I used to be addicted to a certain soft drink that I choose to leave unnamed as I am a little ashamed about it. I am proud to say that we parted ways nearly three years ago now and I have never looked back but for a while there, I felt a little lost.

I had always ordered this nameless drink and exploring other options was something totally new to me. Sparkling water – something I wasn’t a fan of back then – and I became friends. The usual was sparkling and lime which I drank religiously at ‘cocktail hour’ every afternoon (usually accompanied by some sort of chips or crackers and dip – I’m a woman of habit).

I’m a cordial girl though and usually make/order mine with cordial and fresh lime.

At a friend’s house recently, her husband suggested a little ginger cordial in my classic lime and sparkling and I was pleasantly surprised. It was rather mocktail-like and had an added depth that my standard lime and sparkling was missing. It was so easy with the store-bought cordial but you know me, I couldn’t just buy ginger syrup I had to attempt to make it myself.

Who knew it was so simple? It’s literally just sugar syrup simmered with fresh ginger. Sure, it’s got a bit of sugar in it but you can make the cordial extra-strong so you don’t need much.

I have also been making my own soda for a little while now ever since becoming a SodaStream addict. Seriously, this little piece of equipment (that doesn’t need any power!), has made such a difference to us. I love that you can have sparkling water without running to the shops and the hippy in my really likes that there are no more soda water bottles filling up our bin (plus I don’t have to lug them home from the shops).

If we need a few bottles for entertaining I just make it up and put it in glass jugs in the fridge to chill. The machines are nice and slim too so they don’t take up much room on the bench plus they have a range of designs to suit your decor (bright yellow anyone?).

I haven’t gotten into too many of the flavours that they offer but if there’s a flavour you can imagine, there’s probably a SodaStream flavour to suit. I like to stick to creating my own version like my ginger and lime fizz. Enjoy!

What about you? What’s your favourite sparkling drink?

ps stay tuned on Thursday to see how you could win your very own white SodaStream Play.

This post was sponsored by SodaStream.

Ginger and lime fizz (with homemade ginger syrup)

Yield: 1

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

Ice

• 1 cup homemade sparkling water in the SodaStream
• 1-2 tbsp ginger syrup (see below)
• ½ tsp fresh lime juice
• Extra lime wedges to serve

Ginger syrup

• 1 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 8cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks

Instructions

For Ice preparations:

1. Place the ice in the glass and pour over the soda.
2. Add the syrup and lime juice then top with extra lime.
3. Serve immediately.

For Ginger syrup preparations:

1. Place the water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring then reduce to a simmer and continue to cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Add the ginger and simmer for a further 10 minutes.