3 Healthy Mocktails for Dry January
This post was written by Heinen’s partner, Halle Snavely.
The new year is full of grand resolutions around healthy eating, exercise, and in recent years, not drinking alcohol. “Dry January,” has become a mainstream term used to describe when one abstains from drinking alcohol for the entire month of January. More and more people are choosing to go “sans booze,” so what’s going on with this trend?
Drinking less alcohol, or even quitting alcohol altogether, has become a popular lifestyle choice as many people are becoming more mindful about their drinking habits. It’s a trend known as “sober curious,” named after the book by Ruby Warrington. While this might sound boring to some, alcohol-free living has real benefits.
First, it gives your body a chance to rest, recover and rejuvenate. Your liver is able to detoxify your body without having to work harder from the extra burden of alcohol.
But aside from the benefits to your body, there are plenty of other perks to not drinking. For example, you can:
- Save money
- Sleep better
- Lose weight
- Be more productive (since you know you won’t wake up with a hangover)
- Feel more energized
- Feel more clear-headed
- Reconsider your relationship with alcohol
Avoiding alcohol also gives you an opportunity to create fun mocktails to enjoy in place of your usual weekend cocktail. These mocktails are delicious and packed with nutritious ingredients that your body loves, like probiotic-rich kombucha, citrus, medicinal teas and superfoods like ginger and beets.
Whether you’re partaking in Dry January or exploring a sober curious lifestyle, here are a few mocktail recipes to add a little creativity to your alcohol-free adventures.
Citrus Echinacea & Cardamom Tonic (Serves 1)
Ingredients
- ½ cup Traditional Medicinals Echinacea tea with elderberry (see directions below)
- ½ cup Heinen’s fresh squeezed orange juice
- ¼ tsp. cardamom
- Juice of 1 lime
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tsp. simple syrup
- ½ cup Health-Ade blood orange, carrot and ginger kombucha
Instructions
- Steep one tea bag in a little more than 1/2 cup of water for about 10 minutes. Let the tea cool to room temperature, or pour over ice to cool faster.
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Add all of the mocktail ingredients, except for the kombucha, and shake vigorously.
- Add the kombucha and gently swirl or stir.
- Taste with a straw and adjust to your preference with more lemon, lime, cardamom or simple syrup.
- Pour into a cocktail glass over ice. Garnish with orange and lime slices.
Grapefruit Jalapeño & Lime Spritzer (Serves 1)
Ingredients
- ½ cup Heinen’s fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 jalapeño, sliced
- 1 tsp. simple syrup
- ½ cup Health-Ade Citrus Immune Boost Kombucha
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Add all of the mocktail ingredients, except for the sparkling water, and shake vigorously.
- Add the sparkling water and gently swirl or stir.
- Let it sit for a minute or two so the jalapeño blends with the other flavors, then gently swirl or stir again.
- Taste with a straw, adjust to your preference with more lime, jalapeño or simple syrup.
- Pour into a cocktail glass over ice. Garnish with lime and jalapeño slices.
Beet & Lavender Sparkler (Serves 1)
Ingredients
- ½ cup beet juice
- ½ cup GT’s lavender love kombucha
- 10-12 mint leaves, muddled
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp. simple syrup
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Add all of the mocktail ingredients, except for the kombucha, and shake vigorously.
- Add the kombucha and gently swirl or stir.
- Taste with a straw, adjust to your preference with more lime, mint or simple syrup.
- Pour into a cocktail glass over ice. Garnish with lime and mint.
