Mulled Cranberry-Guava Toddies

If a cup of this doesn't warm you up on a cold night, nothing will. This version of the recipe serves four, but if you have lots of relatives coming for the holidays, double, triple, or even quadruple it!

In a saucepan, combine 3 cups cranberry juice cocktail, one tablespoon of thinly sliced, peeled ginger, 1/2 tsp. whole cloves, 4 (1/4-inch thick) slices of orange, and 3 ounces guava nectar (available with other juices in the grocery store. Try the one from Ceres: http://www.ceresjuices.com/). Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the ginger and cloves. I don't have a slotted spoon, so I found it was easier to strain the mixture through a sieve over a bowl.

Pour about 3/4 cups of toddy into each of 4 mugs, and stir two tablespoons dark rum (such as Myer's) into each. Float an orange slice on top for a pretty presentation. Each drink is 190 calories.

Hot toddies, as an interesting historical note, are thought to have originated in the 18th century as a way to make scotch more palatable to women - the original alcopop!

Cost:
cranberry juice $3.99
ginger $0.68
orange $1.05
guava nectar $3.49
dark rum $8.99