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Ah the new year! Time to start those resolutions-here at Faster Kittykill, we want to make sure that we are sticking to our New Year's resolutions too. One of them is to add more veggies into our diet and of course I couldn't think of a better way than in a little cocktail. Now before you all roll your eyes and say, "Pam.....you are kind of missing the mark here."  I want you to give me a chance and prove that you can have a balanced diet with these great veggie cocktails.

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The first drink that comes to everyone's mind when you mix veggies and alcohol is of course the Bloody Mary, but let's put a little twist on it with this recipe.
The Bloody Maru
Ingredients:

2 oz. Sake
4 drops Worcestershire sauce
2 drops Tabasco sauce
dash of horseradish
dash of fresh lime juice
pinch of salt and pepper
tomato juice
Combine all ingredients except the tomato juice in an old-fashioned glass half-filled with ice cubes and stir well. Add tomato juice to taste. Stir again and serve. Garnish with veggies such as celery, stuffed olives, pickled green beans

Now doesn't that sound like a tasty way to get those veggies in your life. I bet you won't be slapping your head saying you could have had a V-8 with that nutritious drink! I mean really, it's like a veggie patch in your mouth.

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Still not convinced-well what  about a Zucchini tini?
Ingredients:
1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) zucchini water
(To make zucchini water, grate a large zucchini into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl. Toss the grated zucchini with a pinch of coarse salt and allows it to sit for 15 minutes. The grated zucchini then can be pressed (using hands or the back of a sturdy wooden spoon) to extract the water)
2 ounces unfiltered cold sake
1 ounce gin
1 thin slice of zucchini, for garnish
In a cocktail shaker, combine the zucchini water, sake and gin. Fill the shaker with ice, then shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the zucchini slice.

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Last on our tasty trip through the garden patch is a Cucumber cocktail. I personally hate cucumbers, so you are on your own with this one people....
Ingredients:
6 limes, rinsed
1 cup packed mint leaves, no stems, plus 6 sprigs for garnish
3 unwaxed cucumbers
½ cup sugar
2 cups vodka or gin
Sparkling wine
Thinly slice 3 limes and place in a pitcher. Juice the rest and add juice to pitcher. Add mint leaves. Slice 2 cucumbers and add, then add sugar. Muddle ingredients. Add vodka or gin. Place in refrigerator to steep 30 minutes or longer.
Cut remaining cucumber into super think rounds.
Fill cocktail shaker with ice and top with mixture. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Top with a splash of sparkling wine, garnish each glass with a cucumber round, and serve.

Wow! I can feel myself getting healthier by the minute!   These wonderful cocktails will definitely keep me in shape-although probably not the shape I'm going for....I might need to rethink this resolution.