Juice recipe: Mulled wine (alcohol free)
We´ve gone slightly off track this month to bring you a seasonal drink of the “juice” variety! We serve our delightful mulled wine only once each year, to warm us up on New Years eve. Although traditionally mulled wine is made from red wine, in our alcohol-free version we use red grape juice instead, so it does look distinctly like the usual potent stuff! The smell whilst you make this “juice” is wonderful and very festive.
The recipe below makes about 10 portions. The proportions for the liquid are roughly one third grape juice, one third orange juice and one third water. If you don´t have sticks of cinnamon, then you can use ground cinnamon instead – one stick of cinnamon is roughly ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Cinnamon is said to have many health benefits. Research suggests that regular consumption of cinnamon can help to reduce blood pressure, lower blood sugar levels (read more about blood sugar in our recent article here) and also contains anti-inflammatory properties (which means it can help to reduce pain for people with arthritis or other inflammatory health conditions). As with any herb or spice, stick to sensible levels, and health benefits are best seen as part of a sensible diet. There are different varieties of cinnamon; some types can help to thin the blood – so people on some heart medications might need to keep their intake to a minimum.
So this Christmas and New Year, the dedicated driver can also partake of some mulled “wine”! Enjoy.
Juice recipe: Mulled wine (alcohol free)
Ingredients
15 cloves
1 large orange left whole
300ml orange juice
300ml red grape / cranberry juice
300ml cold water
Zest from 1 orange
1 orange, skin removed and cut into segments
Zest from 1 lemon
3 tbsp rice syrup (more if necessary)
2-3 sticks of cinnamon
2 star anise
½ tsp ground ginger
Method
Stick the cloves into the whole orange. Then place all of the ingredients into a pan and bring the heat up until it starts to gently bubble. Turn down the heat and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve into mugs (use a strainer if needed to stop any loose cloves getting into the mugs).
Read more about juicing at La Crisalida Retreats on our juicing page and we have lots of juice recipes available on our blog – click on the categories button (Juice recipe) on the right hand side of the screen to see more.
We wish you a merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year.
About the author
- Lisa is one of the founders of La Crisalida Retreats. She is an Epidemiologist, therapeutic hatha and yin yoga teacher and also teaches mindfulness meditation. Lisa has studied NLP and hypnosis, as well as nutrition (she designs the menus).
