Skip to main content

Sparkling Ice: Product Review


The topic of beverages is a hot one. Even when we are talking about cold ones (ha ha).

You must live under a rock if you are unaware of the health risks of drinking sweetened beverages. Pop, and even juice are linked with obesity and Type II diabetes.

Even diet drinks, however, are now on the hit list for many health conscious consumers. Some experts have raised concerns that artificial sweeteners may actually increase blood sugar, and promote overeating or weight gain, though the evidence is still weak. Just last week the media blew up over results of a new study from the University of Manitoba with headlines claiming that artificial sweeteners may "...cause weight gain and increase risk of heart disease." Here is the reality. It is a meta-analysis, which means it used past studies as units of measurement. Few of the studies done on this topic, and used in the analysis, are randomized, controlled studies, and even the researchers who conducted the review admit that the results do not prove a causal association.

There is no doubt that the healthiest option is to simply drink water. Period. Dress it up with lemon and cucumber slices if you must. Perhaps have the occasional unsweetened tea or coffee, if necessary. But that's it, end of story.

Unfortunately, most people don't want to be so limited in terms of what they can drink. People like bubbles, and people really like flavour. Sweet flavour.

I am one of those people. I also don't sweat having artificial sweeteners here and there. I have yet to find solid research showing harm so the occasional diet soft drink, etc., is something I have without too much concern.

I would personally rather have a diet drink than consume 150 empty calories of sugar water. If it came down to that or plain water, I'd just choose water, because, frankly, I don't think any sweetened drinks are worth their calories (if I am going to drink my calories, I'll take it in the form of alcohol, thank you very much!).

I hate cola and most pop, diet or otherwise, so if I do want to purchase flavoured bubbles, I will reach for something like Sparkling Ice. I'd only tried their grapefruit flavour, so I was thrilled when they sent us a package of their other flavours to try.

The also offer:

  • Black Raspberry
  • Orange Mango
  • Kiwi Strawberry
  • Coconut Pineapple
  • Lemon Lime
  • Cherry Limeade
They are sweetened with sucralose, so for you folks convinced it is poison (no evidence this is true), than these drinks are not for you. Ingredients wise, my only complaint is the artificial colours. To me, they are so damn unnecessary. Do we really all have to behave like children and only consume things that look like unicorns? If they were all clear and colourless, I would be fine with that.

The girls, of course, wanted them all, but I allowed them each to choose just one to try. Little A chose Kiwi Strawberry, and Big A Lemon Lime, and since these were the two that appealed to me least, I was happy to oblige.

I liked Cherry Limeade best, but all were good. Little A loved Kiwi Strawberry and said the flavour kind of overwhelmed the bubbliness (which is a positive for her as she doesn't like strong carbonation). Big A loved the Lemon Lime and asked, "Why would anyone drink the sugary stuff? This tastes better."

Do I recommend this product? For an alternative to a sugary soda, for an occasional treat? Sure. But again, plain water should be your go-to beverage the vast majority of the time.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Japanese 7-Spice Kelp Noodles

I love trying new spices and seasonings, so I am very excited that the President's Choice Black Label line now has a bunch of new spice blends available.  My most recent find: Shichimi Togarashi, or Japanese 7-Spice blend. It's a combination of crushed red chili flakes, sea salt, Szechiuan peppercorns, black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, orange zest, wasabi powder and nori seaweed flakes. I make Japanese-inspired dishes all the time, but resort to the same old flavours most of the time: miso, soy, sesame, ginger and garlic.  I was so excited to be able to liven things up a bit. This dish is easy and tasty, although be warned that this seasoning packs punch.  I used 1 tsp, which ended up being too spicy for me, and I have a high tolerance for heat!  I recommend 1/4-1/2 tsp, or, if you don't like heat at all, make your own at home and omit the red chili flakes.  You'll get all the flavour without the heat. I served these noodles with a mix of seafood (

Blackfly Coolers: Product Review

Summer is over! Well, at least if you're a student. Officially it doesn't end for a few weeks, and it certainly still feels like summer. Yeah, I hate it. This f*cking hot, humid weather needs to end NOW! We made the most of our last weekend of the summer with our annual trip to the CNE on Friday, with a crowd of friends. It wasn't unbearably lot, thank goodness, and the girls and their friends had a blast on the rides.  Saturday I had to work, and Sunday was errand day. Monday we took the girls berry/apple/pear picking but didn't last long due to the heat. I organized the house to prepare for the construction workers starting back up yesterday, while Adam took the girls for a swim in our neighbourhood pool. Yesterday was the first day of school. Grade 2 and Grade 5. Yep, the girls are growing up.  We are fortunate that the girls don't have much anxiety about school, they are so much more confident than I ever was as a kid! But now, in the midst of our reno ch

How to Look Like a Celebrity

Okay, I know you're going to be interested in this post! I am sure virtually every woman in North America has wondered how Hollywood celebrities achieve such 'perfect' bodies.  Well, at CAN FIT PRO last week, one of Hollywood's top fitness trainers, Eric the Trainer , was there to tell us fitness professionals the secrets! Eric the Trainer, gave several presentations, and I caught the one on Celebrity Secrets, and it was most interesting!!!  I also found some of what he said rather disturbing. First off, he was very upfront about the fact that celebrities come to him for improve their appearance.  Not to improve their health or athletic performance.  To look their best.  He admitted that his approach then, is entirely dedicated to that end. Male and female celebrities are trained in completely different ways because Hollywood wants women to be lithe and thin and in his words, "look like they dropped out of heaven looking this way without every having ste