refreshing red grape spritzer
The cool rainy days of June are no longer. July in Colorado is without a doubt the hottest month of the year. The temperatures have been hovering in the 90’s and I simply cannot drink enough water to feel hydrated.
Alas, I came across this recipe for a grape spritzer and it sounded so refreshing. It called for white grape juice (from a bottle). Which is fine. But, if I am choosing to milk this recipe for the biggest bang of nutritional value, the first thing I think of is red grapes – and actually crushing the grapes with my blender instead of using store bought juice.
Grapes are a cooling food, alkaline in nature and are chock full of antioxidants. Yes, they contain the highest percentage of sugar when compared to other summer berries (funny enough – grapes are considered a type of berry). But, it doesn’t change the fact that they are very good for you and have for thousands of years been used to treat a wide range of ailments (including cancer) due to their therapeutic/cleansing properties.
Word of caution. (Conventional) grapes are one of the most highly-pesticided fruits. For my family, if organic grapes are unavailable we simply go without.
2 cups organic grapes, blended with
1 tblsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
strain juice using a cheesecloth or nut milk bag
then add
8 oz Hansen’s club soda and
6 drops (not droppers) liquid Stevia
pour over ice then garnish with
some fresh grapes and some organic mint
I love this recipe! I have some club soda that’s cold in the fridge so I’m going to have to try this. I think it would makea great drink to serve at a get-together – much healthier than the standard fare. Thanks for the info about grapes…I didn’t know that.