What do you crave for the most when you have had a long, hard day at work and the gruelling heat is all but dampening your spirit? A good drink and some music, isn’t it? Drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, have the power to transform your mood and calm down your senses. A bottle of juice, a jar of smoothie or a glass of cocktail is the perfect beverage, depending on who you are and what your preferences are. So, if we put so much impetus on drinks and their sheer power to become the ultimate mood changer, it is also important that the drinks are curated and made perfectly. Because, the more we expect from a dish to please us, the bigger is the disappointment if that fails to happen somehow.
So, how do we make sure that our beverages are on point and will elicit a great response from our guests, family or even ourselves? A simple trick can be to use ingredients that we know and can trust to add that ex-factor to our drinks. A versatile flavour that goes with most other ingredients and yet, leaves its own impression on a drink without being subdued by other elements. And what better than the cranberries by US Cranberry?
Cranberries are just the perfect addition to your drinks, be it a shake, a smoothie, a cooler or a cocktail. The versatility of this berry is simply unmatched. Although we are just talking about drinks, cranberries are also used to make amazing sweet and savoury items like cakes, pulao, kheer and salads. With everything going perfectly well for cranberries taste wise. Let us also tell you about the immense health benefits. Cranberries are filled with nutrients like Vitamin C, E and K. They are rich in anti-oxidants; help prevent UTI and have many more benefits.
With so many advantages, cranberries should definitely be your go-to ingredient to make amazing drinks for yourself and your near and dear ones. If you are confused about how to exactly do that, here are 4 amazing beverage recipes that would be perfect for you to begin your cranberry obsession with.
Cranberry Banana Berry Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 medium ripe banana, cut into chunks
- 1 cup low fat raspberry or strawberry yogurt
- 2/3 cup 100% cranberry juice
- 1 cup frozen raspberries, strawberries or blueberries
Method
- In a blender, take the banana chunks, yogurt of your choice, cranberry juice and frozen berries of your choice.
- Blend until the mixture is smooth and of a thick consistency.
- Pour out from the blender and serve immediately.
- Additionally, you can garnish it with more cranberries and banana slices.
Pink Margarita
- 45ml Sauza Hornitos Tequila
- 15ml Cointreau
- 1/2 Lime, chopped
- 2 tsp Half caster sugar, half brown sugar (level)
- Cranberry juice
- 6-8 Mint leaves
- Glass: Boston Glass
Method
- Muddle the lime and sugar together properly.
- Next, add tequila, mint and Cointreau to it.
- Then, shake the drink with ice and pour into a 400 ml Boston glass.
- You can top the beautiful cocktail with cranberry juice and your ultimate summer beverage is ready to drink.
Cranberry Apple Mint Mojito
Ingredients
- 6 oz cranberry juice
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 oz. rum
- .5 oz. lime juice
- 5 oz. tonic water
- Apple mint (to taste)
- 1 cup ice
- 1/4 lime (garnish)
Method
- Put cranberry juice, brown sugar, rum, and lime juice into a bowl and mix until sugar is melted.
- Add apple mint into the bowl and mix with other ingredients, crushing apple mint, to spread the scent of apple mint evenly.
- Divide ice and contents of bowl into 2 cups and pour tonic water.
- Garnish with lime.
Cranberry Smoothie
- 2 cups frozen cranberries
- 2 cups nonfat vanilla yogurt (try different yogurts, such as Greek yogurt)
- 2 cups milk or almond milk
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 tsp. Vanilla essence.
Method
- In a blender, add the frozen cranberries.
- Next, put in the nonfat yogurt. Vanilla works best but any flavour depending on your choice is great too.
- Now, add your milk, honey and vanilla essence.
- Blend until smooth and thick.
- Serve the smoothie in a tall glass.
Try all of these very simple recipes yourself to easy how easy it is to add cranberries to your diet and not only make the food that you consume tasty, but also very healthy. Especially, the versatile nature of cranberries truly comes out when they taste absolutely amazing in water, milk and alcohol-based drinks. These cranberry beverages are a delight and you need to sip on them right now!