Alcohol can make losing weight hard, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the festivities. Try this sparkling mocktail that contains 100% juice with seasonal spices.

Yield: 6 servings

Preparation time: 1 hour

Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 oz. cranberry juice
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 1 bottle (25 fl oz) sparkling apple cider, chilled

Directions

1. Pour the cranberry juice into a medium saucepan. Add the cinnamon sticks, anise, and cloves. Turn to medium-high heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit until cooled completely, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The longer it sits, the more the spices will flavor the juice. Strain through a mesh colander and discard the spices.
3. To serve, add 2 ounces of the mulled juice to a champagne flute. Top the juice with about 4 ounces of chilled sparkling cider.

Lori Rice, M.S., is a nutritional scientist and author with a passion for healthy cooking, exercise physiology, and food photography.