The Best Non-Alcoholic Drinks We’ve Found
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Over at Corporette today I’m talking about Dry January and rounding up 10 great mocktail recipes, but I thought it might be interesting to discuss over here as well — what were the best non-alcoholic drinks you found to drink while you were pregnant (or beyond)?
For my $.02, during my pregnancies there weren’t a ton of options for non-alcoholic drinks — way back in 2011 and 2014 it felt like water, soda or sparkling ciders were the only choices, and everything tasted too sweet to me. I’ve never been a huge fan of beer (alcoholic or not!) but I actually preferred to drink O’Doul’s non-alcoholic beer while I was pregnant with my kids.
{related: how to survive your first trimester at work}
These days, though, there are a ton of not-too-sweet options, making for some awesome non-alcoholic drinks and mocktails. I’ve written before about my love of bitters and drinking vinegars, and this month we’re trying some of the newer fake alcohols like Ritual, Monday, and Proteau.
Some of our favorite things to add to plain seltzer (we love our Sodastream!) include:
(The photo at top is a stock photo, but this grapefruit/elderflower recipe looks similar and tastes amazing.)
If you’re more interested in moderation, some of these products can help:
Pictured above, some ideas on how to moderate your drinking: Caloric Cuvee, Mr. Picky Stemless Wine Glass (the brand has several options available), and Wine-Trax; all $9-$19 at Amazon. I’ve also talked about how much I love the beautiful cocktail glasses from The History Company because they’re generally smaller!
Readers, what do you think are the best non-alcoholic drinks? What did you drink during pregnancy and nursing; what did you drink beyond?
{related: check out our roundup of maternity workwear essentials!}
I’ve gotten hooked on Fresca! It’s so good!
Seedlip makes really good non-alcoholic spirits. I like to mix it with a little seltzer and lime, it tastes like a craft cocktail.
I’ve been enjoying Casamara Club amaro sodas and Avec spritzers. Liber & Co has some recipes for mocktails on their website as well – the adult Shirley Temple is refreshing, but you definitely have to use a less sweet grenadine (like their product).
Inna shrubs – so good
also non-alcoholic beer is really getting so much better – Athletic Brewing Company for one
I’m excited to see where the athletic beer space goes as I’ve had some really excellent alcohol removed beers lately from some of our local brewers. Some of them have been good enough I’d even probably drink them when not pregnant.
This pregnancy, the Ariel dealcoholized wines have really scratched my itch. The cab sav legitimately for me tastes about as good as two buck chuck, with just a bit less of the alcoholic bite and obviously you don’t get that tipsy feel after you drink it. All of the varieties Fre makes have been awful for me, with the exception of the champagne. That stuff plus orange juice makes an excellent mimosa for me.
I like the Belvoir elderflower lemonade and TOST faux champagne, both at whole foods, if I want to have something during a celebration or party (back when we did those) but am not drinking.
I also find NA beer from Europe to be better, a lot of the breweries in Germany brew NA versions of their two most popular beers and serve them everywhere, since the DUI laws are so much stricter (I think). Some of our local liquor stores (the more “craft” ones) carry imports like this.
Athletic beer is actually pretty good! I drink their Run Wild IPA when I want a beer but not alcohol.
My favorite mocktail is as follows:
Ingredients
·1-2 slices fresh jalapeno
·4-5 sprigs fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
·6 oz. pineapple juice
·2 oz lime juice
·2 oz lemon juice
·1 oz simple syrup
Step 1: in a cocktail shaker, muddle jalapeno slices and cilantro. add 4-5 ice cubes.
Step 2: Add juices and syrup to shaker. Shake
Step 3: Top with club soda and a sprig of cilantro; serve on the rocks.
I like seltzer or club soda with a splash of tart cherry juice, or Pellegrino with lime. The “Juju’s Julep” from Disney’s Princess Tiana cookbook is very good, and the recipe is easily searchable.
I don’t care for bitters or any of the fake alcohols, and I don’t need my special drink to mimic a “real” one as long as it is tasty and a little fancy.