The after work beer, the pre dinner drink, the glass of wine along with your meal. It’s a joy, yes, but can also become a craving that’s hard to get rid off. Why not try to skip a couple and replace them with these great mocktails? You might find you won’t notice the lack of the alchohol, but appreciate the lack of headches!
Alcohol is a double edged sword. It reduces stress, enhance positive feelings, stimulate your appetite, and increase social bondings in groups. These are all positive physiological effects and there is, of course, nothing wrong with that an OCCASIONAL glass of wine, beer or cocktail. The problem arise if we can’t keep our alcohol intake in moderation. There are some serious side effects of alcohol consuming and the risk level of alcohol are directly related to the amount consumed and the duration of time of which it is used.
And unfortunately, there is more…
Alcohol is a central nervous system “depressant” or “sedative” – even though it seems to “loosen” you up, it actually “slows” you down by sedating or “slow” all other mechanisms in your body.
Alcohol slows the brain actions, effects physical coordination and reaction time, it irritates your gastrointestinal tract, dehydrates your cells, and is a big burden on your liver too.
Furthermore the chemicals used in modern alcoholic beverage production is of big concern, as often grapes and grains are heavily sprayed with pesticides and sulphites which can lead to allergies. Had enough? …a little more I’m afraid.
Alcohol have very little nutrive value – but a fair amount of calories – you have probably heard the saying; “if you booze you can’t loose”, and there is some truth about that. As soon as you begin to drink your body will try to get rid of the alcohol by breaking it down. One of the by-products released by this process is acetate (basically vinegar) – which are considered to be highly reactive and can increase oxidation throughout the body, but especially in the liver. Because your body “sees” this product as dangerous, it wants to get rid of it and fast, so use it as fuel. This means that the carbs and fats you may be eating while drinking alcohol are leaved “unburnt” and you are more likely to consume more calories than you need, and your body is more likely to store these calories as fat.
So. Still craving that glass of wine? Why not try and wind down with this non alcoholic rose infused drink with pomegranate and lemon instead.
ROSE INFUSED LEMON SPRITZER
1/4 pomegranate fresh juice
2 tbsp rosewater
1 tbsp agave syrup or honey
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
sparkling mineral water
If you choose to make the pomegranate juice yourself, remove the seeds and blend with a little water, run through a sieve to remove the pulp ( dont throw out the pulp it taste delicious in a smoothie or mixed with greek yoghurt) mix the pomegranate juice with agave syrup or honey, rosewater, and the lemon juice. Pour the drink into 2 glasses and top up with the cold sparkling mineral water.
Or get a kick and a boost, but without the “booze” from this Orientale sparkle
ORIENTAL SPARKLE
1 cup water
20g lemongrass sliced
25g fresh ginger root peeled and sliced
1 tbsp agave syrup or honey
1/2 cup elderflower cordial
1/4 fresh limejuice
tonic water
Place water, lemongrass and ginger in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes, remove from the stove and let it cool completely. Remove the lemongrass and ginger from the liquid. Mix the lemongrass and ginger liquid with, limejuice and the elderflower cordial, stir in the agave syrup or honey. Divide between 2 glasses and top up with tonic water.
