As registered dietitians and personal trainers, clients always ask us what they can do to stay on track, and of course this seems to be especially challenging when there are lots of celebrations, like during Memorial Day weekend or the holiday season—but let’s face it, even when there aren’t holidays eating healthfully can be a challenge. When your schedule is filled to the brim with anything from long work events to parties, holiday or not, you can wind up feeling bloated and heavy – and you better believe we’re no fans of that! Our solution to help you to stay trim, is one we’ve fallen in love with ourselves– our beloved “detox” drinks! They’re some of the most popular recipes on our blog and we’re obsessed with coming up with new flavor combinations to keep things interesting!
They’ve become so important in the success of our clients that we’ve even included them as an important part in our 21-Day Body RebootTM, our life-altering program that helps you to lose your last 10 pounds or more—while going wild on the weekend You may remember some of our other faves!
Cucumber Blueberry Water Flush
Lemon Ginger Turmeric Tea “Detox”
Lemon Ginger Detox drink
Vitamin C Infused “Detox” Water
This cranberry, orange, and ginger festive flavor concoction will keep your taste buds satisfied! It was originally inspired during the holiday time to aid in flushing bloat and keeping you trim and slim (see below why it works!)in case you overindulged—but let’s face it, holiday time is not unique in that, so sip this baby any day of the year when you want to kick bloat to the curb!
Here’s why this drink is a lifesaver:
It flushes bloat
It’s easy to get dehydrated, especially if you’re indulging in too many boozy drinks and salty snacks! Your body likes salt to be at a very particular concentration in the body. Eat too much salt and your body holds on to water to dilute the salt. And when you hold on to excess water, guess what? You feel BLOATED & puffy! ICK! Drinking plenty of water helps keep you hydrated so your body can flush excess sodium and waste, making you feel light and energized and since water also flushes waste (i.e., helps prevent constipation, keeping you regular and flushing out any gut bulges that come with the waste!)- hello flat-tummy!
Ginger: (Lyssie’s lov-ah! that shows up in everything she makes!) is rich in anti-inflammatory properties, while it also helps soothe your stomach and ease digestion, calming your insides so you can have a flatter tummy, helping you to reset after a day of heavy foods.
It crushes sweet cravings
Sipping on this detox drink is our key to crushing sweet cravings! As you know, we both have a sweet tooth, and it rears its’ head in the evening after dinner, when admittedly, we’re not truly hungry, just “snacky”. This yumster works it’s magic for us—it’s the ultimate sugar-tooth buster! The natural sweet, tangy flavor of oranges and cranberries gives your taste buds the sweetness they crave without a ton of calories or sugar! It’s so much easier to say no to another piece of chocolate or gingerbread man when your belly is already full of good-for-you food and drinks (like this lil’ number!).
It reduces inflammation
Cranberries and oranges are both packed with vitamin C, an antioxidant that helps boost your immune system and rid your body of toxins, keeping inflammation at bay. Ginger is also a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, chasing free radicals and other toxins out of your body.
When you get an injury, your body’s immune system responds with inflammation in a healthy way – but not all inflammation is healthy. When your body is taxed with constant inflammation from things like alcohol, refined sugars, and chemicals in processed foods, your body ramps up its inflammatory response and works in overdrive to keep you healthy. Keeping up with that constant inflammation takes a lot of work from your body and can wear down your immune system, leading to everything from the common cold to chronic health issues.
Eating and drinking foods with anti-inflammatory ingredients helps fight that constant inflammation so your body can work in tip-top shape! Since this detox drink is jam packed with anti-inflammatory goodness (but still tastes like a festive holiday mocktail!), it’s the perfect concoction to keep you healthy throughout the year!
Cranberries contain unique, health-promoting flavonoids called PACs. PACs help reduce inflammation associated with chronic disease and aging (and as an added bonus, they also reduce the incidence of certain infections, maintain a healthy urinary tract and improve heart health).
(Fun fact! A recent study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that drinking 8-ounces of cranberry juice a day reduced the number of symptomatic UTIs by nearly 40 percent in women with recurrent UTIs.)
Our PACman & Cranberry linked- -Confession: We loved PACman as kids. (OK, and maybe a little bit as adults too! But that’s just because of the good memories we have from our past! ) We had blue pac-man shoes that we thought were THE BOMB and when you pressed your finger on the bottom, the imprint left a pacman shape impression on your hand, soooo cool! We now realize the atrociousness of the shoes, but love them anyway. Point? We’ve become bigger cranberry fans since learning they’ve got PACs—remind us of pacman–they gobble the bad stuff in your body to keep you healthy…
Our favorite part about this drink? It’s tasty enough to serve at a party or to keep in your fridge and sip all day (and week!) long! Don’t keep all the health benefits to yourself – the holiday season (and all seasons! ) are for sharing ;). Make a big batch of this Cranberry Orange & Ginger Detox Drink to share with everyone at your next holiday party to keep everyone happy and healthy.
Cranberry Orange & Ginger “Detox” Drink
Yield: 4 8-oz servings
Ingredients:
½ cup fresh cranberries
½ orange, sliced
1-inch chunk ginger, sliced
4 cups water
Directions:
- Place the cranberries in a pitcher or large jar and smash them with the back of a wooden spoon to pop them open.
- Add the sliced orange, ginger, and water, and stir.
- Let infuse in the fridge overnight, then enjoy!
Nutrition info per 8-oz serving (if all the fruit is eaten): 15 calories, 0 g fat, 5 mg sodium, 3 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 0.2 g protein
- Ingredients:
- ½ cup fresh cranberries
- ½ orange, sliced
- 1-inch chunk ginger, sliced
- 4 cups water
- Directions:
- Place the cranberries in a pitcher or large jar and smash them with the back of a wooden spoon to pop them open.
- Add the sliced orange, ginger, and water, and stir.
- Let infuse in the fridge overnight, then enjoy!
