Fit Fare

For roughly seven years, we lived in the mountains of Lake Tahoe. It was around year six that the novelty of shoveling piles of snow began to wear off. Nonetheless, I do often miss those relaxing days by the fire, nestled in a soft blanket with a hot beverage in hand, just watching that snow fall (trying not to picture myself outside shoveling it the next day). More often than not my mug was filled with hot tea, but on occasion I would venture away from the usual for a little excitement.

The following mugs of indulgence include a few of my favorite cold weather beverages (all dairy-free, of course) that won’t tip the holiday scales, but are perfect for warming from the inside out. Plus, each contains a little dose of antioxidants (didn’t you hear? Chocolate is a new superfood!) to battle that winter chill …

Hot Chocolaty Cocoa
(Recipe from Enjoy Life Foods)
Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free

1/4 cup Enjoy Life® semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp sugar
1-1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/8 tsp vanilla
12 oz rice milk

Microwave: Mix all ingredients. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds, stir. Continue heating and stirring until boiling. Let cool to your desired temperature and enjoy.

Stovetop: Mix all ingredients. Stir constantly, heat over medium/low heat until boiling. Let cool to your desired temperature and enjoy.

Option: Stir with a candy cane to add a dose of festive peppermint flavor.

Glühwein - non-alcoholic
(posted by Jackie of The Vegan Diet)
Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free

4 cups apple juice
2 cups strong black tea
2 tbsp raw sugar
1 orange juiced
1 lemon juiced
zest from lemon and orange
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves

In a saucepan heat but do not boil the apple juice and tea. Add sugar, cinnamon, cloves,lemon and orange zest and juice. Stir until sugar dissolved. Heat but do not boil. Strain into mugs and serve.

Mulled Cranberry Cider
(recipe from Ivy Kirchberg on allrecipes.com)
Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free

2 quarts cranberry juice
2 oranges, zested
14 whole cloves
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups honey
2 cinnamon sticks

Pour cranberry juice into a slow cooker; set on high. To the juice add the zest from the oranges, cloves, cranberries, vanilla extract, honey and cinnamon sticks. Heat, stirring occasionally, until hot and steamy, about 20 minutes.

Photo credit: Enjoy Life Foods
Article copyright: Go Dairy Free