onlythetruth

Ha! Me too. I've even had people comment that I've replaced alcohol with roller coasters. I love them, love the adrenaline rush. And new experiences are also a high--I've traveled a lot since I quit drinking (it's so wonderful not to have to worry about how to get drinks...I can go anywhere!).

onlythetruth

I'm getting a little chuckle thinking about the issue of foods with alcohol...because the only thing I've ever had really "trigger" me had no alcohol in it at all! I was at a concert and bought a bottle of sparkling water, a brand I'd never had before, and darned if the stuff didn't smell like gin. It even had a little juniper berry taste to it!

I threw it away....it grossed me out.

Vlad

I've taken nyquil a couple of times since sober. Both instances I was really sick and needed sleep to function the next day. Neither event precipitated a relapse.

Zencat

I use but do not abuse hygiene or sickness relief products that have alcohol in them. They never appealed to me as a avenue to drunkenness. If I desire to get blasted, I go for the produced intended for that purpose. And that desire has diminished to none at all.

LaFemme

I have no issue with alcohol in food, but don't seek it out...there have been maybe a handful of times since quitting I have had food with alcohol.

I have taken nyquil since quitting...no problem.

I have a couple of beers in the house to kill the slugs in my pumpkin patch...the stuff stinks so I have no temptation

NoelleR

When I was at the hight of my alcoholism (or perhaps one could say the depth of my alcoholism, depending on how one looks at it), alcohol ruled my life...........: ......go to a restaurant that didn't have a full bar, or at least a beer and wine list.....? absolutely NOT!!!... ....go to a theatre that didn't serve some form of alcohol...? again, absolutely NOT!!!... You get the idea.

Well, if I were to check everything, to make sure there wasn't the slightest bit of alcohol in it [like mouthwash, cough medicine, flavorings for cooking and/or baking (like beer or wine or vanilla, etc.), perfumes, colognes, deodorants, the list could go on and on].....well, to me that would be letting alcohol (or the lack thereof) rule me life again, and one of the perks of sobriety for me was that alcohol was no longer a ruler in my life; in fact, in sobriety, for me, alcohol has become a total non-issue.

Oh, and btw, just a wee fyi.....nyquil and all other cough medicines no longer have 25% alcohol; they reduced their abv to 15% a few years ago.


(o:
NoelleR

feralheart

I used to cook with wine all the time but don't feel comfortable doing that anymore. I will eat something that's been cooked with wine though. I used to make awesome wine reductions but now I'm like "why tempt fate?".

I also study herbalism and used to make tinctures with alcohol, but when I start making them again I will probably switch to vinegar or glycerin tinctures, again I just don't want the alcohol around and like, why tempt fate?

Louisa5073

Over the years I've had many conversations with friends about this. I use Listerine and wouldn't drink it, don't worry if I'm eating out and have a meal with some volatilized wine in it. But I know other friends who have had cravings triggered by the smell of (harmless) cooked alcohol in a boeuf bourgignon, who smell alcohol in hygiene products and want to go out and drink.

Some of us have an intensified physiological response to alcohol, the taste , the smell, just knowing there is alcohol present, the sense impressions are extremely powerful.

A friend of mine sober 12 years said that he can look at an ad for beer on the TV and he salivates, can smell the liquid being poured, imagine the foam breaking, he is as responsive as ever to alcohol as a wonderful taste sensation -- whereas I drank to medicate emotions and have little or no desire to taste alcohol, slightly dislike the smell. If I'm hurt or angry, I wish I could go and numb the feelings with wine or vodka, but I don't associate drinking with meals or delicious tastes. Alcohol was more of a crude medicine or anaesthetic for me.


I don't cook with alcohol these days because I like the cleaner, clearer flavours and I use lemon juice, spring-filtered water or homemade clarified chicken or vegetable stocks for cooking. My cooking is much lighter and healthier, my palate much sharper and more discerning. And I wouldn't want to trigger cravings in anyone who may be more reactive to the presence of alcohol than I am -- after 4+ years sober, I prefer to live in a house with no liquor sitting around. I have no problem with friends bringing wine around and I will buy wine for guests, but ask them to take the half-bottle away when they leave. It still amazes me how little most people drink.

I suppose the answer is to know ourselves really well, understand what kind of alcoholic we were. A friend of mine says she still has a terrible oral thirst, now craves juices and smoothies as she once longed for alcohol. In my first years sober I made homemade ginger beer and iced teas, but now I just have a glass of cold water if I want something thirst-quenching. I take along a small bottle of soda water when I go out socialising, in case the host only serves wine. But it isn't an issue.

Watcher

Didn't read the whole thread but I gotta jump on the Nyquil thing. When I was still playing Army and we were in the field or deployed for extended times Nyquil became a friend. And it will get you loaded, take it from one who knows.

munchkin05

Well first let me say, I'm only 8 days so far so....
But for me, Nyquil does not have any effect on me wanting to drink. If I'm going to relapse it's not because I had some Nyquil to quiet the non stop cough.
I can't stand the non alcoholic mouthwashes. Blah.
I do not swish swish swish in my mouth and then swallow Listerine. Gah! Why would anyone do that!? YUCK!
I am not a big beer drinker at all and it has never been a trigger drink for me. I could like one person said here, cook a beer can chicken and I would have no desire to drink because the chicken was cooked with a beer can filled somewhat with beer.
I do keep beer around the house during the summer months because like Lafemme said, I use it to get rid of the slugs. I get the cheapest junk possible and let the slugs and snails throw a party and die.
Wine for me is iffy. If its a cheap bottle of Moscato, Zin, White Zin, chardonnay or what not. That's no good to have in the house as if I have a weak moment it WILL tempt me.
On the other hand I have about 5 bottles of very expensive wine (think in the $25 to $50 range)that I intend on using for cooking and when I cook the dish if I have any wine left over I plan to create a broth out of it along with a chicken carcass, beef bones, pork bones, veggies, etc. That way the wine is gone and it was put to good use.
My drinks of choice were martinis (both vodka and gin), Grand Marnier, Margaritas, and brandy, all of which I completely abstain from in all cooking. It will take a long while before I will eat a grand marnier brownie.
I cook a lot of dishes which heavily rely on wine to flavor them all. Now, one thing I do intend to do now a days is cook them a bit longer than I used to to ensure all the alcohol is cooked out.

lostbutterfly

We have used to have a great over the counter cough mixture with alcohol and opiate tincture in it. Very hard to come by now, but the best cough suppressant ever! Wouldn't risk it now, it was far too lovely if you drank half the bottle.
I would have no problem eating something in a wine sauce, and beer batter is the best!

mazza

Im eating Rumballs right now..you will never take away my rumballs.

DrivenHeart85

I ran into this issue last night...it was kinda humorous though. I was making enough steel cut oatmeal to last me a week of breakfasts and I like to put vanilla in it to make it extra tasty. Remembering how nasty the stuff was straight when I tasted it as a kid, I figured I'd try a drop of it again to see if it was still gross. As soon as it hit my tongue I was like, "OMG that burns like ALCOHOL!" and then I looked on the box and saw the stuff was 35% alcohol. Kinda flipped out for a minute...waiting for my abstinent world to come crashing down over a drop of straight vanilla extract but it didn't...oh, good times in the kitchen. LOL

Creekryder

I rarely, if ever, cook with alcohol, even when I drank. Most of my recipes require lots of weird spices that my family looks at with disdain. But I don't think I would have issues with cooking, as the heat will dispel the alcohol when heated long enough. But I don't plan to cook too much French cuisine or backyard brats because my foods are more toward the fresh veggie spectrum. NA beer, however, is a big NO with me. Several years ago, I used that as a party substitute and found myself guzzling them like I did with real beer. AV was fooled by the taste but wanted more because the high wasn't there. NyQuil is a favorite medicinal for me, but only when I feel like absolute crap. When I take it, I go immediately to bed. If I am awake when the gritty, speedy feeling kicks in, I can't take that.
And mouthwash? Are you kidding me? Gaaakkk! Even in my worse throes of addiction I could never swallow that crap.

davidf938

I have nearly 3 years of sobriety after 30 years of drinking. I do not hesitate to use toothpaste, mouthwash, or medications for the purpose they were intended. Use does not automatically equal abuse. I have had a guest in my home who drank a bottle of mouthwash. He was in need of help and should have been under the care of a professional. He was indeed very sick. Alcohol in food is not worth worrying about. Most of it cooks out and we would get sick from too much food before getting drunk. I do not consume alcoholic beverages or anything meant to be intoxicating. Alcohol does lower our inhibitions and can lead to problems. This is a fact. We have been taught a self-fulfilling prophesy, Any alcohol will lead us back to where we were. Believe it and it will come true. We can use some products correctly to improve our quality of life if we accept responsibility and behave like adults.

BigWou

Glad to find these forums and pages. When I have wanted to get and stay sober, I have avoided any alcohol-based medicines. Believe it or not with Listerine, I used to drink it when I ran out of true alc. beverages. I still have listerine, but I do not drink it. Even if you're gargling with it and accidentally ingest it, that does not mean you've/I've relapsed. Relapse is intentionally drinking and using to get a buzz or high. OF course, that's recoveryism talk right there. BTW, thanks TU for all of the links to RR and this forum.

sober4metoday

I used to love to cook with alcohol. White wine in fish. Red wine in beef (esp oxtails...oh my...) and cognac in cream sauces. But now that I am a raw foodist and nothing is cooked I don't have to worry about that anymore!

ReadyAndAble

As far as cooking goes, you guys sound like you know your way around a kitchen a lot better than I do. But you might want to ping Dee when he gets back from his vacation, and ask about alcohol burn-off rates. It's shockingly low... significant amounts of alcohol usually remain in the dish.

I am not, repeat not, trying to be a killjoy or suggest anyone is jeopardizing their recovery. If anything I was getting hungry reading those posts. I'm just letting you know I was stunned when I saw the chart because I assumed the alcohol burned off; you can get the info and make the call for yourselves.

keepfinding2

It's perfectly fine to use cough medicine, just like it's fine to use mouth wash. My girlfriend got rid of the mouthwash when I got out of rehab and I just went out and bought more. Gave me a good laugh though.

NoelleR

Well whadauno-----

I copy/pasted the info on alcohol burn-off rates, and things that can be substituted for the alcohol in recipes......hopefully I can get this to paste here (LOL)........................ :


Cooking with Alcohol
or Substituting

A study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Data Laboratory calculated the percentage of alcohol remaining in a dish based on various cooking methods. The results are as follows:

Preparation Method Percent of Alcohol Retained
alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat 85%
alcohol flamed 75%
no heat, stored overnight 70%
baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture 45%
baked/simmered, alcohol stirred into mixture:

* 15 minutes 40%
* 30 minutes 35%
* 1 hour 25%
* 1.5 hours 20%
* 2 hours 10%
* 2.5 hours 5%

Now, it may be that the amount of alcohol in a dish is modest to start with, but the fact that some of the alcohol remains could be of significant concern to recovering alcoholics, parents, and others who have ethical or religious reasons for avoiding alcohol.
And you can try these..
Booze Flavoring In Cooking
This was the September 2003 issue of the AA Grapevine.

Now, it may be that the amount of alcohol in a dish is modest to start with, but the fact that some of the alcohol remains could be of significant concern to recovering alcoholics, parents, and others who have ethical or religious reasons for avoiding alcohol.
And you can try these..
Booze Flavoring In Cooking
This was the September 2003 issue of the AA Grapevine.

Sweet or semisweet red wine - Carbonated cranberry drink.

Dry red wine - ½ cup carbonated cranberry drink, plus 1 Tbsp. lemon juice.

Sweet white wine - White grape juice plus 1 Tbsp. corn syrup.

Brandy - 1/4 cup apple juice plus 1 tsp brandy flavoring, or 1/4 cup apple cider with 1 tbsp peach or apricot syrup.

Rum - 1/4 cup apple juice plus 1 tbsp rum extract, or 1/4 cup pineapple juice or syrup flavored with 1 tbsp almond extract.

Sherry - Orange or pineapple juices with peach syrup.

Amaretto - 1 tbsp light corn syrup plus 1 tbsp almond extract and 1/4 cup clear apple juice.

Kirsch - Syrup or juices from cherries, raspberries, boysenberries, currants or cider.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One thing to remember tho.....it's more than just the alcohol burn-off percentage (not just 'simple' math); it's also the percentage in the whole recipe, and how much one eats (and again more arithmatic/math......grrrrr.....)-----like total alcohol-by-volume; how much burn-off perentage---alcohol retained in recipe; my portion---percentage of total....aaaagggggghhhhhh; too much; too much; too much.......

For me, the bottom line is does it 'trigger' anything in me.........? My answer is 'no,' therefore I may use the 'real' wine or whatever alcohol the recipe requires.....it's a personal thing, like the slogan on many of AA's annual medallions...............:

"To Thine Own Self Be True" ..............so, go be true to yourself..............


(o:
NoelleR