This is my lovely, cooling, and actually good-for-you version of sugar-laden “cranberry juice drinks”.  Its great value as a little of the 100% pure juice goes a long way.  It’s a great deckchair drink in this glorious heat and adults seem to like it at summer parties. Don’t try to drink this without the stevia sweetening – it’s too bitter even for me!   I’ve used the 100% safe, calorie-free sweetener called Sweet drops of Stevia available in good health shops.   A 50ml bottle lasts for ages.  Beware of so-called stevia products that actually mostly contain sucralose, aspartame, fructose, and other toxic sweeteners.   Sometimes, if I run out of stevia, I use xylitol or erythritol to sweeten instead.  Just heat xylitol with a bit of water until dissolved, leave to cool, and add to the juice.  NB Xylitol is NOT suitable for a ketogenic diet.

Makes 1 liter

100ml Biona Cranberry Pure Juice (from health shops)
35 drops stevia to sweeten (see above or “larder & shopping” for supplier)
1 liter chilled still or fizzy water
Sprigs of mint to decorate (optional)

Mix everything up, add more stevia if you need to, some ice, and a few sprigs of mint if you feel like it.

Why this is good for you:
This drink is suitable for a low GI diet.   It contains so little natural sugar (at .4g per 100ml) that it won’t upset your blood sugar levels or lead to dips in energy or mood.  Even if you are following a very low carbohydrate (ketogenic) diet you can drink up to 2 liters a day of this.  Cranberry juice naturally contains a substance called D-mannose, which can inhibit certain types of bladder infections by stopping bacteria from attaching to the bladder lining.   Click here to read more about D-mannose.