Christmas Cocktails: Healthy Mocktails For Your Immune System
With the typical adult drinking twice as much as average during the holiday season, more and more people are trying to avoid the immunity-wrecking effects of excessive alcohol intake. Yet you still want to enjoy your Christmas parties and have something delicious to raise in the air during a festive toast. These healthy cocktails (or mocktails!) will satisfy your craving, and each includes at least one immunity-boosting ingredient to help support your wellness.
1. Sparkling Blood Orange Mocktail
This cocktail comes imbued with the vibrant colors of freshly squeezed blood orange juice. Not only does this give the Christmas drink so many levels of flavor, but it also adds extremely high levels of vitamin C to help strengthen your immune system. And better yet, there’s a secret ingredient: kombucha. This fermented beverage gives this drink its delightful fizz, while also adding probiotics to power-up your gut and further improve your health.
8 oz. blood orange juice
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz. lime or orange kombucha
Boood orange slices for garnish
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake thoroughly. Fill a glass with ice, pour the mocktail over it, and garnish with an orange wedge.
2. Grapefruit Paloma
The classic paloma drink hails from Spain, and it’s usually made with fine tequila. More Western takes sometimes swap out the tequila for vodka or gin. But you won’t miss any of the alcohol in this festive cocktail that’s bursting with flavor. It’s made with lots of fresh grapefruit juice, and grapefruits are renowned for their high levels of immunity-supporting vitamins and minerals, including copper, zinc, iron, vitamin Bs, and vitamin C. This cocktail is also high in antioxidants like lycopene, beta-carotene, and anti-inflammatory flavanones.
2 oz grapefruit juice
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz maple syrup
Sparkling water
Ice
Sliced limes and grapefruit for garnishing
Combine the juices and maple syrup and shake. Add ice and then fill the rest of the glass up with sparkling water. Garnish with the fruit slices and enjoy!
3. Lemon Lime Spritz
Enjoy all the fun of a gin-and-tonic cocktail, without any of the hangover. This Christmas drink is fizzy and energizing, while also quite low on sugar. In fact, if you monitor your carbohydrate intake the rest of the day, the low amount of sugar in this drink may even be compatible with most paleo and low-carb lifestyles. Plus, all the citrus and sparking water boosts your immunity and keeps you hydrated during your holiday party.
1 whole Lime
1 whole lemon
1 cup fresh mint
1 1/2 tsp agave nectar
Sparkling water
Fill a cup with crushed ice and the agave nector. Juice half a lime and half a lemon into the glass. Add a pinch of mint and muddle. Top with sparkling water and enjoy.