Healthy Cocktails for Outdoor Entertaining

By Shelley Levitt

Healthy Cocktails for Outdoor Entertaining

Sipping a cold cocktail on a balmy night is one of the great pleasures. It can also be a way to sneak some nutrition into your daily diet. Here are three refreshing and restorative cocktails

[ Related: Grape Mojito ]

The Jolly Green Machine Cocktail

Vitamin-dense kale is the star of this cocktail from the Napa Valley Grille in Los Angeles.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Yield: Serves 1

The Jolly Green Machine Ingredients

2 parts fresh kale juice

3 parts fresh lemonade

1 part gin

1/2 part St-Germain liqueur

2 parts club soda

1/2 part agave syrup (optional)

The Jolly Green Machine Instructions

Blend fresh baby kale with a little water in a blender

Shake vigorously with ice in a cocktail shaker.

Strain and serve up in a martini glass.

Gordon's Gin Cup

It might fall short of a wheatgrass smoothie, but this simple cocktail is loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory enzymes.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Yield: Serves 1

Gordon's Gin Cup Ingredients

2 ounces of gin

3/4 ounce simple syrup

6 lime chunks (2/3 of a lime)

2 1/2-inch slices of cucumber

Pinch of sea salt

Gordon's Gin Cup Instructions

1. Muddle lime, cucumber, simple syrup in a shaker.

2. Add gin and cracked ice.

3. Shake three times.

4. Pour all ingredients into a rocks glass.

5. Sprinkle a tiny pinch of sea salt on top.

Nonalcoholic Margaritas

Whip up a pitcher of these -- the recipe serves eight -- for an invigorating drink that has just 156 calories for an 8-ounce serving. Jackie Keller, founder of NutriFit, a Southern California meal-delivery service, created the recipe. "The limeade is a good source of vitamin C," says Keller, "and nonalcoholic beer is much better for you than real beer!"

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

Nonalcoholic Margaritas Ingredients

1 12-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate

1 12-ounce can nonalcoholic beer

2 cups crushed ice

6 slices lime wedges (optional)

Nonalcoholic Margaritas Instructions

1. Combine 1/2 of the can of nonalcoholic beer, all of the limeade concentrate, and the crushed iced in a blender.

2. Blend until frothy, and then slowly add in the remainder of the beer. Garnish each glass with a lime wedge, if desired.

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Healthy Cocktails for Outdoor Entertaining - Jolly Green Machine, Gordon's Gin Cup & Non-alcoholic Margaritas

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