Christmas Cranberry Coolness

Christmas Cranberry Coolness

This weekend, I finished baking all my holiday sweets. I’m tired!

After cleaning up the last of the bowls and cookie sheets, I craved a Christmas-y drink. I was already proud of myself for only sampling bites of the hundreds of cookies I just spent two days baking. (Christmas miracle right there!) I wanted to stay on that track by not going overboard with alcohol or other empty calories. I’ve been cutting way back on alcohol consumption while upping my health game, so instead of reaching for the wine or vodka, I changed up the routine.

I happen to have a bottle of cranberry juice in my fridge leftover from baking, so I thought, "There you have it! A great holiday drink!" But wait. While I was expecting the sweet, pink, smooth flavor of a cranberry juice cocktail I remember from my childhood, instead I got a bitter, dark red shock of very potent juice that made my mouth pucker. There was no way I could drink this stuff straight up.

What to do? I reached way into my creative brain and started thinking of how best to enjoy it. Well, in Christmas-y fashion, I created Christmas Cranberry Coolness. It’s going on my list of “Drink-Anytime-Even-When-It’s-Not-Christmas” drinks. Before we get to the recipe, let me share what I learned about why I love this drink (besides its beauty and taste). There's lots of scientific stuff about all of this, so please forgive all the links to studies and articles written by people smarter than me.

CRANBERRY JUICE. Many of us have had cranberry juice cocktail. This has some cranberry juice mixed with apple juice, grape juice and/or some other type of sweetness that tastes great but adds a lot of sugar. If you choose to get your sugar intake through foods and drinks other than fruit juice, consider straight-up, 100 percent cranberry juice. There are varying opinions from doctors and scientists about the benefits of cranberry juice. Here are some (scientifically debatable) facts about cranberry juice:

Antioxidants. Cranberries have a good amount of antioxidants. Those are the little fellas that help fight tissue damage in our bodies, could be a factor in lowering bad cholesterol, and might give a little push to heart health. If you’re into the science of it, here’s the abstract from a March 2011 study on this.

Antibacterial properties. Cranberry juice has some kind of magical antibacterial quality that could help with urinary tract infections. Some really smart microbiologists did a study on this in 2017 and you can read about it here if you’re into that.

Other benefits. The juice of this pretty little berry does other marvelous things like support digestive health and prevent certain bacterial and viral infections. You can read about those studies here and here. Oh, you can also read about how it may help people fight heart disease.

So, yeah, cranberry juice SEEMS to be a good thing. Be aware of this, though - there are studies that indicate cranberry juice may interact with some medications, so be sure yours isn’t one of them before you imbibe. Ask your doctor whether your meds are compatible with cranberry juice, especially if you’re taking a blood thinner.

Other fun facts about the ingredients in Christmas Cranberry Coolness:

BLOOD ORANGES – a type of orange that has a deep, dark crimson-colored interior. These fruits are just beautiful. They are full of vitamin C like other oranges, but wait, there’s more. The reason for the dark red color is the pigment anthocyanin, which has some good benefits for humans.

TONIC WATER. Water, right? Well, tonic water contains quinine. You can’t see or taste quinine, but its invisible benefits include treatment for malaria and reducing muscle cramps. You know, like the kind you get that wake you up at night. Quinine will also give the water a bit of a bitter taste.

One last ingredient in Christmas Cranberry Coolness is SIMPLE SYRUP, or basically thick sugar water. I added it to reduce the mouth-puckering taste of straight cranberry juice while not masking the taste of the cranberries. You can add as little or as much as you like, but start with a little. You can always add more. My personal preference is a little sweetness so I can enjoy the true cranberry taste.

All this is to say 1) follow your doctor’s orders about cranberry juice intake and whether cranberry juice will affect any of your medications; 2) mindfully choose your sugar and calorie intake sources; and 3) drink this whenever you want, not only at Christmastime, but also because it’s beautiful, tasty, and has health benefits.

Here’s the recipe:

Christmas Cranberry Coolness

4 oz. 100 % cranberry juice (not concentrate)

2 tsp. simple syrup

2 one-half inch slices of a blood orange

Tonic water and Ice

On top of several ice cubes in your favorite glass, (a clear glass is best for this drink because it's such a beautiful red color!), pour in the cranberry juice. Add the simple syrup. Smash or squeeze one slice of orange into the mixture and drop that orange in. Top with tonic water to fill the glass. Give it a gentle stir and garnish with the other orange slice. (Add more simple syrup to taste.)

Enjoy!