No matter the occasion, you can celebrate with style and good health. You can enjoy a birthday, anniversary, or New Year’s party without alcohol, and it won’t be a dud. There are plenty of exciting drink options to help keep you on a healthy track while keeping you in a celebratory mood.
6 Healthier Drinks You Must Try
Be the host with the most and offer the guests at your party non-alcoholic mocktails as an alternative to the other alcoholic drinks you may have available to guests. This gives attendees a chance to support long-term health goals and offers festive options for those who cannot drink.
These drinks will bring any party to life without the extra calories of most alcoholic drinks and are sure to be a hit.
1. Lemon Lavender Mocktini
A healthier spin on a classic martini, lavender helps reduce inflammation linked to serious diseases, including diabetes, asthma, heart disease, and cancer.
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons lavender simple syrup
1/4 teaspoon grenadine
3 dashes bitters
To make the lavender simple syrup, combine 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon dried lavender to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Let mixture cool in the pan, and then strain out the lavender.
Combine this in a shaker with ice and shake until cold. Strain into glass and top off with club soda. Garnish with fresh lavender.
2. Mock Winter Sangria
Getting plenty of fresh berries not only makes this drink tasty, but it also delivers powerful antioxidants, which promote overall health. Antioxidants help reduce oxidative damage to your cells to promote overall health.
1 diced pear
1 sliced orange
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/4 cup fresh raspberries
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups cranberry juice
1 2-liter bottle ginger ale
Combine all ingredients except the ginger ale in a large pitcher. If desired, let sit in the fridge for 1 to 4 hours to let the flavors mingle. Add chilled ginger ale and serve immediately.
3. Sparkling Cranberry Ginger Punch
You can’t really go wrong with ginger, which makes this holiday punch delicious and beneficial to your health.
Ginger not only gives just the right amount of spice to a drink, but it also contains gingerol. This compound acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and has long been used for centuries to support health, and now you and your guests can benefit too.
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger root
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
8 cans (8.4 ounces each) sparkling cranberry juice
16 lime slices, frozen
1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries, frozen
In a 1-quart saucepan, heat water, sugar, and ginger root to boiling over high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, and then strain. Refrigerate until well chilled.
In a large pitcher or punch bowl, mix 1/2 cup of the already prepared ginger syrup and the lime juice (keep remaining ginger syrup refrigerated for later use). Add cranberry juice, lime slices, and cranberries and serve chilled.
4. Blueberry Moscow Mule
Blueberries are one of the most powerful antioxidant foods on the planet, and they also make perfect additions to this alternative Moscow Mule favorite. Regularly consuming blueberries helps reduce oxidative damage to help promote healthy cellular aging and function.
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 lime
1 teaspoon sugar
1 (9 ounces) ginger beer
Crushed ice
Add blueberries to a large glass with lime wedges and sugar. Muddle ingredients together well. Transfer blueberry mixture to a copper mug and add crushed ice. Pour in ginger beer, stir, and serve chilled.
5. Raspberry Frost Sodas
1 bottle (64 ounces) cranberry juice cocktail, chilled
2 containers (1/2 gallon each) raspberry sherbet
3 bottles ginger ale, chilled
Pour a ¼ cup cranberry juice into each of the 24 short, wide glasses. Place 1 scoop of sherbet into each glass and fill with ginger ale.
6. Pineapple Mint Mojito
Make a healthy mojito without the rum. Pineapples and pineapple juice are full of vitamin C and antioxidants that boost your immune system, promote bone health, and support brain and vision health. There is so much to this fruit that the expression should be “a pineapple a day keeps the doctor away.”
10 fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
2 packets of Splenda
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 juiced lime
1/2 club soda
In a cocktail shaker, muddle mint leaves with the Splenda. Add pineapple juice, lime juice, and ice, then shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Strain into a tall glass filled with ice and top with club soda. Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve.
Why Less Alcohol Matters
Apart from the numerous health benefits of the ingredients in these mocktails, there are advantages to limiting or cutting out alcohol.
Alcohol impairs your cognitive abilities, specifically memory and judgment. With prolonged use, alcohol can damage brain cells, leading to poor cognitive performance and even neurodegeneration.
In addition to this, alcohol increases blood sugar levels that contribute to the risk of obesity, liver problems, and the development of diabetes. It also impacts your cardiovascular health by increasing blood pressure and causing damage to blood vessels.
The Bottom Line
Whatever your reason for switching to mocktails, the body enjoys many benefits from reducing alcohol consumption and consuming health-boosting ingredients.
As a bonus, there is no need to worry about having a dull party because these six mocktails are full of flavor, full of spirit, and will be the hit of any party.
