The most anticipated holiday month is finally here, bringing social gatherings with delicious treats and cocktails that are hard to resist. You deserve to relax and enjoy the company of your coworkers, friends, and family… just don’t forget to eat and drink in moderation!

The general recommendation from health authorities is to indulge in a maximum of 1 alcoholic beverage per day (women) and up to 2 alcoholic beverages for men. If you do choose to imbibe, why not skip the sugary, calorie-laden holiday drinks and celebrate your health with a festive fruit-laden red wine?

Red wine, a heart healthy food, is packed with heart-healthy antioxidants and has been proven to boost your “good” cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) and lower blood pressure–which will improve your cardiovascular health. Now that’s a holiday celebration!

Recipe

Holiday Sangria

Liven up your typical red table wine into Holiday Sangria with seasonal ingredients such as cranberries, pears, apples, oranges, and cinnamon sticks!

Yield: 8 servings (5 fl oz per serving) – not including the optional seltzer water—which adds 0 calories

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of red wine
• 1 cup of 100% orange juice
• 1 pear, chopped
• 1 apple, chopped
• 1 orange sliced
• 1 cup of fresh cranberries
• 2 cinnamon sticks

Optional: flavored seltzer water (cranberry, grapefruit, pear, etc.)

Directions:
In a pitcher, mix all the ingredients together (except the optional flavored seltzer water). Let sangria sit in the fridge at least 4 hours or overnight. The longer the mixture sits, the more the wine will absorb the flavors from the fruit! Pour sangria into glasses and top each glass with an optional ¼ cup of seltzer water.

Nutrition Per Serving:
Calories: 167 kcal,
Fat: 0 g,
Cholesterol: 0 mg,
Carbohydrate: 18 g,
Dietary Fiber: 2 g,
Protein: 1 g,
Sodium: 5 mg