple: tap water goes in, passes through a mineralizer filter that eliminates chlorine and adds minerals that are found in spring water. It’s then exposed to a UV light that cleans your water, eliminating bacteria, viruses, algae and microcontaminants. Out comes delicious and clean water, ready to be drank just as it is then, or to be combined with other ingredients to change it up.

When you buy sparkling waters in the store, they come in those reusable plastic bottles. That’s not inherently a bad thing, but using a Carbon8 means you’re not adding more plastic to the environment. You’re making one glass of sparkling water at a time, eliminating extra waste in the environment and the need for extra storage containers in your home.

Sparkling water has been shown in studies to help you feel fuller longer, so you eat less, and staying hydrated also can help boost your metabolism for up to 90 minutes after consumption. Also, it’s easy to confuse hunger with feeling thirsty, so when you think you may be hungry but you’re not sure, or it’s not been that long since you ate, reach for a glass of water first!

Carbon8 has partnered with TrueCitrus, a product that adds citrus flavor to your beverages but with zero sugar, calories or sweeteners. It’s a simple way to add a hint of flavor to your water and gives you lemon, lime or grapefruit taste without needing to keep fresh fruit on hand. It’s like a wedge of fruit in your glass!

The Carbon8 website has a blog full of articles about sparkling water, and they also have a recipes section, full of a lot of creative ways to use the machine in mocktails, cocktails and every day beverages. Personally, I’m so excited that I can recreate the soda part of a cocktail recipe but with my own healthier version. I used to love soda, specifically diet colas, but I had to stop drinking it as the aspartame was giving me migraines. I miss carbonated beverages, and I hate having to buy a full bottle of one any time I make a single cocktail. Thanks to the Carbon8, I can make almost anything at home and there’s no waste.

So what kind of healthy sparkling water recipes did I come up with? I first considered my favorite flavors, and then I took a lot at what is in my refrigerator or produce shelf. I wanted to avoid added calories and sugar, but not all of my recipes are devoid of sweetener. I just chose healthier options for daily hydration, and then used that sparkling water to make refreshing mocktails and cocktails.

The idea with all of these healthy sparkling water combos is that I’m encouraged to drink more water. It can also add more nutrients to your diet, but without a lot of work. Many of them are great if you want to add vodka, gin or even rum to make them into a kind of mojito or other cocktail. I know those aren’t considered ‘healthy’ but simply having a way to make healthy sparkling water will make it easier for you to pretty much make any kind of drink you envision without having to run to the store. There are even flavor extracts you can order online in order to turn carbonated water into root beer or a cola, but I have not tried this personally.

I started off very simple with my flavor profiles, so simple that I don’t even need to really use a recipe card or module here to tell you.

Healthy Sparkling Water Recipes Made with a Carbon8

• Raspberry: Muddle 5-6 raspberries in the bottle of a tall rocks glass. Add ice. Pour sparkling water over top and stir. No sweetener is necessary, but you can add one if you choose. In all cases, I chose to use Stevia as it’s zero calories and not artificial.
• Mint-Lime: Muddle mint leaves and a wedge of lime in the bottle of a tall rocks glass. Click the machine to add the sparkling water straight into the glass. Add ice, gently stir. This one’s my favorite! I grow fresh mint year-round so now I can always make this thirst quencher in minutes.
• Jalapeno-Cucumber: Muddle several slices of fresh jalapeno pepper and a couple of peeled cucumber slices. Add in carbonated water, stir, add ice and enjoy.
• Peach-Cinnamon: Muddle a couple of wedges of peeled peach with a 1/8 tsp of cinnamon. Add carbonated water, stir and pour over ice. (Some people can tolerate more cinnamon than this, but cinnamon doesn’t necessarily mix well so you want to add just enough for the taste so you don’t get a gritty feeling in your glass.)
• Spicy Lemon: You can use a package of TrueCitrus lemon, or you can muddle a good-sized wedge of lemon with 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. Add sparkling water, ice, stir and enjoy!
• Orange-Basil: Stick with me here, this one works! Muddle a large wedge of orange and a few basil leaves. Mix with carbonated water; strain if you don’t like the leaves of basil, as they will give you enough of a mild basil taste that blends really well with the orange. Pour over ice; this one’s better if you let it get thoroughly chilled.
• Pineapple-Coconut: Muddle fresh pineapple and and 1/2 cup coconut water. (Make sure it’s genuine coconut water with no sugar added.) Top off with sparkling water. Add ice and enjoy. This one’s fun with a wedge of pineapple on the rim!
• Lemon Verbena: You can make it on its own for an herby lemon taste, or drop in a portion of muddled peeled mango.
• Pineapple-Sage: Similar to the pineapple-coconut combo above, but with sage leaves muddled with the pineapple. (This one’s a good one to strain.)
• Strawberry-Lime: Muddle the two fruits and mix with sparkling water and ice for a really good beverage for a hot day.
• Cranberry-Orange: You could add some no-sugar-added cranberry juice, or you can muddle a few whole cranberries with a large wedge of orange. Strain or not, then add sparkling water and ice. This one smells like the holidays but is another thirst-quencher.
• Mint-Watermelon: Muddle fresh watermelon with mint leaves. Add sparkling water over ice and stir. This would be good in a big tumbler to take to the beach!
• Hibiscus: This one takes a little more time and would benefit from a little sweetener, but what you use and how much is up to you. Boil a handful of hibiscus/jamaica with water and let it cool; strain before use. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of the cooled liquid to carbonated water and mix well.
• Grapefruit-Ginger: Muddle a wedge of grapefruit with 1/2 cup of ginger water. Top with at least 1/2-1 cup of sparkling water. Stir and sip!
• Passion Fruit: Strain one passionfruit and add the juice into the bottom of a tall rocks glass. Top with sparkling water, 1/2 packet of Stevia (or again, your choice of sweetener, as this enhances the passion fruit flavor) and ice.

Another recipe I made was homemade ginger ale. It’s great for indigestion, tastes wonderful, and can also be a mixer for mocktails and/or cocktails. This recipe is really simple and it’s great to have some of the ginger water on hand in case gets an upset tummy. This recipe can be used in various ratios, depending on if you need more or less; it’s basically one part ginger to two parts regular water. You can find this all over the internet, but since it’s the basis for many cocktails and is a popular item when you’re nauseated or hung over, I figured it was a good recipe to includ.

As you’re seeing, the options are endless. Pomegranate arils, pear slices with a couple of drops of vanilla extract, 1/4 cup of juice, you just need to use your imagination and look at anything you have on hand with a new eye. For me, I wanted the easier the better, and spending 20 seconds muddling things is pretty simple. Now I can have fresh sparkling water whenever I want it, no worries about it going flat because I don’t make more than I need.

Click and sip with Carbon8!