Foodie Loves Fitness

Sharing my passion for living a healthy & happy life

Citrus Mint Cocktails {My Saturday Happy Hour}

If you’re living in a place where it’s cold and wintry, you may be dreaming of soaking up the warm sunshine lounging next to a pool, sipping on a refreshing fresh fruit cocktail…

citrus mint cocktail-1

And if you’re living somewhere where it’s currently warm, a citrus cocktail probably still sounds delicious… because well, who doesn’t love a fun fruity drink?

Okay, don’t answer that. There just may be a few people in the world who aren’t citrus nor cocktail fans. While I’m all for a good cocktail, I myself am not a huge citrus person when it comes to certain things. Offer me an orange muffin or any kind of lemon candy and I’m all, Ehhh I’ll pass.

But when it comes to using it in my kitchen creations, citrus can sometimes be my cup of tea. I often make a simple salad dressing with fresh lemon juice, and I love to throw oranges into my green juices.

orange picking

Speaking of oranges, the orange tree in my front yard has been out of control, producing a ton of fruit. It seems to be pretty popular in my neighborhood, as people sometimes ring my doorbell and ask if they can buy some of my oranges (Side note: No, I don’t charge people to pick oranges!). One time I even caught a boy quite literally hanging in my tree as I pulled into my driveway.

My next door neighbors picked some fruit from the tree a few weeks ago, but there were still a ton of oranges hanging out ready to be eaten, so my hubby and I picked a big bag of oranges last week. I was thinking, What should I make with all of this fruit? and my question was answered a few days later when our friends Tiffany and Jeff gave my hubby the biggest lemon I’ve ever seen in my entire life from their backyard tree.

lemons copy

What a monster this lemon is, right?! Tiffany said that when they moved into their house and saw the fruit tree blooming, they thought they were grapefruits because of their large size.

With my bag of oranges and outrageously big lemon, I decided that a fresh cocktail recipe was in order. Last Saturday I had nothing on my agenda in the afternoon, so I thought it’d be the perfect time to put on my mixologist hat and come up with an afternoon alcoholic beverage concoction.

orange peeling

Putting orange peels in the juicer is a no-no, so you have to peel them before juicing. I won’t lie, it does take a bit of effort to peel all of the oranges, but the citrus juice is just so fresh and good. To make it easier on your hands, you can slice the peels off instead of doing so with your nails.

citrus cocktail-3

I’ll complain for a moment and note that I suffered a minor injury during the creation of this cocktail. I was muddling the lemon and mint, and some lemon juice shot fiercely straight into my eye. It stung like hell, and somehow resulted in a sore bump right underneath my eye. Not cool giant lemon, not cool! The things I do for a good cocktail….

fresh mint

Any who, this refreshing, minty cocktail is kind of a cross between a screwdriver and a mojito. If you aren’t an alcohol fan, you can leave out the vodka and keep it virgin. Either way, it’s a Vitamin C-rich drink that’s reminiscent of a lazy day lounging by the pool.

citrus cocktail-2

Citrus Mint Cocktails

Foodie Loves Fitness
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 5 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Servings 6 drinks

Ingredients
  

  • 8 medium oranges makes around 4 1/2 cups of juice
  • 1 1/2 medium lemons
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
  • 4 cups water
  • 9 oz vodka 6 standard shot's worth
  • 1/2 cup sugar

Instructions
 

  • In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add in the sugar, and stir often until it dissolves. Remove from heat, and allow the sugar water to cool.
  • Meanwhile, peel the oranges with either bare hands or by slicing the skins off. Halve each orange.
  • Juice the oranges.
  • Peel 1 of the lemons. Cut it in half and run it through the juicer.
  • Place the citrus juice in a medium pitcher.
  • Quarter the remaining 1/2 lemon. Place in a cocktail mixing glass. Add in the mint leaves. Muddle the lemon and mint until the lemon is mostly juiced. Remove the lemon rinds, and pour the lemon juice/mint mixture into the pitcher.
  • Add the vodka and sugar water to the pitcher, and stir well to combine.
  • Serve the citrus cocktails chilled over the rocks.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

I enjoyed a few of these cocktails along with some healthy nachos, then proceeded to have a perfectly lazy Saturday evening.

I still have some oranges left, so I think that I’ll be juicing some so that my hubby has freshly squeezed OJ in the mornings during the week, and will be bringing the rest to my neighbors. I like to share the citrus love!

Tell me, what was the last fresh fruit drink/cocktail/smoothie that you had? Have you ever seen a monster sized lemon? 

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Comments

  1. Anna says

    This sounds pretty delicious! I’m a big citrus fan, especially when it comes to cocktails. I’m not a huge vodka fan however, but I wonder if this would be good with some bourbon (not as summery as vodka, but could work!). I could totally see myself lounging by the pool with this, right now. As I wrote that last sentence, I heard wind howling outside, so looks like I’ll have to wait a little while! 🙂

    Reply

  3. Lauren @ ihadabiglunch says

    How wonderful! I love mimosas and this just seems like a cool, refreshing spin on it. That lemon is insane! I always love seeing the differences between homegrown produce and the ones we pick up in the store. It’s crazy!

    Reply

    • foodielovesfitness says

      Oh I’d love it if you were my neighbor… we’d probably be delivering each other treats every other day! 😉
      And I’m STILL working on finishing the lemon! I have about a 1/4 of it left.

      Reply

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