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A Great Low Calorie Holiday Punch

            We all enjoy good food and drink during the holidays.  However, after the parties and the gatherings are over we don’t enjoy the extra weight that always accompanies the feasting.  Here is a great idea for a holiday punch that tastes rich and full, but has less calories and carbohydrates than the usual.

What You Need

            This punch is made in a blender.  Most of us have one around the kitchen.  My blender will hold about five cups so this recipe will be for that amount.  Don’t worry if your blender is slightly larger or smaller.  The recipe is not written in stone so a little more or less of this or that won’t make much difference.  If you are having a large gathering, get out a nice punch bowl.  Even though you will only be making about five cups at a time, you can make the batches so quickly that you will fill your bowl in no time.

The Ingredients

            I recommend using a clear, carbonated diet soft drink.  We all know what they are without mentioning the brand names.  You will also be using a frozen non-dairy whipped topping.  Again, choose your own brand.  We are using the non-dairy topping because it contains much less carbohydrates and calories than ice cream.  The drink is completed with your favorite fruit.  You can use strawberries, cherries, blueberries or whatever suites your taste buds.  For the sake of this recipe, I will be using strawberries.  Fruit can be a bit more scarce and expensive in the winter so I recommend using the frozen kind.  It’s cheaper and the cold fruit brings your mixture to a nice chilled temperature.

The Recipe

Add to your blender:

            1 or 2 cups of frozen fruit (your choice depending on how thick you want it)

            3 heaping table spoons of non-dairy frozen whipped topping (still frozen)

            Fill the rest of the blender with the clear, carbonated soft drink

            Note: Don’t go higher than ¾ high in your blender.  You don’t want it to

                      overflow.

            Then blend the mixture.  My blender has a smoothie setting, but if yours does

            not just use medium.  It only takes about 10 to 15 seconds of blending.

            Your mixture is now ready to drink, or poor it into your punch bowl and repeat

            the process until your bowl is full. 

For Christmas

            If your punch is for a Christmas gathering, add a few drops of green food coloring.  You will get a pretty, light green drink with a little red from the strawberries mixed in.  The red and green colors are very festive at Christmas.

The Result

            Now you have a wonderful holiday punch that is full and rich and frothy, but contains less of the extra calories and carbohydrates that few of us really need.  Your guests will never know that it’s diet punch unless you tell them.  Enjoy the party.