Mulled Apple Juice

Christmas.  Like it or loathe it, it's not far away.  In my house, Christmas presents are being bought, house is getting sorted, old toys no longer played with are being smuggled out of the house... I'm joking.  He'd see me a mile off and I'd never get away with it but I try.

But upcoming is the season of over indulgence, too much alcohol, food, partying and for many, a busy work period too.  Time to look after yourself.

I experimented last year with mulled grape juice and thought I'd see if something would work with apple juice and you know, it does.  It's a great way for drivers and non drinkers to feel like you've made an effort.

If you kept this warm, the spices would only infuse for longer which would be no bad thing.

Caramel milk

A lovely cuddle of a warm milk drink, caffeine free, ideal for before bed.

Melon and Apple Smoothie

Melons at this time of year can be glorious, sweet, juicy but prone to having half eaten and the half at risk of being overripe.  This is a great way to use up overripe melon.

Flavoured Water

Water.  Well it's just wet isn't it?

I've never been great at drinking loads of water, even though I know I 'should', it's meant to be great for your health and weight loss.  Soft drinks, juices are getting an increasingly bad reputation.  This is just a way to make water more interesting and it's pretty lovely.  Play around with different flavours.  Mint, lemon, berries, spices...

Think of all of those bottles of "flavoured water" you can buy with artificial flavours, sweeteners, £1 or more a bottle.  This is mostly from your tap, makes you feel virtuous and I intend to have a bottle with me of something lovely all summer!

Melon and Pineapple Smoothie

I've really got into smoothies recently.  I heard a doctor talking on the radio recently on how smoothies aren't healthy because they are full of sugar.  Her claim was because the sugars are released from the fruits really easily, this would lead to a sugar spike in your bloodstream and it's much better to eat the fruit.  Yes, she's probably right but the thing that I find with home made smoothies is they're not so much a drink as a meal.  Just like blended vegetables in a soup seem to fill you up, I find the same with smoothies and if you steer clear of adding bananas or high fat yogurt, they're not full of calories either.

Very Berry Breakfast Smoothie

Smoothies aren't something I've ever been that interested in.  They are seen as healthy but contain far more calories and often sugar than you expect.  I remember I was put off them when buying one in a shopping centre and seeing them put in banana and ice cream!  That's not a smoothie, that's a milkshake!

But I am trying to keep healthy in the new year and trying to increase the amount of fruit and vegetables I eat and by making a smoothie yourself, you know exactly what's in it.  I'm also not having this as a drink but a breakfast which is a very different thing.  In winter, frozen berries can fill the gap when fresh fruit is less available, they're often much cheaper and by freezing, much of the nutritional content has been preserved unlike berries which have been flown half way around the world before reaching you.

So I have decided to try smoothies again and my first attempt is one including fresh and frozen fruit and, unusually is both banana and dairy free.  I've added a bit of seasonal spice to make more wintery and what's even better is I can take this with me, put in my cup holder and drink while I drive to work.  A great way to make time for a morning workout.

Slight warning; this does contain seeds from the blackberries.  You could sieve them out but I say "live with it".  It's more roughage!

Cocoa

Proper cocoa is great when you've come in from the cold.  I like my cocoa strong, bitter and with dark sugar so it's like quality chocolate in a glass.  I use semi skimmed (1%) milk but then top with cream.  It's like a little cuddle.

Mulled Grape Juice

Mulled wine is something I love and will make or buy over the winter months but, after buying a bottle of non alcoholic gluwein from a well known furniture store, it made me wonder, is it actually better?

I seem to say this a lot but I'm not puritanical.  I will happily have a glass of wine but I'm of the view where if you can make small changes to your life without even noticing which help your health, perhaps you should.

When I've made mulled wine in the past, I've added masses of sugar to get the same kind of flavour you can get when buying it in a Christmas Fair, now I'm more than a little convinced that I may have been drinking mulled grape juice all along (or at least a proportion of it.)  Still, older and wiser now, I can now make my own and this is how to do it.