Festive Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Last week, at my friend’s place I tasted ‘Tea Sangria’ and since then I have been meaning to recreate it for my family and also for the blog. Finally got some time to do it! So here it is, a Sangria which the kiddos can enjoy too! The ruby red drink is refreshing and packed with so much citrusy flavours!

A quick trip to the supermarket later, I made the three super easy  thirst quenchers, which are not only gorgeous to look at but delicious to the taste buds too!

Tea Sangria with strawberries and oranges

Things I needed:

Few strawberries, crushed and strained

1/3 cup of sugar

1 1/2 cups of water

1 black tea bag

1 cup of cranberry juice

Round slices of lemon and orange

1 cup of fizzy orange drink

Few strawberries cut into small pieces

I had to boil the sugar and water for sometime before adding the tea bag and steeping it for a while. I let the mixture cool slightly, and then added the pureed strawberries.

Transferring to a bigger jug, I added rest of the ingredients into the mixture, like the cranberry juice, lemon and orange slices and fresh cut strawberries and chilled it for few hours in the fridge.

Before serving into glasses, I added the fizzy orange canned drink, to make it perfect for the evening tête-à-tête with Hubby Dearest, once he was back from work.

Zesty Ginger Punch

I can look at that smooth coral colour for hours! But be warned: soothing colours can be deceptive! This drink is a bomb in the mouth – the gingery and citrusy flavours just explode, but leave behind the sweetness of the pineapple as an after-taste. Hmmm… Yummmm!

Things I needed:

1 1/2 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoon Ginger-peeled and chopped

1 cup Pineapple juice

1/2 cup Cranberry juice

1 cup ginger ale

I brought the water to a boil with the sugar, added the chopped ginger bits. I let it simmer for 10 minutes.

I strained and  let the mixture cool down before pouring into a jug along with the rest of the ingredients.

I chilled the drink before serving.

Yes! It’s thats easy!

Cranberry Mojito

A twist to the classic! Virgin style, of course! It has the sweetness of the cranberries, tartness of the lime and freshness of the mint leaves….. what are we waiting for!

The things I needed:

250 ml Lime juice

250 ml Cranberry Juice

a bunch of mint leaves

Lemon quartered and round slices for garnishing

I used the handy mortar and pestle to pound the mint leaves and lemon pieces to get the juice out. In a jug, put the freshly crushed lemon-mint with the Cranberry and Lime Juice, the mocktail is ready to be savoured. Served best with some crushed ice, but I had used ice cubes instead.

Weekend is here and the festive season is just round the corner – these drinks will surely be loved by friends and family in your parties. Do give them a try and let me know the reactions in the comments below.

Till then,

Keep hydrated.