'Tis the season for holiday parties filled with hot toddies, mulled wine, and egg nog. Whether it be to socialize with friends, to tolerate your family, or to cope with the stress of the holidays, you don't need sugary holiday drinks to be one more thing weighing you down this time of year; figuratively or literally. The holidays are a time where you are surrounded by lots of heavy foods, desserts, and cocktails, making it difficult to look and feel your best. So many people struggle with weight gain around this time of year, in part due to all of the yummy foods and treats, but the overall stress of the season, too. Then the stress is increased when you start to feel guilty about not "staying on track" or you start to worry about your weight and how you're feeling. Although some stress is inevitable (travel, planning parties, buying gifts, etc.), the holidays should be a time where you feel thankful and joyful! Holiday parties and all the food that comes with them should be enjoyed, guilt-free. You should savor and appreciate those yummy foods, mindfully and in moderation. If you're interested in making some satisfying and healthy holiday foods, scroll through the Oct-Dec archive of the blog or click any of these links: Maple Butternut Squash, Healthy Baked Mac, Pumpkin Spice Banana Nut Bread. Another way we can arm you with ways to stay healthy through the holidays, is with some healthy cocktail recipes! First up: Ginger Apple Boozy Booch.
This spiked kombucha (aka 'booch) is light, fizzy, and refreshing. The fresh apple and ginger gives you some fall flavor and the kombucha and apple cider vinegar gives you lots of probiotics. Plus it's also super low sugar, making it easy to enjoy without making you feel hungover (the probiotics help with that, too). The following recipe makes one cocktail, but can also be doubled, quadrupled, etc. and made in a larger batch for a party!
Ingredients
2 oz. Ginger Kombucha (Health Ade Ginger Lemon or GTs Gingerade)
2 oz. Apple Kombucha (Health Ade Pink Lady Apple) *if you can't find this flavor, just double the ginger booch
2 oz. vodka
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Juice of 1/4 lemon
Optional: apple slices for garnish
Optional: fresh grated ginger or dash of ground ginger
Instructions
1. Combine all ingredients, except the apple slices, into a glass with ice and stir to chill.
2. Pour into a cocktail glass, filtering out the ice, and garnish with apple slices.
