This year some of my closest friends and I decided to abandon new years’ resolutions. Instead, we made short term goals in five domains (food, work, working out, spiritual, and misc.) that we plan to reevaluate every few months and tweak accordingly. In preparation for my first set of goals, I decided to do a ‘detox’ from New Years to Chinese New Years (I am very much looking forward to the year of the rabbit!!!). One aspect of this detox is no drinking. Sigh.

I made version 2 of this punch on Sunday because I wanted something fun to drink during my first big dinner while detoxing. (I made version 1 on Christmas so that my brother, who doesn’t drink, wouldn’t feel left out as I drank wine with dinner).

Also, just because I’m in the mood to share today… another aspect of my detox is daily self-affirmation that I say while looking at myself in the mirror. Last week’s was “I trust in the process of life.” And this week’s is “I am courageous.” Soooooo, if you are detoxing or just want a fun drink, definitely try this punch. The muddled mint adds freshness and the ginger brings some kick.

Sparkling Mint Cran-Ginger Punch (Version 1)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup ginger simple syrup (see recipe below)

2 1/2 cups sparkling cranberry juice

1/4 cup mint (loosely packed)

ice

slices of orange, lemon, and lime

Method:

*Add mint to bottom of a pitcher. Bruise mint by hitting it (I used the back of a spoon). Add ice, slices of citrus, simple syrup, and sparkling cranberry juice. Stir and enjoy!

Sparkling Mint Cran-Ginger Punch (Version 2)

Ingredients:

1 cup ginger simple syrup (see recipe below)

2 cups sparkling water (I used orange flavored)

1 cup cranberry juice

1/4 cup mint (loosely packed)

ice

slices of orange, lemon, and lime

Method:

*Add mint to bottom of a pitcher. Bruise mint by hitting it (I used the back of a spoon). Add ice, slices of citrus, simple syrup, and sparkling water, and cranberry juice. Stir and enjoy!

Ginger Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

4 cups of water

1 cup of sugar

3 tablespoons of agave

juice of one tangerine, reserve peel (optional)

fresh ginger peeled and sliced (3-5 inch piece)

Method:

*Add water, juice, and prepped ginger to medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat for twenty minutes. (The second time I made this syrup, I also included the peel from the orange. I really liked the subtle bitterness from adding the orange peel, but this is a personal preference!)

*Add sugar and agave. Stir to dissolve and reduce to approximately one cup of syrup. The reduction occurs slowly, but it’s worth the wait to extract all of that great ginger flavor (and it will make your house smell amazing!). (Save the ginger and sprinkle with sugar for a great snack!). I use the syrup for all sorts of purposes–obviously, it’s great in this punch, but it would also be great in tea, coffee, or a cosmo. Sigh. 😀