Water is by far the best drink. Eliminating soft drinks and alcoholic beverages is a smart move. But sometimes you just want something more, say for a celebration or an occasional treat. Here is an option that can fill the void while still being healthy.
To replace the club soda or soft drink in a beverage try using Kombucha. What is kombucha you say? It is a bubbly, tart, fermented beverage that originates in Japan. It is made with tea and/or juice that is fermented using yeast and bacteria. You can buy it bottled at most health food stores or in the health food section of some grocery stores. Be careful when you open it. It may just fizz out of the bottle. The most common brand is GT’s
You can also make your own kombucha. You have to purchase a starter SCOBY. From what I understand this can be used multiple time and new SCOBYs “babies” grow along with your kombucha so you only need to purchase it once. I haven’t tried making it yet but I do plan to. I’ll keep you posted.
Anyway, the Sangria recipe is as follows. It was inspired by a recipe in The Rawvolution Continues by Matt and Janabai Amsden. The second time I made it I used orange juice instead of lemon juice and found I didn’t need to add any sugar to the juice mixture.
Ingredients:
Fruit Mixture
- 1 cup sliced fruit of your choice. I used strawberries and raspberries.
- 1 lemon or orange sliced (or a combination)
- 2 TBL coconut nectar
Juice Mixture
- ½ cup lemon juice OR 1 cup orange juice
- 1 bottle citrus komucha (or your favorite flavor)
- 2 cups water
- 2-4 TBL coconut nectar (if you are using lemon juice)
Mix the fruit mixture ingredients together and set in refrigerator to marinate for at least two hours.
Mix together in a pitcher the juice ingredients and stir well.
Put some of the fruit mixture in a wine glass. Add ice if you like. Pour in the juice mixture and serve.
What do you think about kombucha? Have you tried it before? Have you made it? Tell us please!
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