Orange Spritzer ~ a healthy low calorie non-alcoholic drink

Spritzer (Spritzen) is a German word that means a spray or a splash. The word is better know as a reference to a drink, usually consisting of wine and carbonated (sparkling) water. The carbonated water is mixed with the wine to make a light, fizzy and refreshing drink that is very popular on hot summer days. I have heard of and have seen people mixing cola with their red wines. There are also other non-alcoholic versions, usually consisting of fruit and or vegetable juices.

I love wine, specially red wine, but I just can't bring myself to "ruin" a good wine by adding carbonated water. (I think my years in France have a lot to do with this feeling.) I don't drink soda because it's way to sugary and caloric for my taste. Instead I prefer to drink water,tea, and 100% fruit juices. But being that I'm not a fan of sugary drinks, I always mix my juices with sparkling water. The recipe I'm sharing with you today is for my favorite way of drinking orange juice, an orange spritzer!

Your Ingredients:
100 % Orange juice
sparkling(carbonated)water
1 orange , for decoration -optional
ice cubes , optional

1. Take the orange and either slice it thinly or cut it into wedges. In a water pitcher mix equal parts orange juice and sparkling water, if you are using ice cubes you may want to add those first.
2. Serve with a slice or wedge of orange. Enjoy!


You want to serve this immediately, because the drink needs to be fizzy.This spritzer can be made with any of your favorite juice or combination of juices.

If you have kids this is a great drink to give them as an alternative to soda. They'll like the fizziness like a soda and it's sweet enough but not too sweet, mothers will love the fact that the drink is still very nutritious. Orange juice is very high in Vitamin C, which our bodies need to help heal wounds faster, for strong bones and teeth and to help fight off infections. Vitamin C is also great for our immune system, helping to make it strong. Cold and Flu season is here and we have all heard our Doctors and Mothers telling us to take our vitamin c for a cold. When you are selecting orange juice or any other juice it's very important to read the labels. You need to make sure that it's 100% orange juice without any added sugar. There are many juice brands out there that though say they are 100% juice, have a lot of sugar or fructose or sucrose added to them, avoid these.