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libations CAUSING A S TIR Authors Beth
Ritter Nydick (left)
and Tara Roscioli
encourage readers
to make cocktails
with herbs, spices,
fresh juices and
lower-calorie
liquors like the
tequila in the
gingery, lemony
Perfect Storm.
TALL AND
SLIM
Pineapple
Fizz, a
vodka
punch
with basil,
pineapple
and lime
juices, gets
its fizz from
seltzer.
As they explain in their introduction, “Our philosophy…was
to use four popular low-calorie
spirits that pair beautifully with”
freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices and purées, fresh herbs
and spices and “natural, gentle
sweeteners like honey and dates.”
Hangover helper? Well, yes.
While advocating moderation
in the consumption of alcohol,
the authors point a finger at the
artificial flavors and colorings often found in cocktails and commercial mixes.
“The chemicals and additives
found in your average cocktail,”
says Roscioli, who lives in Maplewood, “are what cause the
intense headaches, bloat and
A TOAST TO A HEALTHIER TIPPLE
In their new book, Clean Cocktails, holistic health coaches Beth Ritter Nydick and
Tara Roscioli propose a potent mixology minus artificial ingredients. By Tara Nurin
people have become highly
conscious, indeed conscientious, about what they eat. From
restaurants to supermarkets, labels like organic and all-natural
are everywhere. The same goes
for the ingredients in what we
drink, with one glaring exception—cocktails.
With their new book, Clean
Cocktails: Righteous Recipes for the
Modern Mixologist, licensed holistic
health coaches Beth Ritter Nydick
and Tara Roscioli aim to remedy
that. In chapters organized by
flavor profiles such as “Sweet
and Fruity,” “Tart and Spicy” and
“Fresh and Green,” they preach a
gospel that is new only in its application to mixed drinks.
overall inflamation otherwise
known as ‘the morning after.’”
For those who abstain, the
authors include a chapter of
refreshing mocktail recipes and
another on fruit, herb and spiced
syrups, all sweetened with dates,
honey, maple syrup or coconut
sugar instead of refined sugar.
“We didn’t want to put up un-
necessary barriers,” says Nydick,
who lives in Livingston, “so we
didn’t get caught up in things like
only recommending raw honey
or only organic this or that.”
At first glance, the recipes,
Roscioli says, “might look elabo-
rate, but almost every ingredient
is something you can go to your
town grocery store and get.”
The authors, both moms,
came to their present careers by
what you might call the hard way.
In her former life as a TV producer, Nydick says she hauled
herself through 18-hour days
with Diet Coke and corn muffins. When Fox News cancelled
The Rob Nelson Show, which she
was producing, in 2001, she decided to “reevaluate my life and
get back on track.” She began
schooling herself on health and
nutrition. When her son was
born the next year, she made
his baby food from vegetables
she grew herself.
Roscioli tells a similar tale. An
attorney, she confesses in the
Continued on page 94
