Healthier Holiday Drinks
Shanthi Appelo, MS, RD
| 1 min read
Holiday drinks are special and tasty, but a pumpkin spice or peppermint latte from your favorite coffee joint can quickly add up to 400 calories. Even worse, those calories won’t fill you up like food would, so you’ll likely consume more than you need throughout the day.
However, it’s still possible to enjoy holiday coffeehouse favorites without the guilt by opting for a lower-fat milk, asking for fewer sugar pumps and skipping the whipped topping.
Another holiday drink category known to contribute empty calories is cocktails. Alcohol has seven calories per gram, so even spirits that don’t have added sugar or fat can equal 80-100 calories in a single ounce pour. Whether you’re looking to cut down on sugar in your drinks or prefer to consume mocktails, these family-friendly drinks have unique flavors and beautiful garnishes that are sure to be crowd-pleasers (scroll down to check them out).
Serving Amount
Ingredients
2 oz pear juice*
tsp. honey
2 pods cardamom, seeds crushed or 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
tsp. vanilla extract
Sparkling water to top
Crushed ice
Pear slices, for garnish
Choose no sugar added pear juice. Use the juice from canned pears if unable to find pear juice.
Instructions
Step 1
In a glass, stir pear juice with honey. Honey will not dissolve well in ice mixture.
Step 2
In a shaker bottle with ice, combine pear juice and honey mixture, vanilla extract and cardamom.
Step 3
Strain liquid over glass with ice.
Step 4
Top with sparkling water and garnish with pear slices.
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