Water is obviously important. Without it, we'd truly be dead. We suck it down to stay hydrated, bathe in it and grow our food with it. But truth be told, at least when it's a beverage, water can be very boring. I get sick of it and I'm sure you do, too. As a result, I am constantly looking for creative (and equally hydrating) replacements. Don't get me wrong, you can never really top water. Nor can you truly replace it. However, you can switch it out on occasion—but you have to be careful. Many alternatives (think pop, certain sports drinks) are nothing more than sugar and calorie bombs. But there are options out there. You just have to read labels. And when the folks at
TalkingRain Beverage Company sent me a few bottles of
Sparkling ICE Naturally Flavored Sparkling Water, I did just that.
Sparkling ICE is a zero-calorie beverage that "combines fresh mountain spring water, natural fruit juices and six essential vitamins and antioxidants." While the list of ingredients is short, it does contain a few red flags that require some explanation:
1)
Sucralose. I'm honestly not a fan of anything but sugar because certain substitutes affect my stomach in a way that doesn't feel too hot. That might not be the case for you so I can't completely X the product because of it.
2)
Maltodextrin. It's kinda like a corn syrup, defined across the Internet as a "caloric sweetener."
3)
Mannitol. A sugar alcohol, so yet another sweetener.
But how does it taste? Sparkling ICE comes in six different flavors: Black Raspberry, Kiwi Strawberry, Lemon Lime, Orange Mango, Pink Grapefruit and Pomegranate Berry.
Had they given me a bottle of the Pomegranate Berry, I would have gone into that one head first, but they didn't so I opted for the Black Raspberry. Now, I don't drink sweet beverages that often, so I found this drink to be incredibly sweet. Like, Cherry Pepsi and Vitamin Water sweet. It surely was a tasty treat. Keyword: Treat. I'm not sure that I would recommend this beverage as a post-workout form of hydration, but if your hankerin' for a pop—especially if you want a fruity Faygo—pick this instead.
Every bottle has "just the right amount of bubbles," but without a lot of the excess gunk and calories found in pop. It's all the fizz without most of the fuzz. There's green tea extract, plus vitamins and antioxidants—although I'm not sure how abundant the vitamins and antioxidants actually are, but every last bit counts.
Check Costco, Sam's Club, Jewel, Walgreens and more if you're interested. You can also order a few bottles off
Amazon. Cost? Pretty comparable to similar beverages on the shelves, well...at least when you buy it right off those market shelves.
Question: If you've ever had Sparkling ICE water, I want to know what you think. Also, if you had every bottle right in front of you, what flavor would you choose?
Note: I was not compensated for this review, but was given what you see above to write this review. rest assured, all opinions are my own as they always are.
34 comments:
I've only had pomegranite berry, and it's SO good. I was trying to find out if they were good for you or not. Thanks for your blog. It gave me some insight. :)
My grocery store had them 10 for $10 so I was inclined to try them especially when I saw there were no sugar or carbs calories involved. As a type 2 diabetic I wondered if there was something "BAD" about them. But my usual diet green tea or diet coke was becoming a bit boring. I'm always looking for fruity diet drinks to no avail. I have now tasted the Kiwi Strawberry and the berry flavor you mentioned, they are quite sweet but a well needed break from the norm. I've enjoyed the two I have had thus far and hope to catch that sale and try them all. I have the other flavors in the fridge but I only bought 4 and not ten. Lucky for me you can get the deal price without going all in!
We live by a sam's club and they sell packs of them there and they are super good, they also give you energy if you are feeling run down, drink one of these and you will get you energy back and be ready for the rest of the day! They are very good and come with a lot in a bottle.
I enjoy drinking this instead of Soda actually. my favorite one would be the orange mango. Right after that would have to be the pomegranate berry. I haven't had a problem drinking these. I tried them early this year when they were ten for ten and I love them!
I tried these when they went on sale because I find it hard to drink just plain watdr even though i know its good for you.....They are SOOOOO goooood! My favorite is the orange mango and the pomegranate berry...lemon lime is ok...the raspberry to me tasted a little off and havent tried the kiwi strawberry. I like these far better than other "flavored" water ive tried.
I have been looking for something other than Coke because I really drink too much! I saw these on sale at my grocer and decided to try them. I only bought two, Black Raspberry and Mango Orange. They both were pretty good but I prefer the Black Raspberry. I love that it has a lite fizz too!
I'm a diabetic and am curious on how there can be no sugar in concentrated orange juice or that how much of the sucrose is used in the product. Sucrose acts like sugar especially with diabetics. It does taste great but it sounds to good to be true.
The pomegranate berry is the only one i dont like it has hardly any flavor to it. I love all the other flavors though :)
I just found this product last week and was really excited. I don't like soda and juice is sometimes too much so it was nice too see something in between. The flavor was a bit strong and the slight aftertaste was off puttIng. I love the idea of this but I wish they would try something like stevia (all natural, plant based sweetner with no calories) instead of splenda. So close just not quite there to win me over.
I tried a bottle of Coconut Pineapple. It was delicious, so delicious that I was suspicious. How is this zero calories? Are there chemical additives I should avoid in this drink? Yours is the first review of the product, and I found it helpful. While I will not substitute this drink for water after a workout, I will buy it for a low-calorie change of pace.
Flavored waters are touch and go. This one was okay, but still not the healthiest...nothing beats water and real fruit. Try smashing up some pineapple in your water bottle for an all-natural flavor boost! That way, you won't have to worry about chemicals at all!
I used to drink Sprite, Sierra Mist and Grape sodas. Now that I am a diabetic I tried to find a drink without Aspartame in it. I love Sparkling Ice. I has a great taste and it has "fizz". I bought all the flavors except Rasberry but I've only tasted Orange Mango (so so), Lemon lime (is good) and Pink Grapefruit is delicious. I will try Kiwi Strawberry next. I wish they could make a Peach flavor. The drinks are so good and I had never heard of them until a week or so ago.
I just discoveed Ice and like it. Does taste a bit salty to me though I can't find a sodium count in the miniscule writing on the bottle. Guess I'll cool it until I can find out how much salt is in it.
Good change up from soda, which I don't care for at all.
Thank you very much! Informative and funny!
ICE IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been a diet coke freak all of my life..like 6-10 a day!! I never thought I would ever find something as good or better. The Black Rasberry is sooo good I keep looking at the label to see if there really isn't any sugar in it. I knew I would have to stop drinking Aspertane someday but I couldn't have imagines a substitute like this ever coming along. Have it with a ton of ice and any soda addicts will be VERY surprised! Great product.
Arre they healthy
I love Sparkling Ice and my favorite flavors are orange mango and the pink grapefruit. Walmart now sells them in packs of 9 for 6 dollars..a great deal!
I really don't like the taste of Black Raspberry. It tastes like medicine!
I absolutely love them, and it makes drinking water and giving up soda tons more easier than going plain water alone. My husband has finally found something he can replace beer with...yes, you heard me. Beer. Whatever works, that's what I say.
I love this product, I don't drink soda's so when I do want a treat I choose this drink. I love the grapefruit, and the Kiwi Strawberry. Everything now days has some form of bad ingrediants so this is a nice in between product.
The Black Raspberry is sooooo goood. It's like crystal light with a fizz. It's so good though that I'm suspicious they've hidden the sugar content under some fancy name or something.
It is sucralose, not sucrose. Sucralose is what splenda is made from.
There is no sodium in ICE drinks
I really love sparking ice water. I quit pop because of it but the only thing that I was nervous about was the carbonation.
I also gave up drinking DIET soda about three years ago. I was getting alot of UTI's because of it, so I thought I would try an alternative. I started drinking water and I got so bored. It was just so bland. I even tried mixing it with lemon and it didn't really do it for me. However, I Love the Sparkling Ice drinks. My favorite is Orange Mango and Peach Nectarine.
Im a type two diebetic snd tested this drink and yes it does raise your blood sugars do be careful im returning my case back to sams some things are to good to be true!!!
They have a peach nectarine and it's awesome!
I love them I really don't see how tyeres nothing bad in them. They taste more sugary than kool aid yet there's no sugar but hey I'm all for that. I recommend them
But WHERE does the mountain spring water come from? What location, state, etc.? I just wrote to the company as well. This is a main point I think. Just saying mountain spring water is not enough. Is it a safe water source? Seriously, you need to tell us where the water is from. Too many companies get their water from questionable sources. If it's all good, let us know and we'd love to order some. I was about to order from Fresh Direct but need to know the answer. Thanks
I'm not sure where it comes from! If you hear back from the company, please let me know!
They also now have Peach Nectarine and Crisp Apple. Pretty good, in my opinion. I like it, but limit myself to one bottle per day. It costs $1 to $1.75 here in Michigan. Thanks for your review!
Always check with your doctor or dietician regarding new products. Take the bottle to your next appt.
Probably comes from a variety of places, wherever they can get the lowest price du jour.
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