YumSugar

Holiday Healthy Punch: Mulled Wine

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:30:54 -0800

I hosted a jack-o'-lantern carving party at my house this weekend and needed to come up with a nice cocktail for my guests. During the holiday season I love warm and spicy drinks like eggnog and hot buttered rum but they're filled with tons of sugar or fat. A nice alternative is making a big batch of mulled wine. It's served warm and uses all the spices associated with the holidays, but has zero fat and contains the heart healthy benefits of red wine. It's a great cocktail for parties because it's really easy to make ahead of time.

Keep coming back to Fit throughout the holiday season because we'll be giving you all sorts of healthy recipes to enjoy this year.

To check out the recipe, read more.

Mulled Wine
original recipe

To make this recipe you will need an empty tea satchel for the spices. As an alternative, whole spices can be substituted for the ground spices. If using whole spices, tie them together in a cheesecloth or use a stainless steel tea infuser.

Ingredients

1.5 liter bottle of dry red wine
Zest from 1 lemon
Zest from 1 orange
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon cloves
1/2 tablespoon ginger
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg
Honey, agave nectar, or apple juice to taste
Orange slices or cinnamon sticks for garnish

Directions

Pour wine into large saucepan and cook over low heat.
Add lemon and orange zest to the wine.
Place the spices into an empty tea satchel. Put the satchel into the saucepan and brew the mixture for 30 minutes.
Add sweetener of your choice to taste.
Pour the wine through a strainer and serve in heatproof glasses. Garnish each glass with a sliced orange or cinnamon stick.

Serves 10-12.

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Please share your trimmed down, revamped, and low cal recipes in the Healthy Recipe group. I am always looking for new eats to try.

Would You Rather Drink Mulled Wine or Spiked Cider?

partysugar — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 01:30:05 -0700

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Can You Match The Wine to Its Region of Origin?

partysugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 01:03:31 -0800

Today is National Mulled Wine Day. I find this weird because March is finally here and Spring is in the air. I'm not really a huge fan of mulled wine - even at Christmastime when it's especially popular - but it did get me thinking about wine in general. There are many different kinds of wine: where are they from exactly? I'll list a grape varietal and you tell me which region of the world claims that grape. Ready, set, go!

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CasaSugar's Flaming Tongs of Fire Punch

YumSugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:00:00 -0800

Every year CasaSugar and her sweetie throw a big, holiday party called a Feuerzangenbowle. The place is well decorated with homemade-snowflake chandeliers, but the highlight of the party is the actual Feuerzangenbowle - German for "tongs of fire punch" - which contains fruity and mulled wine and a flaming rum. A sugar cone is soaked in rum and placed above the punch. It is then lit and the flaming sugar drips into the holiday wine. It's definitely a festive and unique way to ring in the holidays!

This photo was taken before the cone was lit, but if you'd like to see photos of it aflame, as well as get the recipe and techniques on how to make the Tongs of Fire Punch at home, read more.

Recipe and story from our very own CasaSugar

On Saturday, my fiance and I hosted a Feuerzangenbowle holiday party. (It's pronounced, approximately, foy-etz-ong-ah-bowl-ah.) Feuerzangenbowle (German for "tongs of fire punch") is a traditional fruity and mulled wine finished with flaming rum. The Zuckerhut (sugar cone) is soaked in Barcardi 151, and then lit so that the flaming goodness drips into the heady and seasonal brew. The lighting of the punch serves as a particularly festive kickoff to a cozy little holiday gathering. During the party, four different Zuckerhuts were lit, and my fiance would chant a little incantation before each lighting (this actually is just lyrics to a Tool song he recites in German, but it sounds very old-worldly for those of us who don't speak German).

My fiance and I are foodies, and he is an amazing cook. He went all out for the party-on Friday night he was up until 3 a.m. grilling eggplant, peppers, portabella mushroom, and squash. He also made three pounds of gravlax, which is raw salmon that's cured in salt, brown sugar, and spices over many days. He also made an amazing pumpkin dip. We bought a bunch of cheeses, cold cuts, and German appetizers from the local European deli The Junket, and bought stinky goat cheeses and delicious breads from The Cheese Board. We also served Egyptian dukkah spices with olive oil and bread, quince paste with Manchego, and ridiculous Christmas cookies from Neldham's, Oakland's Scandinavian bakery. One friend brought homemade Pfeffernusse cookies, other friends brought cakes, savory dips, and more delicious offerings.

And I was so busy socializing I forgot to eat!

We put out a lot of holiday decorations, many of which I made, and I'll post about these on Casa, and moved around the furniture to allow for the numerous guests who filtered through the house (and the multiple children who were found under tables, on tables, or behind tables depending on the time of the night).

All in all, it was a fun party, and I was happy to have some Sugar friends show up and enjoy the festivities! I definitely recommend the "Christmas in a cup" punch.

For the recipe for the punch, just .

Ingredients:
Bowle/Punch
3 bottles of red wine (2-3 liters total)
2 cinnamon sticks
cardamom
allspice
1-2 oranges
1-2 lemons
5 cloves

Zuckerhut
A German Zuckerhut (sugar cone)

Zuckerhut/Sugar Cone
1 German sugar cone/loaf*
1 bottle of rum

Directions:
1. In a large pot or kettle filled with red wine, add cinnamon sticks, cardamom, and allspice. Cut up the oranges and lemons (optional: make peel spirals), crush fruit to release the juice, and add to the punch along with the cloves. Warm to a steaming mixture. Do not boil!
2. Place a German sugar cone (Zuckerhut, sugar loaf)* on a metal rack/screen or clamped in metal tongs above the warm punch. (Substitute sugar cubes if you can't get a Zuckerhut.) Slowly pour high-proof rum over the Zuckerhut or sugar cubes and let soak for a minute. Carefully light the Zuckerhut or sugar cubes and let the flaming sugar carmelize and drip into the punch mix. Add rum as needed to keep the flame going until the Zuckerhut process is done. Serve the punch hot in mugs or hot-tea glasses. (Note: Traditionally, Feuerzangenbowle was prepared with the Zuckerhut sitting on crossed swords atop the pot.)

*ZUCKERHUT: A German sugar cone or sugar loaf (lit. "sugar hat") is made of compressed Raffinade (refined sugar) in a cone shape. A German description of Raffinade: "Ein Zucker von höchster Reinheit und bester Qualität. Die Raffinade wird aus sehr reinen Zuckerlösungen gewonnen und entspricht hohen Ansprüchen." (A sugar of highest purity and best quality. Raffinade is made from very pure sugar solutions and meets high standards.) If you can't get the real thing, substitute sugar cubes in the recipe above.

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DIY: Advent Calendars

CasaSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:40 -0800

The anticipation of Christmas facilitated by my mother's advent calendar was always my favorite part of the holiday season growing up. (These days, it's mulled wine.) But I've never been a fan of those store-bought advent calendars where you opened a little paper door each day. They're cute, but certainly not as fun as a calendar filled with treats or activities. The possibilities for making your own advent calendar are endless, but I thought I'd round up a few DIY projects to inspire you (and woo you away from the drugstore variety).

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How to Work Off Thanksgiving Calories

FitSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:08 -0800

If you're worried about devouring a huge Thanksgiving meal and what that will mean to your waistline, have no fear. You can have your cake - I mean pie - and eat it too, you just have to get moving afterward. After the break, check out the calorie amounts for your favorite Thanksgiving foods and find out some ways you can work off those tasty calories.

To see the chart, read more.

Food	Amount of calories	Activity
6 oz. mulled wine	156	Swimming laps moderately for 20 minutes will burn 158 calories.
3.5 oz. white turkey meat	156	20 minutes of football burns 158 calories.
3.5 oz. dark turkey meat	186	Sneak away for a 20-minute jog and burn 197 calories.
1/2 cup mashed potatoes	150	Burn 158 calories by walking briskly for 40 minutes.
1/2 cup gravy	150	44 minutes of cleaning burns 152 calories.
1 small baked sweet potato	54	Stretching for 15 minutes burns 59 calories.
1/2 cup stuffing	180	A 23-minute bike ride at a moderate pace will burn 181 calories.
1 slice apple pie with 1/2 cup ice cream	555	Hiking for an hour and 35 minutes will burn off 561 dessert calories.
1 slice pumpkin pie	180	Take the family bowling for an hour and burn 180 calories.

Autumn-Inspired Foods: More or Less Than 200 Calories?

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:00:20 -0800

There are so many tasty treats to enjoy this time of year, from apple cider donuts to mulled wine. You don't want to go overboard with the calories though, because you'll end up gaining holiday weight even before Thanksgiving arrives. Take this quiz to see if you know which autumnal drinks and foods are more or less than 200 cals.

Source: Flickr User megan.chromik

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Ring in the New Year With These Low-Cal Drinks

FitSugar — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:00:00 -0800

We're all looking forward to de-stressing from the holidays by kicking back with some friends this New Year's Eve. For many, that also means wining and dining. Those liquid calories from specialty drinks such as chocolate martinis and fruity cocktails can do some serious damage to all the hard work you've been doing to eat right and exercise, so here's a list of low-calorie beverages to choose.

Drink	Calories
Dry Champagne (4.1 oz.)	65
Champagne (4.1 oz.)	91
Gin and Tonic (5 oz.)	121
Vodka Tonic (5 oz.)	101
White wine (such as Reisling or Chardonnay (5 oz.) )	120
Red wine (such as Merlot) (5 oz.)	119
Red wine spritzer (5 oz.)	100
Mimosa (4 oz.)	100
Beck's Premier Light beer (12 oz.)	64
Mike's Hard Lemonade (11 oz.)	98

For a list of high-calorie drinks you want to avoid, read more.

Drink	Calories
Chocolate martini (4 oz.)	438
Pina Colada (6 oz.)	378
Hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps (8 oz.)	380
Hot Buttered Rum (8 oz.)	292
Long Island Iced Tea (8 oz.)	780
White Russian (made with cream) (4 oz.)	425
Godiva Chocolate Liqueur (3 oz.)	310
Mulled wine (5 oz.)	200
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot beer (12 oz.)	295

Enjoy that last night of 2008, but please drink responsibly. If you drink, don't drive.

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Taste Test: Starbucks Tazo Tea Infusions

YumSugar — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:00:01 -0800

Despite hard times, coffee chain Starbucks continues to try new tactics. Two weeks ago, I introduced you to the company's tea lattes, its latest beverage to hit counters nationwide. But if lattes aren't your thing, Starbucks is hoping you'll reach for its new Tea Infusions instead, which are available in two flavors: Tazo Berry Chai and Tazo Apple Chai. I had a chance to give these drinks - a nondairy blend of Tazo black chai tea and fruit juice - a try. To find out how they fared, read more.

Tazo Berry Chai: Described as "a blend of aronia berry and blackcurrant juices steamed with black tea and exotic spices," I could taste the cloves and cassis sticks in the chai blended into this beverage. Although the drink had a mellow blackberry taste, each sip had a spicy, peppery ending. It did strike me as very sweet, and I wondered how much sweeter it would taste once lukewarm.

Tazo Apple Chai: Although there were supposedly "sweet spices" steamed into this beverage, PartySugar and I thought it was a dead ringer for spiced apple cider. It was also heavy on the sugar.

If you're in search of a spiced cider with a caffeine kick, or want to enjoy a drink akin to mulled wine without the alcohol, these drinks would be for you. It's hard for me to rationalize forgoing the taste of classic chai tea in exchange for one of these infusions. I found them both to be too sweet. While Starbucks maintains that they can also be served on ice, I wonder whether they would taste even more cloying when enjoyed cold.

Have you tried either of these drinks? What did you think of them?

Another Reason to Stop After One Glass: Increased Stroke Risk

FitSugar — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0800

'Tis the season for drinking. You're bound to enjoy champagne toasts with family, wining and dining with friends, and sipping back an eggnog at your office holiday party. One drink is fine, but a recent study shows that for women, consuming more than two alcoholic drinks a day can lead to heart problems. The condition is known as atrial fibrillation, and it's a type of rhythm disorder that causes a rapid heart rate. This can lead to difficulty breathing, fainting, fatigue, dizziness, and could even lead to a deadly stroke. Drinking more than two drinks a day increases a woman's risk for atrial fibrillation by 60 percent.

So enjoy the holidays with a mulled wine or hot toddy, but don't go overboard, for your heart's sake. And if that is not reason enough to stop after one glass, check out these five reasons to drink in serious moderation.

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