3 Nutritionist-Approved Cocktails For Your Next…

Here's the truth: We all enjoy a cocktail (or two), especially around the holidays.

But before you make a beeline to punch bowl at your next ugly sweater party, there are a few tips you should consider to help make your party habits a little bit healthier.

As the girls from Tovita Nutrition, we're here to share some recipes and helpful hints for boozing responsibly, without the sugary sodas and syrups.

Every holiday season, we run into the same problems.

The punch bowl is a hangover waiting to happen, the eggnog is never worth the calories and the vodka soda, well, doesn’t exactly put us in the holiday spirit.

We decided to take our quandary over to our mixologist friends at Absolut Elyx, and we challenged them to create cocktails using a list of our favorite superfoods.

We must admit that we're very impressed with what they came up with!

So much so that we hosted a little get together and had our guests taste test and vote on their favorite cocktails.

The Citrea cocktail took the cake, but you’ll have to try them all and let us know which one is your favorite.

First, however, we’d like to make a disclaimer.

We are by no means implying that the following cocktails are chock-full of nutrition or that they have any magical anti-hangover properties.

We're just having some fun and removing alcohol from the "things nutritionist don't talk about" list.

And most importantly, we’re providing you with awesome cocktail recipes that will give your holiday guests something to talk about.

Virdiris

Matcha powder is made from the green tea leaf.

By creating a powder, you are able to consume 100 percent of the antioxidants and benefits from the leaf, rather than just what is steeped outside of the tea bag.

Here's the recipe:

2 oz Elyx 1 oz PANATEA Matcha-infused Plymouth .5 oz cocoa nib-infused Lillet Blanc

Garnish with a lemon oil, and serve in a cocktail coupe.

Citrea

We are BEEyond in love with mānuka honey.

It is produced by bees in New Zealand and has anti-bacterial, antibiotic and anti-inflammation properties.

Mānuka honey has higher levels of a compound called methylglyoxal than other types of honey.

This compound is responsible for the antibiotic effect of mānuka honey that makes it a natural healer.

Did you know that bee pollen is considered one of nature's most nourishing foods?

It is 40 percent protein and contains almost all of the nutrients required by humans.

Half of the protein is in the form of free amino acids, meaning it can be used directly by the body.

Here's the recipe:

2 oz Elyx 1 oz pineapple juice .75 oz tangerine juice .75 oz lemon juice .5 oz chamomile-mānuka honey syrup 2 dashes lavender bitters

Garnish with bee pollen and lavender frond, and serve in a tall glass over crushed ice (or as a slushy).

Dulcedo

Beet juice contains natural nitrates that increase nitric oxide in blood vessels.

This opens up blood vessels to allow more oxygen flow and can help lower blood pressure.

Beet juice can actually help you exercise longer, due to the increased oxygen flow.

Here's the recipe:

1.5 oz Elyx .5 oz Amontillado 1.25 oz beet juice .75 oz pink grapefruit juice .75 oz lemon juice .5 oz mānuka honey syrup

Garnish with freshly grated cinnamon and a rosemary stick, and serve in a champagne flute.

Cheers!

This article was originally published on TovitaNutrition.com.