Cranberry Wassail – Fill Your Holiday Season with the Goodness!
WOW!…If you love this seasonal drink, but hate all the SUGAR that comes along with it, you MUST make this fabulous Healthy Holiday Wassail! Pure goodness with every sip, that will keep you in the fat burning zone while enjoying a cup of Christmas cheer!
Time for the next drink in our Holiday Life Line Series. But hold on… isn’t this supposed to be another Pie Sip? What the dickens is a Wassail? I can hear your questions from here in my Tennessee kitchen.
Well, I started tweaking this cranberry creation and a Pie Sip morphed into a Wassail. You’ll become a Wassail fan too. I really wanted to call this “Weight Whittling Wassail” as it is a seasonal anti-waist-expander but Pearl said I needed the word Cranberry in there since I’d left you hanging so long on the Cranberry Sip thing. The title would be too long. Blame Pearl for the less than exciting name – ha!
This drink will be enjoyed by my whole family all day Thanksgiving and Christmas and many days in between. It stays warm in a crock pot all day so we’ve been cozily sipping mugful after mugful.
I think even if this drink tasted nasty I might still make it for the incredible heart and soul warming scents that ooze and puff from the stove and create such a warming Holiday atmosphere in my home. But thankfully the taste is incredible if I do say so myself. This aroma that festively leaps from the “wassail pot” as it brews is so inviting. It invites you to sip Christmas spiced, warming fruity goodness without any hint of hidden pudge. My children smell it and come running from every corner of the house thinking I must have morphed into some kind of Betty Crocker meets Mama Claus. But its plain ole me, feeling Oh so clever!
How did this drink become a Wassail? In my home, our Christmas Celebrations start around Thanksgiving because I am thankful for the best gift ever given – a savior born. We’ve started singing Carols around the house the last few days. One of my daughter’s favorite carols that she has been singing and humming over and over is…”Here we come a wassailing…. among the leaves so green.”
“What’s a wassawwwing?” My five year old asked unburying his head from a giant lego pile.
“I think it’s a kind of Christmas toddy or drink” I replied searching the rusty encyclopedia in my brain. I checked ole Google to make sure. Yes! Wassail is an Old English term meaning “To your health!” Going “Wassailing” is a tradition that dates back as far as the 14th century. It was a journey from house to house and neighbor to neighbor filling up cups of “Wassail” and toasting to each other’s good health.
The original Wassail recipes seem to be more along the lines of sweetened and spiced ale but more modern recipes use a base of apple and cranberry juices, traditional mulling spices and of course… lots of sugar. Modern Wassail drinks may smell delicious but I can also smell the weight hazard a mile away and that does not add to Christmas cheer! Liquid sugar laden or fruit juice based drinks instantly spike your blood sugar. They’re like a shot of sugar straight into the veins and wreak havoc with your waist line.
“Love and joy come to you… And to you your wassail, too, And God bless you, and send you a Happy New Year”. Well, the New Year is a whole lot less daunting without a bunch of “Christmas pounds” to lose. When I read that my beloved low glycemic cranberries were a traditional ingredient in Wassail I knew I had to come up with a THM wassail. How about this Carol…
“Let us go a wassailing the THM style
We’ll be merrily trimming all the while”
Sorry, I had to.
Now I’m going to give you the recipe but you know the drill… read on after that for the Health benefits because far surpassing it’s blessing to our waist lines, this drink can arm you with a strong Holiday immune system. Drink it to defend your body during this cold and flu season and encourage your children to drink it. (I doubt they’ll need a lot of encouragement).
Ingredients: 2 measuring cups fresh or frozen cranberries * 3 cinnamon Bark sticks * 1 flat tsp. whole cloves (use only ½ tsp. if you prefer a less “spiced” toddy) * Optional 3 whole Star Anise stars * 2 quarts water * generous ¼ tsp. Pure Stevia Extract or (to taste) * 5 drops Therapeutic Grade, Essential Orange Oil or if you don’t have that use 2 tsp. Pure Orange extract (found at all grocery stores – Watkins brand) * water
Directions:
1 – Put cranberries, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and star anise stars into a pot and cover with 1 ½ quarts of water.
2 – Place a lid on your Wassail pot and bring water to a rolling boil. Turn down to a gentle simmer and brew for 1 hour while you become completely intoxicated with the “heart and home” warming aroma.
3 – Take a two quart mason jar and sit a filter or fine sieve over the mouth of the jar. (I use the permanent filter from my coffee maker and it works great. Using a ladle, scoop Wassail into your filter/sieve until there is none left in your pot. Occasionally you might need to swish things around in your sieve with a spoon and maybe even remove some of the Wassail mush to get all the liquid through.
4 – Remove sieve and add “near the boil” water into your two quart jar to reach the top.
5 – Add stevia and orange oil or extract. Stir very well and taste… adjust… own it!
6 – Pour your wassail into a warmed Crock pot, leave on warm setting and enjoy at your leisure to delight your senses this Christmas season.
The Health Benefits
This is a medicinal drink, a non-spiked, trimming toddy that is good for what ails you. Each ingredient contributes to your Holiday health.
CRANBERRIES contain powerful protective phytonutrients. These little crimson treasures are laden with flavonoids and phenolic acids that act as antioxidants in the body. The antioxidants flush out the harmful toxins that can suppress your immune system and make you more vulnerable to sickness. Your immune system strengthens when these toxins are removed from your body.
Cranberries are well known for their prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTI). They inhibit bacteria from attaching to the cells that line the bladder. In the same manner Cranberries may also protect against stomach ulcers by preventing the adhesion of the bacteria H. pylori on the stomach wall. They have also been shown to inhibit the growth of oral, colon, breast and prostate cancer
CLOVES contain impressive amounts of an active component called eugenol. This compound strong arms in the prevention of toxicity from environmental pollutants and fights joint inflammation. Eugenol and other powerful components combine to make cloves a mild anesthetic as well as an anti-bacterial agent. Cloves provide healing relief to sore throats and mouth infections. They are also high in vitamin C which builds your resistance to “the crud.”
The inclusion of Therapeutic Grade Orange oil not only infuses this Wassail with the most delightful ripe orchard fragrance but delivers many health rewards. It is highly recommended during the early stages of cold and flu to reduce symptoms and duration. Orange essential oil delivers a proven anti-fungal, antibacterial and anti-cancer agent. It is both energizing and revitalizing at the same time as being a calmative and relieving stress.
Cinnamon Bark offers a hefty health punch with its ability to balance blood sugars, relieve inflammation and combat infection. It is a natural immune system booster and acts like a natural antibiotic, putting in a good fight against bacterial infections. Cinnamon is also a powerful anti-viral agent. As a matter of fact there are very few tested nasty bugs that cinnamon bark can’t beat.
If you choose to use the optional STAR ANISE then you will enjoy knowing that it has a balancing effect on hormones in women. It may help reduce premenstrual complaints, recharge libido and increase the milk supply of breast feeding Mamas. Anise like cinnamon keeps blood sugar levels stable so paired together they will work as a powerful duo. Star anise helps you relax and is a natural remedy for insomnia. It’s also a great diuretic.
Serene with Trim Healthy Mama
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