A "healthy" cocktail...

Green and Red Cocktail

We've all heard of the health benefits of antioxidant rich green tea, the potential to burn fat, lower cholesterol, fight heart disease, and prevent diabetes.And red wine?  A growing body of scientific research that indicates red wine may offer significant antioxidant protection, having the potential to overcome free radicals that cause cellular damage, a root cause of of cancer and heart disease.  Just last week I read of new research  that has found that the natural chemicals found in green tea and red wine may disrupt a key step in the development ofAlzheimers.  Yet more good news for this wonder pair.

I love both tea and red wine, and I only half joked on Facebook that I was on a mission to make a "healthy" cocktail using the two.  And this weekend I did just that.  I used an Ocean Spray diet juice drink, and while that didn't add any additional antioxidant effects, despite being cranberry and pomegranate, it did add a small shot of vitamin C.  I found this lower alcohol cocktail to be very refreshing with the added tannins of the tea, and not overly sweet.  This will be perfect for summer, in  moderation, of course.

Green and Red Cocktail
8 servings

1 bottle of dry red wine
4 green tea bags
1 cup water
2 cups Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry Pomegranate Juice Drink
1 fat, juicy lime, cut into 8 wedges

Place the tea bags and water in a microwavable cup and microwave on high for 2 minutes and let steep for 5 minutes.  Remove the tea bags, squeezing lightly against a spoon to extract the liquid.  Mix the tea, juice drink, and wine in a pitcher and refrigerate until serving.  Serve over ice with a lime wedge.  Squeeze the wedge right into the glass and add the wedge to the glass for good measure.  Enjoy.

WW PointsPlus value: 3 points a serving, shaving one point from the value for one glass of wine.