My Healthy Spin on a Strawberry Margarita

I LOVE a classic, tangy margarita, but rarely order them when I go out. Too many times have I been burned by the lime-flavored, sugar water that arrives at the table (with a questionable lack of tequila). Even worse are the bottle mixes you find in restaurants or stores, full of high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and flavorings. If I'm going to splurge, I'd rather know what's going into my drink, so if I have one it's usually at home.

Last weekend, my father-in-law was in town for his 70th birthday, so to celebrate, we prepared him a Mexican feast. I happened to have some fresh strawberries on hand, so I decided to try a fresh strawberry margarita for the celebration.

I think the key to making a delicious fruit margarita is using very ripe fruit, so make sure your strawberries or mangos are at their peak! You can play around with the ratios of ingredients to your liking, especially with the lime. I prefer things very tangy so I used more.

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups fresh, hulled strawberries

• 6 ounces of good silver tequila

• 2 ounces Cointreau of generic triple sec

• 3-5 ounces fresh-squeezed lime juice, depending on your preference

• 1-2 tbsp honey or to slim it down, liquid stevia

Instructions:

Puree strawberries in a food processor or blender. Add tequila, Cointreau and lime juice and blend again. Taste the mixture and if it's too tangy for you, add your choice of sweetener. Mix in a shaker with ice until chilled, then serve in rocks glasses with ice. Garnish with a strawberry or slice of lime. I skipped the salted/sugared rim, but your preference. 

If you're going to have a strawberry margarita, why not actually use strawberries? Don't forget you can always use frozen fruit for a nice frosty drink! 

- Tara