New Year’s Eve is a great time to reflect, and then countdown to celebrate when the calendar flips to a clean slate in just a few hours. Out with the old and in with the new! Purge the baggage from the past year and take what you have learned to make the new year that much better.
My takeaway from 2020 is how important good nutrition is to not only help my body manage inflammation, but to nourish the immune system to help prevent disease.
Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, is a very important nutrient. And according to the Cleveland Clinic, vitamin C is one of the biggest immune boosters. Our bodies do not produce it and our bodies do not store it, so it is essential we get it in our diet.
Citrus fruits are a rich source of vitamin C, so that is why I want to celebrate the New Year with a bubbly mocktail containing orange juice!
A simple orange juice mocktail is filling a glass or flute glass 2/3 full with the juice and topping it off with sparkling water. Garnish with an orange slice and there you go! Oranges contain a lot of natural sugars, so any added sugar really isn’t necessary.
But if you want to have some fun with flavors, a simple syrup infused with thyme is a lovely way to go. Here is how to make the syrup. Add equal amounts of water and sugar in a small saucepan. Add a few sprigs of thyme and bring mixture to a boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat. Leave the thyme in the mixture until cool. Discard the sprig of thyme.
To construct the mocktail using the infused syrup, add 2 ounces of chilled orange juice (freshly squeezed is best) to 1 ounce of the chilled syrup. Top off with sparkling water and garnish with an orange slice and thyme sprig.
I’m going to toast the New Year with this concoction later tonight and I am planning to serve it in the morning with an egg dish for brunch. It is wonderfully versatile! Any left over syrup can be used as a sweetener for your tea or coffee.
What a great way to incorporate some immune boosting into the New Year’s celebration!
I propose a toast to a healthy and happy 2021. And to the goodness of vitamin C! Cheers!
XXOO, Cathy
photo credit: Nora Schlesinger at Unsplash
