festive – CLARE HOPKINS

Despite being an alcoholic drink, mulled wine touts a couple of fantastic health benefits, which can be boosted if you make a couple of clever substitutions.

It’s important to note that mulled wine is never going to be as ‘clean’ as kale or broccoli, but don’t discount the powerful properties this delicious Christmas drink has.

Citrus Fruits: Citrus fruits are a powerful source of vitamin C, which is an immunity booster. Don’t waste the orange in this recipe – make sure to enjoy it after you’ve taken the rind!

The Wine: Red wine itself has several health benefits, and is recommended to be consumed to reduce ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol levels and provide antioxidants to the body.

Nutmeg: Nutmeg improves the cardiovascular system, which boosts heart function.

Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a wonderful anti-inflammatory spice, and it has also been shown to reduce sugar cravings.

You will need:

1 bottle of red table wine
2 cups of water
1/4 cup raisins
5 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 grated nutmeg
Rind of 1 orange
1 chunk of ginger

Method:

Bring water, raisins, cloves, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, orange rind and ginger to the boil in a saucepan. Then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the red wine and simmer for another 10 minutes. Strain the mulled wine and serve immediately. I like to put little orange peel curls or cinnamon sticks in each glass for decoration and extra flavour.

Merry Christmas Eve!

These are one of the easiest, tastiest and most MOREISH Christmas treats to make.

I love Christmas because its an excuse to incorporate ginger into nearly every dessert I have. Whilst gingerbread isn’t the healthiest way to incorporate ginger, it’s the time of year to indulge and enjoy things you might not usually have.

Having said that, ginger does have many wonderful benefits. As it is an anti-inflammatory it reduces cell damage and it also aids digestion by settling the stomach.

For my truffles, I used one packet of gingersnaps, half a tub of cream cheese (Sheese for dairy-free option), chocolate sprinkles, cinnamon, 1 tbsp icing sugar and cream (or coconut cream).

After blending the gingersnaps into a fine powder using my NutriBullet, I added a dollop of cream cheese and kneaded the mixture with my fingers to create a cookie dough texture.

Then, I used my hands to create 8 round little truffle balls and laid them out on a plate. Placing them in the fridge for 15 minutes, I waited for them to cool whilst whisking up a spoon of cream cheese, 3 tbsp cream and 1 tbsp icing sugar into an icing paste. After taking them out the fridge I spread the icing on top and garnished the truffles with the chocolate sprinkles and cinnamon.

This recipe is so easy to whip up quickly for friends and family. It has really thrown me into the Christmas spirit. If you are tracking macros – each serving has 190 calories, and 7.5g of sugar.

Merry Christmas!

Tag: festive

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Christmassy Gingerbread Truffles