Happy Cinco de Mayo! A little treat for you all today.

Margaritas on a healthy, real food blog?  You better believe it.

If you know me even in the slightest bit, you know that margaritas are my favorite drink- no matter the time of year. This makes Cinco de Mayo even more of an exciting one for me- it’s in my top 3 favorite holidays for the margaritas alone. And no, I’m not making that up.

If you know me in the slightest bit, you also know that I’m not talking about a margarita mix or prepackaged bottle. Please. Call me a margarita snob, but it’s got to be a good one for me to want to drink it. What does a “good one” mean? One made with fresh limes, great tequila, and some kind of cleaner sweetener- natural lime juice, or a  homemade simple syrup made with honey.

What’s the difference you ask? Packaged drink mixes are the epitome of processed food. They’re often filled with high fructose corn syrup, fake sugar, preservatives, and chemicals. And people wonder why they feel awful in the morning. This year, try it a better way- upgrade your ingredients and you’ll get a drink that looks better, tastes better, and feels better the next morning.

You can go with the classic (my personal favorite), but can also spice it up a bit by adding pureed blackberries (as shown), blueberries, or use a splash of pomegranate juice for some color.

Sarah’s Classic Margarita:

1 shot good quality tequila (you get what you pay for here, just a warning)

3 limes, cut in half and juiced

4 oz club soda or sparkling water

2 oz orange liqueur (like cointreau)

Directions: Fill a glass or martini shaker with ice. Add tequila, fresh lime juice, club soda and cointreau. Shake and pour into a glass. Garnish with a wedge of lime or bright flower. For flavored margaritas, add a splash of your favorite pureed berries or juice.

Homemade Honey Simple Syrup:

If you like your cocktails a little bit sweeter, try using a homemade honey simple syrup instead of a white sugar based one. Honey has some natural enzymes and minerals that boost your immune system and it interacts with your blood stream in a much slower way (a good thing).

Directions: Combine equal parts honey and water in a saucepan. Heat over low flame and stir until the honey melts into the water. Measure out what you need and add into the margarita.

Have a happy Cinco everyone!