The Bachelor Guy » A Healthier Happy Hour

A Healthier Happy Hour

04/26/2007

Next weekend is Cinco De Mayo, and the refried beans, chili relle�os and margaritas will be flowing. Not exactly a healthy celebration, so pack a pocketful of antacids and drop a few strawberries in your margarita.

According to new research published in the Journal Of The Science Of Food And Agriculture (you should see the centerfold this month), the antioxidant capacity of strawberries can be significantly enhanced when they are combined with ethanol, the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits. Those antioxidants attack free-radicals that can cause cancer, arthritis and heart disease.

I'm usually not a big fan of a lot of fruit in my drinks, but I'm game if you can toast your way to better health. (As long as you don't count the damage to your liver.)

Here's a couple of simple strawberry-inclusive drink recipes from the California Strawberry Commission for a margarita and a mojito you can celebrate Mexican independence with next weekend. (Yes, I know the mojito is a Cuban drink, but go with it.)

Strawberry Margarita
• 4 oz frozen sliced California strawberries in syrup, partially thawed
• 1 1/2 oz tequila
• 1 oz lime juice or sweet and sour mix
• 1/2 oz triple sec
• 1 scoop ice

In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend smooth. Pour into stemmed glass rimmed with salt and sugar. Garnish with a whole strawberry and a lime slice.

The Red Mojito
• 1 oz fresh lime juice (about 1 lime per 1 oz)
• 5-6 fresh mint leaves
• 1 3/4 oz white rum
• 2 oz strawberry juice (see recipe below)
• Ice cubes
• 3 ounces club soda (or to taste)

Combine lime juice and mint leaves in the bottom of a highball glass; use a wooden spoon to muddle mint. Stir in rum and strawberry juice. Fill glass with ice cubes and top with club soda. Stir. Garnish glass with a lime slice and a whole strawberry.

Strawberry Juice:
• 1 (16 oz) package frozen California strawberries with sugar, thawed
• 2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice

This recipe may be made up to 1 hour in advance. Place thawed berries, including juice in a very fine-mesh strainer or chinois. Push through as much juice as possible. Discard berries. Add lemon or lime juice to strawberry juice. Makes about 1 cup.

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Comments

Mariospeedwagon wrote:

Seriously? Strawberry Margarita, the Red Mojito???

Yeah, right. Maybe for my sister or girlfriend. What's the point of drinking and getting drunk if you have to order fu-fu drinks?

Not everything can be healthy. Maybe try a Vodka martini - or vodka tonic... then your addition of "fruit" will be justified

04/26/2007 05:24 PM

john q. homosexual wrote:

you my friend are a homophobe

04/27/2007 09:25 AM

HowSad wrote:

Not everyone drinks to get completely wasted like you or the next college student.

When you get older you realize getting completely wasted loses its fun factor. Same with binge drinking.

Sometimes people just like to have a drink with dinner, or a small drink with friends. This is a good way to do it and have it be healthy to boot. So there is no reason to bash the author.

04/27/2007 09:38 AM

Mariospeedwagonisgay wrote:

Your a homo.

04/27/2007 09:38 AM

science wrote:

Uh, ethanol is present in all alcoholic beverages, from beer to pure grain alcohol. I certainly hope that you're not drinking other kinds of alcohols, because you'll go blind or die.

"Alcohol" is pretty much any organic compound with an OH group on it. (A single OH, I believe).

04/27/2007 09:49 AM

congenital girth defect wrote:

ya know, you could always have a beer or a non fruity drink and pop a few strawberries instead of snacking on something else... that way you don't have to go out to your favorite "beer bar" and order girly red mojitos...

04/27/2007 09:55 AM

Loverboy wrote:

Hey Mario, I find that it works better when my GIRLS do the drinking and I just scoop them up and take them home. wink wink

04/27/2007 10:17 AM

jago wrote:

5 de mayo is not the date of mexico independence... its on 16 september.

and 5 de mayo celebrates when the mexican army stopped the french army ,that was going forward US after mexico.

04/27/2007 10:32 AM

Gay Guy wrote:

You guys are gay for even reading this.

04/27/2007 10:38 AM

Robert wrote:

Good writeup. I personally would like to try the red mojito but isn't one of the main ingredients to a mojito the sugar (or sugar cane)?

04/27/2007 10:59 AM

Adam wrote:

That mojito would probably taste terrible.

You need to add an ounce of simple syrup (2 parts sugar, one part water, heated until it's a syrup, then cooled) for it to taste sweet enough. Also, you'll probably want to make it with muddled fresh limes and strawberries, instead of just the juice... and probably more mint too. The mint is what gives it the mojito taste, and you'll need to add at least twice as many, and muddle them well too, or it's pointless to just throw them in. A mojito takes a while to make correctly, because there is so much slicing/muddling involved.

PS-They are only girly drinks if you're a huge homophobe. "Oh no, his drink tastes better, and has a higher alcohol content than mine! FAG!" Seriously... get a life.

04/27/2007 11:30 AM

Hot Asian Chick wrote:

check it out Robert, the strawberry juice acts as the simple syrup used in mojitos. take it from a bartender...

04/27/2007 11:34 AM

John Q Homo Sex wrote:

It's FRU-FRU homophobe, you should know.

04/27/2007 12:31 PM

James wrote:

"ethanol, the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits"

As was astutely noted above, anything that you is sold at a bar contains strictly ethanol.

Bootleg alcohols have been known to contain methanol if they are not processed properly (specifically, if all wood is not removed before fermentation). However, in daily parlance it's OK to say "alcohol".

04/27/2007 01:37 PM

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