Hey everybody,

I wanted to share a very healthy beverage recipe with you.  I drink a couple of glasses of this every day, usually with both lunch and dinner. It certainly is more enjoyable than just plain water and at the same time is providing quite a few health benefits as well.

To mix a half gallon that you can keep in the refrigerator you’ll need:

1. 1/2 quart of 100% pure cranberry juice, not from concentrate
2. 6-8 limes
3. Mio brand (or if you have a local supermarket brand) Strawberry Watermelon water flavoring

Put a generous amount of ice cubes into a half gallon beverage container.  Pour in the cranberry juice.  I’ve been using the Lakewood brand, but since we just got a Trader Joe’s here in San Antonio, I’ve switched over to their brand as it’s about half the price!  Pure cranberry juice can be expensive, but Trader Joe’s comes through for you if you have one close by.  Now pure cranberry juice is a little on the tart and bitter side, because it doesn’t have any added sugars but this is also what makes it so healthy.  Cranberry juice has a high mix of natural vitamins and minerals AND it’s also highly effective in the treatment of urinary tract, bladder and kidney infections.  It also has a healthy dose of dietary fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemical nutrients to help protect you against heart disease and cancer.

Since it’s high in vitamin C and other  components, it can help break down and prevent the formation of kidney stones. A lesser known fact is that it also contains components that help prevent the formation of oral bacteria that can lead to gum disease and plaque.

… OK, so next you’ll want to slice the limes in half and squeeze the lime juice into the container.  I use a lime press for this to make sure that I get as much of the juice out as possible.

Some of the benefit of lime juice is that it can aid in weight loss, it’s good for your skin, and it aids in digestion.  It’s famous as a cure for scurvy, the disease that’s caused by a deficiency of vitamin C and characterized by frequent infections, cracked lips and lip corners, ulcers on your tongue and mouth.  Due to a large amount of vitamin C and flavonoids, both of which are class-1 antioxidants, lime juice helps your skin and naturally helps depress body odor.

… Now you can add 6-8 squirts of the Mio Strawberry Watermelon water flavoring.  This stuff is pretty concentrated, so this is the amount that works for me.  You may need to adjust the amount to your preferences.  Now the Mio, or any other brand of drink flavoring has artificial sweeteners in them, so if you have a problem with that for any reason, feel free to sweeten with your preferred source.  I just happen to love the flavor so I use either the Mio, or my local HEB brand of the same flavor.

Once you have it all mixed up, put it in the refrigerator to chill.  Now you’ve got a healthy, tasty, go -to beverage that packs a pretty good amount of vitamins and minerals available to you rather than reaching for a diet soda or a beer.

If you try it, let me know how you like it and if you made any modifications.  Until then…

Stay Fit Forever!

Tony