- A Warm Drink for a Cold Night
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I recently found out that I am quasi-lactose intolerant, so milk is off the menu, at least in terms of drinking it. This, of course, dampers my morning chocolate milk habit. I can still have cheese and some milk here and there, but generally I've been advised to limit my dairy intake.
In addition to chocolate milk, I love hot chocolate. I don't drink coffee and I only have tea once in a while. But I had grown used to having hot chocolate several nights a week, mostly during the colder months. So, now that its getting colder, I wanted a hot drink at night without caffeine and without milk.
I just finished reading a set of travel essays about Norway and came across references to hot berry juice drinks. The author mentioned Ligonberry, which is hard to find in West Michigan, so I substituted Cranberry juice. Pomegranate juice, or nearly any other fruit juice will work too. I use a low-sugar variety so as not to lapse into a sugar-coma or add yet another source of weight gain this time of year.
Here's my recipe for a pleasing, healthy, hot drink for cold evenings:
Low-sugar cranberry juice, amount determined by how many you are serving.
Cinnamon sticks for each mug.
3-4 drops of ginger juice per serving.
Heat the cranberry juice in a sauce pan. Serve warm, not overly hot. Place the ginger juice in your mug and then stir with the Cinnamon stick.