Nydick Beth Ritter - Clean cocktails: righteous recipes for the modern mixologist

When I became pregnant later that year, I soaked up any information I could find on what to eat to prevent my son from developing food allergies. I made my own baby food from fresh vegetables I grew myself. The women in my mommy group thought I was bonkers until they started asking for my help. They peppered me with questions like Beth, what do I do if my kids wont eat this? and How do I make my own baby food? I was eager to answer them. I offered loads of sound advice, but I still craved more information. This pursuit of all things healthy led to my enrollment in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and my transformation into a certified holistic health coach.

Since graduating from the program, Ive helped hundreds of clients improve their health by changing the way they eat. Food truly is the medicine! And Im Tara, a former attorney with a predisposition for cigarettes and Swedish fish. Years of living on nicotine and candy took its toll on me both physically and emotionally. Id start each day with my Marlboro Lights and a Dunkin Donuts coffee loaded with skim milk and artificial sweeteners. At lunch, Id eat like a bird, snacking on fat-free cheese slices and diet bread. For dinner, Id have a few glasses of wine and iceberg lettuce.

But behind the scenes, I secretly ate bags and bags of candy. In one desperate moment, I even found myself eating jelly beans out of my office wastebasket (P.S.it was otherwise empty!). There was also the time my 4-year-old son caught me eating candy corn in the dark and asked what I was eating; I lied and told him they were almonds because I didnt want to share. On the outside, I looked like a relatively thin and fit individual, but on the inside, I was sickly and inflamed. My skin was gray and prone to breakouts. I had dark circles under my eyes, and I barely had the energy to do the things I used to love.

I knew I had to make a change, so I decided to leave the law and pursue a more forgiving lifestyle. Like Beth, I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and became a certified holistic health coach. Now, I help other professionals find ways to incorporate healthy eating and exercise into their hectic lives. Now lets talk about how the two of us met. Flash back a year or so: Were both at a networking event for health coaches at a restaurant that no longer exists. Finding ourselves surrounded by colleagues drinking San Pellegrino and discussing colonics, both of us fled to the bardesperately in need of a drink.

We introduced ourselves and bonded over our drink orders. Gin Mojito, no sugar, please, asked Beth. Patron Silver over ice with freshly squeezed lime juice, please! ordered Tara. No Roses lime juice. We clinked glasses and shrugged off the looks the other health coaches shot us. Then we chatted with the bartender, who thought wed conspired to make his afternoon difficult by ordering off-menu drinks.

After some conversation about the need for cleaner cocktail menus, we had him convinced we were on to something. At that moment, at that bar, and over those clean drinks, our idea for Clean Cocktails: Righteous Recipes for the Modern Mixologist was born. Now you may be surprised that two certified holistic health coaches (not to mention suburban moms) would drink alcohol beyond the occasional glass of wine with dinner. Frankly, we often feel the bitter sting of judgment from our peers in the wellness industry when they hear about our girls nights out. While our boozy ways may seem like a contradiction to clean living, drinking doesnt have to be dirtyat least not when the cocktails are made with the freshest fruits, herbs, spices, and gentle sweeteners. So why should you care about any of this? Well, think about itgluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free foods are all the rage these days, and most restaurants have menus that accommodate those dietary restrictions.

Yet any time we order a cocktail without sugar, bartenders question their hearing and our sanity. So in a world where seemingly everyone is clean-eating conscious, why are they drinking dirty cocktails loaded with refined sugar, artificial flavors, and dyes? The artificial mixers and additives found in the average cocktail, which we consider a chemical shitstorm, are what are causing your headaches, bloat, and overall inflammationyou know, the typical hangover! So is all that enough reason for you to ditch crazy-colored drinks that are loaded with sugar? How about thisaccording to the Center for Drug Design at the University of Minnesota, artificial food colors and flavoring have been linked to mood swings, sleep disturbances, asthma, and diabetes, and they may play a role in the development of Alzheimers or Parkinsons disease. Now are you convinced? Well, after years of playing in our home bars, were happy to teach the Id-rather-do-it-myself generation how to booze it up the healthy way. Crafted for the millions who invest in their health and wellness, Clean Cocktails: Righteous Recipes for the Modern Mixologist is the resource guide on all-things-cocktail for those who still want to enjoy a drink without undoing all their hard work at the gym or dinner table. Our philosophy in creating this guide was to use four popular low-calorie spirits that pair beautifully with a wide array of flavor palates to build exceptional cocktails made with freshly expressed or freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices and purees packed with vitamins; fresh herbs containing loads of nutrients; and spices known to reduce inflammation, such as cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and ginger. Unlike traditional recipes, which are full of refined sugars, our clean recipes use natural, gentle sweeteners like honey and dates (and many others), as they create less of a spike in blood-sugar levels and cause fewer headaches the morning after.

These whole-fruit and whole-vegetable juices and purees, fresh herbs, and spices, along with our own collections of customized bitters and clean and natural syrups, are the very essence of