bayliss

Non-alcoholic ones!!!
I am sure that this topic has come up a few times but decided to start a new thread for all the newbies (myself included even though I have been here for a while) and ask...
Now that alcohol is out of your life what do you drink?
Coffee? Tea? Pop?
Any special drinks you mix up yourself?

I have gone tea crazy the past week...decaf orange pekoe with a slice of slice and a splash of raspberry simple syrup. Delicious...

I feel like I have to have two before going to bed! Isn't that weird now...

Anyone else?

On a different note...it's started snowing again here in Canada!! We just had +20C the other day!!! Crazy crazy...

soberbythesea

I like...

Sparkling water, plain distilled water, tonic with lime, Coke (with or without lime or lemon), club soda with or without cranberry juice and/or lime or lemon, lemonade. Sometimes I also put grenadine and a cherry in with my Coke. I should really just drink water, but the other drinks help when I am having sugar cravings.

I'm not a tea person and only drink coffee a few times a year. I've never been into hot drinks generally. I like my drinks cold

DisplacedGRITS

I love sparkling mineral water, hot and spicy low sodium V-8 (though that may be a trigger for Bloody Mary fans), Crystal Light drinks, orange juice, Mio spiked waters, sparkling waters mixed with fruit juices or syrups, trying various ethnic teas...badically, i try damn near any new nonalcoholkc drink i can get oy hand on.

Oh, an of cours, a wide variety of COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

soberbythesea

Oh I forgot orange juice. I prefer it mixed with sparkling water. I'll pour maybe 4 oz of orange juice into a 20 oz glass and fill up the rest with icy cold seltzer. Great way to start my morning.

SOBERINNEPA

Virgil's Root Beer. Accept no substitutes!

FenwayFaithful

Poland Spring Lime Tonic Water w/ Crystal Light Raspberry ice flavor and a lime to garnish. I personally like the bottled crystal light not the powdered. Cos as Dane cook says I don't like it when the movie Dune is in my drink...

I also love this recipe for golden fruit punch: gredients
4 maraschino cherries
1 medium navel orange, thinly sliced
1 small lemon, thinly sliced
1 small lime, thinly sliced
1 can (12 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 can (12 ounces) frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
1 can (12 ounces) frozen pineapple-orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 liters diet ginger ale, chilled
Directions
Arrange fruit in a 5-cup ring mold; add 3/4 cup water. Freeze until solid. Add enough water to fill mold; freeze until solid.
Just before serving, in a punch bowl, combine juice concentrates with 2 cups water. Stir in ginger ale. Unmold ice ring by wrapping the bottom of the mold in a hot, damp dishcloth. Invert onto a baking sheet; place fruit side up in punch bowl. Yield: 21 servings (4 quarts).

jimmydean

tea is a big one. Gotten into the habit of having one or coffee after dinner. I really look forward to it at this point, sounds strange i know.

bayliss

*from my first post - ""slice of lemon"" !! NOT slice of slice...lol, sorry*

Soberbythesea, I agree with you, I do tend to like my drinks cold as well...but since I quit drinking I am craving warmer drinks big time! Teas....and STARBUCKS!!!
Which is crazy because I never drank Starbucks and now I crave it all the time...
Actually it is all weird, I really DISLIKE sweets and had a big slice of cake the past weekend and mini-eggs. Lol.

Soberinnepa and displacedgrits - thank you for sharing! I hope we get some more posts! I am going to definitely write these down to remember and try out.

FenwayFaithful, lol, Dane Cook is quite funny - thanks for sharing the recipe of your drink!

JimmyDean - don't worry, I am the EXACT same way now too...I am waiting for 7pm to roll around to get that kettle on and make me some tea.

TimeToGetALife

I have a few new favourites to replace the wine and they are delicious! One is a pint of cold fizzy water with a slice of lemon and half a fresh lemon squeezed into it - the second is cold Pink Still Lemonade by Tropicana and the other one is Cranberry and Pomegranate still juice drink by Feel Good - of course tea and coffee are a must during the day!

sugarbear1

The ol' water with a slice of lemon!

candie

Fizzy apple juice with lots of ice:rotfxko

ProblemDrinker

GREEEEEEEEN SMOOOOOTHIES!!!

Seriously these things rule the roost! Blend up some fresh fruit and spinach and you get 10,000 the amount of vitamins you need per day - I took an interest in them when I quit 31 days ago (I thank you..) and haven't looked back since..

I have one in the morning in place of breakfast vary the greens and fruit each day...seriously kids, you have to check these things out. I look a million times healthier (note: not a scientific mathmatical factor) and feel full of beans.

As well as that, I drink GREEN TEA like a nutter! 3 times a day, meant to prevent all sorts of nasty cancers and illnesses, and it tastes nice too with a squeeze of lemon and a drop of honey.

I used my quitting drink to do a complete U-Turn to see how intense healthy eating and drinking really benefits you, for me it has really done the trick. Almonds for a snack...

Why didn't I try all this stuff years ago?

TimeToGetALife

Ahh yes but is has to be fizzy and very cold in my book LOL

bayliss

Even more great ideas.

Of course you can't go wrong with the ol' lemon and water.

ProblemDrinker - do you have a recipe you could share with us? Do you need a blender? I don't have one. I think I might need to invest in one.

There are lots of protein shake recipes in fitness magazines that I have had my eye on the past little while that I think I should finally try.
And I agree...
Why didn't I do the healthy eating thing a long time ago?

I must say...I was always on a diet while drinking...I was in such denial though...alcohol was what made me gain weight (that and after getting drunk I would eat like crap).
Need to steer clear from crazy sugary drinks but ANYTHING right now is better then booze.

Newatthis34

Try homemade lemon barley water, it's so delicious ice-cold and really good for the kidneys. Last time I made it I grated in some fresh ginger which gave it a nice kick. I mix it sometimes with sparkling water (San Pellegrino - the finest water known to man!!) if it's running low. MMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmm

ProblemDrinker

Yes, get yourself a blender - a decent one will be worth the investment (say $60 - with a powerful motor) so you can chop the bejaysus out of the frozen fruits..gives the smoothie a better consistency.

A recipe I like is below.

2 cups spinach
1 cup water
3/4 cup frozen mango
3/4 cup frozen pineapple
1 frozen banana

Blend and away you go! To vary, just use different kinds of fruit and berries - oh yeah, berries are great. You can have a nice blueberry and raspberry smoothie with the banana and all will be well with the world.

Vary the spinach each week with kale, flat leaf parsley, collard greens, romaine lettuce.

The secret in the super nutrition is in the fact that the raw goodness in the spinach is released, when we eat green leafs we only get about 10% of the goodness because we need to chew for ages to break down the cell walls - no need for the wisdom teeth after all!

Bananas are the mainstay fruit which you should always use as a base. It provides the smoothie with the right consistency and they taste good too! Othe fruits I've tried - kiwis, orange (replace the water), pears (great!), avocado (for a more 'filling' smoothie)..the list goes on. You can get 10 - 15 recommended daily portions of your fruit and vegetables by just having 1 large smoothie a day...and because they fill you up with something like only 150 calories, they are a great way to lose weight. My beer belly is on its way out after only 4 weeks.

You can also add yoghurt and almond milk for a smoother consistency.

bayliss

Newatthis - what is lemon barley water? Can I just find it at my local grocery store?

ProblemD - thanks for the recipe! If I do decide to add almond milk how much do you reckon I should add (or yogurt)?

Thanks all!

ProblemDrinker

Bayliss, I normally substitute 1 cup of water for 1 cup of almond milk or 1/2 cup almond milk and a healthy dollop of yoghurt.

TallWater

Japanese Green Tea

Zebra1275

Diet Coke
Fancy coffee
Orange Juice
Water