Metromint is one of our favorite no-calorie treats. It’s available nationwide or online, where a case of 24 is $38.00 with free shipping ($1.59/bottle) from Metromint.com. The Chocolatemint Water is a miracle—it can substitute for dessert or accompany a chocolate, vanilla or berry dessert.

But if that’s not in the budget, you can make your own spearmint or peppermint water to serve during cocktails or at the dinner table instead of tap water. It won’t be as intensely minty as Metromint Water, but less intense is better to complement food.

How To Make Mint Water
Fill your water pitcher with fresh mint leaves, crushing them gently to release the mint flavor. Add water and stir to help the flavors mix. The further in advance you can do this, the longer the water can diffuse.

You also can add cucumber, lemon, lime and/or orange slices and whole strawberries. In addition to looking beautiful in a glass pitcher, their flavors will also infuse into the water.

You can also add fresh tarragon, rosemary, basil or other favorite herbs for a complex layering of flavor. Have fun with it. Whatever you do, it will look great, taste great and have zero calories.

Add mint to your water to create “holiday
water.” Photo courtesy Metromint.com.

• Fill ice cube trays with water and drop a cranberry or raspberry and a tiny mint leaf (or a tarragon or rosemary sprig) into each compartment. Freeze.
• To serve, put a cranberry ice cube in each glass and pour in the mint water.

Mint Is Healthy
Mint combats tension and eases tired muscles. Consuming mint before a meal helps digestion by increasing the flow of digestive juices, and it similarly calms nervous stomachs.

Mint contains the antioxidant perillyl alcohol, a photonutrient that has been shown to prevent major types of cancer in animal studies. Two easy ways to include more mint in your diet are by adding mint to your tea (brew it with the tea leaves) and snipping it into salads.

• Read our review of Metromint Water, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.

Forget salted caramel: We want the Czar’s
ice cream and caviar parfait. Photo by
Igor Dukhnovskyi | Russian Tea Room.

Look no further than the menu at New York’s legendary Russian Tea Room.

For the holidays, the restaurant has created the Czar’s Gold & Caviar Parfait. It’s a spin on the sweet-and-salty dessert trend that would definitely belong at the Czar’s table. Here’s our recreation of the recipe:

1. Make a frozen nougat cream (nougat ice cream) in dome-shaped molds (so much more elegant than scoops). You can use this recipe with all almonds instead of three different types of nut. No ice cream maker is required.

2. Unmold and top with sliced toasted almonds, You can caramelize them, but the savory uncaramelized flavor complements the sweet-and-salty theme of the dish. Better yet, buy the Kirkland brand of Spain’s luscious Marcona almonds with sea salt, and chop them roughly. You can buy then online but they’re much less expensive at Costco stores.

4. Decorate the plate with bittersweet chocolate sauce.

5. Sprinkle plate with 24-karat edible gold leaf.

When you look at the cost to make a batch—including $90.00 for an ounce of sturgeon caviar and $40 for the gold leaf—it might make sense to stop by the Russian Tea Room. There, you can enjoy The Czar’s Gold & Caviar Parfait at dinner: $23.00 à la carte or a $10.00 supplement to the prix fixe holiday menu.

• Find more affordable ice cream recipes in our Ice Cream Section.

We were catching up on our in-box and were startled to find that Fiji Water announced on November 30th that it was ceasing operations in Fiji. It later announced that the plant would reopen.

A deep underground aquifer on the South Pacific island nation has been the source of one of the world’s most popular bottled water brands.

It’s “The most fashionable and popular bottled water brand in the U.S. and the world,” according to water website TapItWater.com.

On its blog, Fiji Water says it was being singled out by the military-led government for a massive tax increase: 15 cents per liter of water taken from the aquifer, up from 1/3 cent. And the government deported David Roth, Fiji’s Director of External Affairs.

But, after shutting down and laying off 400 workers, the company decided to reopen.

Trouble in paradise: Fiji government now
taxes the dickens out of Fiji water. Photo courtesy Fiji Water.

Fiji Water lovers can take a breather for now. But they might be in for a price hike: perhaps 15 cents per liter?

• What’s the difference between an artesian aquifer and an artesian well? Between mineral water and spring water? Find all in our Water Glossary.

The award-winning Mozzarella Company in Dallas, Texas, led by the gifted artisan cheesemaker Paula Lambert, makes some of the best cheeses in the world. We love all of her products, which were a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week (read the review).

There are gift baskets at all price levels at MozzCo.com. But if you’re in the chips, the $195 Ultimate Basket is a cheese-lover’s tasting of Ms. Lambert’s wares.

The selection includes goat’s milk Montasio Festivo with Ancho Rind, Smoked Scamorza, Hoja Santa Goat Cheese, Blanca Bianca, Black Pepper-Garlic Caciotta, La Cocina Caciotta, Rosemary Montasio, Deep Ellum Blue, Olive Mozzarella Roll, Basil Mascarpone Torta, Capriella, Crescenza, crackers and a knife.

As you can see from the unusual varieties, this is not “another cheese basket.” It’s the opportunity for a truly special cheese tasting.

Ms. Lambert has also written two lovely cheese cookbooks:

The Ultimate Basket has so much great
cheese, we can only show half of it.
Photo courtesy Mozzarella Company

• The Cheese Lover’s Cookbook and Guide: Over 150 Recipes with Instructions on How to Buy, Store, and Serve All Your Favorite Cheeses
• Cheese, Glorious Cheese: More Than 75 Tempting Recipes for Cheese Lovers Everywhere

See the different types of cheese in our Cheese Glossary.

It’s not low-calorie if it’s loaded with
fattening dip. Serve a nonfat dip! Photo
courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

• Baking: When baking, commit that you won’t lick the bowl or eat half of the cookie dough.
• Buffet: At a buffet, use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. If you’re the host, do your guests a favor and provide 7″-9″ plates instead of large 10″-12″ plates.
• Appetizers: Focus on healthy appetizers: crudités with a low-fat or nonfat dip, cucumber slices topped with salmon caviar, whole wheat pretzel sticks with a fancy mustard (not honey mustard!).
• Cheese: No matter how it calls out to you, avoid cheese and bread unless you want tons of saturated fat and lots of carbs. Keri Glassman calls cheese “caloric death.”

• Cocktails: Avoid sweet, fruity, caloric drinks: The mixers add about five times the calories and are easy to toss back again and again. Stick to a Bloody Mary, Martini, wine or Champagne. Ask the bartender to give you half a portion. Alternate cocktails or wine with glasses of club soda or mineral water.
• Location: Keep as far away from the food—preferably out of eyesight.
• Mingle & Network: You won’t chat with your mouth full.
• Know Yourself: If you know that you can control yourself, enjoy a sliver or a spoonful of everything. If you feel that one bite might lead to another…and another…stay away.
• BYO Snacks: Feel free to bring your own healthy snacks—vegetables, plain popcorn, rice cakes. If anyone notices, they’ll admire your discipline.

What are your healthy holiday tips? Please share!