Do I have a doozey of a way to start off your Monday. 

Not only do I have a really easy and delicious punch recipe for your next gathering but I also have a BIG giveaway sponsored by SodaStream for you. 

Yes, SodaStream wants to give one lucky winner a brand new Fountain Jet Soda Lover’s Start-Up Kit that contains –

-          1 Fountain Jet – winner’s choice of color (black/silver, red/silver or white)

-          1 carbonating bottle, reusable for up to 3 years

-          Reusable carbonator to fizz up to 60L of soda

-          Variety 6-pack of popular sample-size flavors

-          3 full-sized flavors of the winner’s choice

I was first introduced to SodaStream and their products at the Housewares Show in Chicago last month.  I was taken in by their display of plastic bottles and aluminum cans – representative of what a typical family of 4 throws away in a 5 year time span.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.

My family recycles almost everything.  Very little of our waste goes to a landfill – about 1 large garbage bag every 6 – 8 weeks.  So when I saw their display, it really caught my attention.

The idea behind SodaStream’s product is you make your own soda or flavored bubbling water using tap water and a reusable bottle to drink it out of therefore eliminating the throw away plastic bottle or aluminum can.  I love the concept and their flavors are pretty good too.  This is perfect way to keep celebrating Earth Day which was yesterday and I’ve been seeing the Fountain Jet in the sale flyers for the past 2 weeks.  Many stores are running great deals on them. 

SodaStream sent me a Fountain Jet to review with a plethora of flavors to try.  My kids have been having fun “making” soda and being “taste testers”. 

The Fountain Jet is very easy to use and came with easy to understand directions.  The product manual looks intimidating but that’s because the directions are provided in 22 languages. One thing I was concerned about was where to get a new carbonator canister once the one that comes with the unit runs out.  You can look on SodaStream’s website for authorized locations to exchange your canister or you can send it in through their mail exchange program.  Since we don’t live in a large metropolitan area, I didn’t know if we’d have a location nearby.  But, come to find out, we do.  The closest one to me is about 35 miles away.  That’s doable.

We haven’t had a chance to try EVERY flavor that we were sent yet but so far our favorites are Cranberry Raspberry, Lemon Lime and Root Beer.  Their flavors contain fewer calories, carbs, sugar, sodium and caffeine than regular soda – BONUS!  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the soda didn’t go flat after a day or so in the fridge.  There was still plenty of carbonation after 3 – 4 days yet.  That’s better than a 2 liter bottle of soda from the store.

The directions tell you to pour the flavor into the carbonated water slowly – make sure you do this.  I didn’t TWICE and I had a bubbling mess on my counter and floor.  You think a girl would learn the first time around but not me.  I had to do it again.  Learn from my mistakes – pour S L O W L Y!

So this brings me to the fun stuff.  I have provided this sweet delicious punch recipe for you to try out.  It’s great for any type of gathering – birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, picnics, etc.  Make sure to add the raspberry sherbet right before serving – it adds so much to the flavor.

Next you have 3 chances to enter this giveaway for a Fountain Jet Soda Lover’s Kit.  Each one must be submitted as a separate entry to give you more chances to win.

1. Leave a comment about anything.  It’s Monday – I’m making it easy for you. 
2. Head over to Facebook and “Like” my Stop Lookin’ Get Cookin page and then come back here and tell me you are a new friend of mine.  IF you already like me, tell me!  I never tire of hearing it. 
3. Go to SodaStream’s site and look over their flavors.  Come back and tell me which one you think you would like to try the most.  Or if you already have a SodaStream favorite flavor, tell me what it is.

Open to US residents only.

I will choose a number using Random.org.  The winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond.  If I receive no response, I will choose another winner.

Comments were open until Sunday, April 29 at 8 pm CST.  Comments are no longer being accepted. 

Comments need to be approved before showing up so if you don’t see it there for awhile, it’s because I’m not on my computer at the moment approving them. 

Good Luck!

This giveaway is provided by SodaStream but all opinions are my own. 

White Grape and Raspberry Punch

Yield: 14 - 6 ounce servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

This recipe is a hit at every party we serve it at. The sweet and tart combination is perfect together.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Welch’s White Grape Raspberry frozen juice – thawed
• 1 juice can full of cold water
• 32 ounces of SodaStream Ginger Ale
• 32 ounces of SodaStream Lemon Lime
• Fresh raspberries
• Raspberry Sherbet

Directions:

1. Pour thawed juice into serving container.
2. Slowly add water, ginger ale and lemon lime.
3. Stir well.
4. Right before serving, garnish top of serving container with frozen raspberry sherbet and fresh raspberries.