Make-It-Yourself Izze

Pomegranate Izze is one of my favorite drinks. It consists of concentrated juice and sparkling water, with no added sweeteners, flavors, or colors. I also admire the company, from what I know of them, for what that’s worth.

The bad thing is that purchasing Izze, even on sale, does not fit very well into my budget. I rarely find them for less than $1 a bottle, usually $1.25 is the cheapest. Therefore, I only buy it for special occasions. It is my special drink.

Last summer, I attempted to concoct my own version of Izze. It was not a perfect imitation, but it helped satisfy the craving. I will share that with you now.

You need:

• concentrated juice
• sparkling water

I bought some frozen Apple/Cherry/Grape juice concentrate (about $1 on sale). Sorry, I wasn’t going to pay for the pomegranate juice. I also don’t even know if you can find that in a concentrated version.

Then, instead of adding tap water to mix, I used sparking water (about $1). This is just carbonated regular water (no calories). So, for about $2, I made a pitcher full of imitation Izze.

I stored my homemade imitation Izze in a sealed container in the refrigerator to try to keep in the carbonation. Even if you store it like this, I would still recommend planning to consume it within a few days because it did tend to lose its carbonation rather quickly.

If following these directions results in a drink that is too strong or carbonated for your taste, you can always dilute some of the juice with regular water before adding the sparkling water.

So if you are looking for a carbonated beverage to satisfy your summer sweet-tooth without pouring junk into your body, give this imitation Izze recipe a try. Health-wise, it is just like drinking diluted juice, and much easier on the budget than buying Izze at the store. It is a fun and frugal alternative to the real thing!

Writing about it makes me want to go make some now… and have it out on the patio...