Celebrate With Antioxidant Cocktails

By pam

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cocktaildrink_by_fibroblast_sm Feels like celebrating lately? You should, because you can… less the sugar and artificial flavors.

Best Health shares with us Wendy Guiness’ 6 recipes of healthy cocktails made with easy to find ingredients and spices rich in antioxidants.

Each recipe makes one drink (except Moroccan Sunshine, which makes a jug), and most of the ingredients are easy to find. But you might want to invest in a wooden muddle (used to mash ingredients), a fine strainer (available at cooking stores), a shot glass and a shaker—according to McGuinness, these are the must-have tools of any mixologist.

The Okarito* – balances the tart flavour of kiwifruit, lime and rhubarb with the sweetness of apple juice and a vanilla simple syrup.
Il Pompelmo* – fresh pink grapefruit juice muddled with thyme and shaken with whisky, grappa and other ingredients to make a gorgeous antioxidant-rich cocktail.
Moroccan Sunshine – fruity virgin cocktail to refresh the whole family on a summer afternoon.
La Belle Capsicum* – Red bell pepper and herb liqueur add a unique touch to this Scotch-and-whisky cocktail that’s fit for the boys.
Grapes of Life – virgin cocktail is packed with antioxidants; thanks to the Concord grapes and blueberries. Try freezing extra grapes to use as an icy garnish.

And Elixir de Vie – a fruity virgin cocktail of apple juice, blackberries and raspberries.

Ingredients:

Pinch of loose-leaf Earl Grey tea
4  oz (120 mL) apple juice
3 raspberries
3 blackberries
1  oz (30 mL) lemon juice
2  tsp (10 mL) vanilla simple syrup (to make your own, see Okarito recipe)
Edible rose petals for garnish (available at health food stores; use only flowers grown without chemicals), or substitute
raspberries and blackberries

Directions:

In a cocktail glass, combine tea and apple juice. Let tea steep into the apple juice until the flavor has been fully extracted (approximately 30 minutes). In a shaker, muddle berries, then add lemon juice and vanilla simple syrup. Strain tea and apple juice into shaker and fill with ice. Shake well and serve straight up in a martini glass. Garnish with edible rose petals or berries. Serves one.