Blood Orange + Goji Berry Cocktail Makes a Healthier Happy Hour

With the holiday season soon upon us, this Blood Orange and Goji Berry Cocktail fits right in with just about any holiday party theme. Although I typically drink wine, a well-crafted cocktail always makes happy hour at any holiday party seem a little more special. If you are hosting for the season, taking a few extra minutes to make some signature holiday cocktails is a surprisingly easy, but often neglected, fun and festive touch.

But when making mixed drinks, I still keep clean eating in mind and follow these 4 simple rules:

1. No Added Sugar
2. No Dairy
3. No Fruit Juice, Not Even Cold-Pressed (If this one surprises you, be sure to read why the juice craze is not nearly as healthy as you may have been led to believe.) 
4. Added Antioxidants (Often this is in the form of a powdered “whole food” super fruit powder, such as the Navitas Naturals Goji Berry Powder I use in the Blood Orange and Goji Berry Cocktail recipe below. I also use spices such as turmeric, ground herbs such as thyme and even greens in my healthier cocktails.) 

The World’s First Sugar Free Gluten Free Vodka Line

Since I don’t like any added sugar in my cocktails or anything else, I have always steered clear of flavored vodka. None of the flavored vodka brands on the market will tell you how much sugar they contain and considering many taste very sweet I have always been highly suspicious of anything other than pure vodka.

However, I was recently introduced to Devotion brand of vodka. This is the world’s first sugar free, gluten free and certified non-GMO vodka line.

All Devotion vodka flavors are 80 proof. In comparison, most flavored vodkas are around 70 proof, which means they must certainly be diluted with added sugar. Devotion developed a process of eliminating sugars as a flavoring agent in their vodka by using and essence process that maintains the flavor of the fruit but eliminates the need for added sugar. One thing you’ll notice right away when comparing Devotion flavored vodka to other brands is that the taste is considerably more pure with no hint of syrupy after-kick.

Devotion vodka is made from 100% high grade certified non-GMO corn that is distilled six times and multi-filtered using de-ionized water. Although I am not a vodka connoisseur by any means, this brand really does have a pristine clarity and smoothness that I have not detected with other popular brands.

Devotion is now available nationwide (click HERE for store locations), but if you can’t get your hands on the Devotion Blood Orange flavored vodka then my suggestion is to just use another pure, unflavored vodka brand and forget about the blood orange flavor. You’ll still get plenty of flavor from the gogi berry powder used in the recipe. You’ll just have to rename your concoction Goji Berry Cocktail instead 😉

Antioxidant-Spiked Goji Berry Cocktail

Thanks to Navitas Naturals freeze-dried powdered Goji Berry Powder I can infuse my cocktail with antioxidants in an instant and also follow rule #4 above. Goji berries are an incredibly nutrient dense food and very rich in antioxidants vitamins A and C. The vibrant red berries are also a plentiful source of amino acids, antioxidants, and over 20 vitamins and minerals.

When I’m not making cocktails, I use the goji powder to mix in my morning oatmeal, add to smoothies, add to my water bottle (2 tablespoons of goji powder mixed with 8 ounces of water is a great way to stay hydrated during a workout), mixed into baked goods, etc. So don’t worry if you have leftovers!

Navitas Naturals Freeze Dried Goji Berry Powder can be purchased on Amazon.