Spritzers for Spring

Spring officially toasts the beginning of grilling and entertaining outside. These gatherings often serve sugary punches or alcoholic cocktails, but juice spritzers can be flavorful, refreshing and alcohol free with no added sugar. There's a huge number of varieties of mineral or sparkling water available in grocery stores, often even under a store's private label which is always a great way to save a few bucks. These waters should not be sweetened at all, even with fruit flavors like lime, orange and raspberry. The best juices to use for spritzers are unfiltered 100 percent juices or fresh squeezed juice from fresh produce. These juices are often a bit pricey compared to other juice blends, but when considering that cranberry juice cocktail, for instance, is only at most 20 percent cranberry juice, it is a great value. The other great feature of good quality 100 percent juices is that it only takes a splash or two of a juice to flavor one 10 to 12 ounce drink. 

Combining juices and sparkling waters can be as exciting as working with a full paint palette. Some great stepping stones are 100 percent cranberry juice and orange sparkling water or 100 percent cherry juice and lime sparkling water. Blueberry and lemon go well together, as well, and any sparkling lemon water with juice added tastes like sparkling berry lemonade. The best part of these drinks, as stated before, is that they contain only natural sugars. If extra sweetness is needed, agave nectar is a great choice because it will dissolve in cold beverages and has a low glycemic index. Glycemic index is a measurement of how quickly sugar enters the blood stream, and foods with low glycemic index contain energy that sticks with the body and doesn't cause high blood sugar spikes. 

Some fun ideas for garnishes are candied citrus peels, which are also great for adding to hot teas. Even peppermint leaves for freshness or thin chips of ginger for spiciness can be candied the same way. These add a touch of sweetness and a sense of fun. This is a great project to do on a day when you're going to be home most of the day. Start by taking the peel of limes, lemons, oranges, grapefruits or any other citrus fruit. If using ginger, peel and slice in as thin of slices as possible. In a saucepan combine 1 cup water and 1 cup granulated (preferably raw) sugar for every cup of either ginger or citrus peels. Heat on low or medium, making sure that the sugar does not boil. If the mixture gets too hot, turn it down. Soak the citrus in the simple syrup once the sugar has dissolved and keep in for several hours, cooking slowly until the syrup has absorbed into the fruit. Remove the peels and set on a cooling rack with a paper towel underneath. It is optional at this point to add more sugar to the outsides, but is by no means necessary. They can dry overnight and then be kept in a bag or airtight container.