“The holiday season is one for gathering. Punches are a quick, easy way to let your guests serve themselves.”  Drinkoftheweek.com

What healthy beverages will you be making over the holiday season?

They sing to the music of tambourine and harp; they make merry to the sound of the flute.  (Job 21:12 NIV)

I did the cranberry tea recipe the first week of December, then the eggnog recipe last Tuesday.  Jerry suggested that I stay with a beverage theme for this week and he actually requested a holiday punch recipe.  Now, I know there are dozens, if not hundreds, of holiday punch recipes available using everything from sugar-laced juices to champagne and sherbet.  I have a few punch recipes that I’ve used for bridal and baby showers, but I didn’t necessarily think they would “fill the bill” for a holiday punch.

I wanted to make this punch recipe simple with easy to find ingredients.  I went to a local Walmart and sauntered down the juice aisle.  I was pleasantly surprised at what I discovered.  There, amidst the high fructose sweetened “fake” juice drinks, I found organic, all fruit juices in glass bottles, even!  Santa Cruz makes a berry nectar that contains all organic fruit juices and I know that is very tasty.  Pop one of those in the cart.  Lakewood is another reputable and safe brand.  They had an organic, pomegranate, anti-oxidant blend of juices that looked good.  Another bottle in the cart.  (It was also more reasonably priced than the 100% pomegranate juice, which most people would gasp over.)

Pineapple juice always adds a nice touch to a punch.  I bought the 100% juice, not from concentrate.  A little bubbly also gives punch “some punch.”  (Love the pun…and me.)  There were a few to choose from in this well-stocked juice aisle.  I bought Kristian Regale sparkling lingonberry-apple juice.  It looked a bit different than the regular sparkling grape juice.  Okay, one more ingredient and that should do it.  I wanted to add some type of sorbet or ice cream to the punch to give it more body and keep it cold during a party.  All of the sorbets at Walmart contain sugar and corn syrup.  If you’re willing to lower your standards a bit for the holidays, then they would work fine.  I left the store without any.  Cascadian Farms used to make organic sorbets sweetened with fruit juice.  I can no longer find those.  So, I choose Julie’s organic blackberry ice cream.  Her products are now readily available in supermarkets in the frozen area of the health food section.  What a treat!  It really added to the punch, although it did lighten the color.  By adding the ice cream, the color went from a dark berry color to a light pinkish, purple.  Don’t be put off by the color.  It still tasted great.  Enjoy!

Prayer Power
Father, we bless our readers with love, joy and peace during this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of Your Son, Jesus.

Link of the Day
Holiday Berry Punch

Blessings on you as you enjoy some holiday punch.