I know we're all supposed to drink something like 12 gallons of plain flat water a day for optimum hydration and health but I would so much rather drink a chemical laden diet soda or something sugar-shock inducing like a Slurpee. Plain water is just so...plain, even if it costs $10, mostly for the lovely, fancy bottle.

I've been trying to wean myself off of diet soda by buying the low-calorie flavored waters which are still tasty, kind of like less-sweet Kool-Aid, but hopefully are healthier. It's not cheap, though, since we all need 12 gallons (or maybe it's just 8 glasses, but still) of it a day. Pur, the water filter company has come up with flavor cartridges which lightly flavor the water with natural fruit "essences" which are sugar-free and preservative-free. Actually, according to the nutritional information, it's ingredient free, but there's got to be something providing the peach, raspberry, or strawberry flavors.

I think this is the type of thing that people either find horrifically disgusting or positively genius. You know which camp I'm in. Bring on the fruit flavors of mysterious origin!

Each cartridge can flavor about 75 glasses of water, and the cartridges work in either the water pitchers or the sink filtration systems. For $10 you get a pack of 2 cartridges- 150 glasses of water- enough to get you through at least half a day.