Everything I Drink Now That I Don't Drink
Before I got sober, I drank three things: water, coffee, and alcohol. That was it. I've never really been a huge soda person and I often steered away from other sugary beverages. Even when I drank alcohol, I chased my shots with water (gag) and ordered vodka sodas. Well, joke was on me, I guess. Alcohol was deteriorating my health more than those sugary beverages ever would.
Now that I've cut out alcohol (and coffee), drinking plain water everyday got really old really fast. These past few months, I've had more time to discover new and exciting beverages that I enjoy and that are good for me! Read on to discover everything I drink now that I don't drink. I hope you can find some "alcohol-free beverage" inspiration from this post!
Morning
If you follow me on Instagram (@funshitblog), you might know that I stopped drinking coffee a few months ago to help with my anxiety, acne, and stomach issues. Now I know what you may be thinking, and YES, it has been difficult to give up coffee and alcohol at the same time. But luckily I've found ways to spice up tea, making it my new morning drink of choice!
I have a cup of tea every morning and another if I need a pick-me-up throughout the day. I also have another cup at night, but we'll get to that later...
Earl Grey Tea
My favorite kind of morning tea is earl grey because I like to make my own version of a London Fog. I typically buy the Trader Joe's Earl Grey tea bags because they're cheap and last me a few weeks.
When I drank coffee, cappuccinos were my favorite because I LOVE the foam, so I try and recreate this with my tea. Once I steep my tea bag in hot water, I warm up some oat milk for about 30 seconds in the microwave (see some of my favorite oat milks below). Then, I froth it until it's nice and foamy and pour it on top of the tea water.
Finally (the most crucial step), I add a few drops of SweetLeaf Sweet Drops Liquid Stevia Sweetener (phew, that's a mouthful). These drops add the perfect amount of sweetness to my tea and are much less wasteful than those little paper Stevia packets. Plus, the bottle lasts so long and is only around $10.
Matcha Tea Latte
Matcha tea lattes are my go-to order whenever I'm out at a coffee shop, but I also like to make my own whenever I don't feel like spending $5 to get it made by someone else. I only recently started making matcha at home, so the only matcha powder I’ve tried so far is Aiya Culinary Grade Matcha. It tastes great and will last me forever!
I either make my matcha tea lattes by dissolving the powder in hot water and then adding frothed oat milk on top, or I'll skip the water and make it only with oat milk. If I'm feeling a cold drink, then I'll pour oat milk over ice, add the matcha powder and the Stevia Drops (matcha powder isn't sweet by itself), and give it a good stir. Delicious!
Oat Milk
Oat milk is the best dairy-free milk in my opinion. I find it to be the creamiest and best tasting. Also, did you know that oat milk is the best milk you can buy for the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and water usage?
I cycle through these three different oat milks depending on what is in stock or on sale at my local grocery store:
- Califia Farms Oat Milk (This once froths really well.)
- Oatly Oat Milk
- Malk Oat Malk Beverage (My new favorite!)
Daytime
WATER.
I try to drink about 96 oz. (or 3 large hydroflasks) of water per day. If this gets too boring, I'll squeeze some lemon into it. Lemon water contains antioxidants and tastes great ;)
Olipop
I can’t believe I almost forgot to include this in my list. I discovered Olipop Sparkling Tonics at the beginning of this summer and I LOVE THEM. This sparkling tonic tastes just like soda (honestly, better in my opinion), and contains prebiotics to benefit your digestive health. My favorite flavor is Root Beer, but they have a ton of other good ones like Strawberry Vanilla, Cola, and Lemon Ginger.
Kombucha
Kombucha is my favorite thing to sip on at the beach! It has many health benefits and contains antioxidants and probiotics. My favorite brands are Better Booch and Brew Dr.
Evening
Mocktails
Even when I drank alcohol, I rarely made my own cocktails, just because I preferred to chug rather than sip. But these days, if my friends are making drinks, I'll occasionally make a mocktail so that I can have something to sip on as well. I have an IGTV video up on my Instagram that shows you how to make three of my favorite easy, low-sugar mocktails. Go check it out!
Ginger Beer
If I'm out with friends at dinner and they're all ordering drinks, sometimes I'll order a ginger beer if they have it on the menu. My favorite brands are Spindrift and Bundaberg's.
Apple Cider Vinegar "Mocktail"
My roommate showed me this one! If you pour a La Croix (or any other sparkling water drink) over ice, add a shot of apple cider vinegar, and then a few of the Stevia sweet drops, you'll end up with a refreshing, delicious drink with amazing health benefits! I used to take shots of apple cider vinegar, but I recently learned you should never do that because drinking the vinegar straight can burn your esophagus over time.
More tea
Finally, at night, I love drinking peppermint or lemon chamomile tea. Peppermint tea helps aid in digestion, while chamomile tea relaxes me.
And last but not least, to wind down, I drink Trader Joe's sleepy time tea. I swear I start getting drowsy after the first few sips, so I only like to drink this right before I go to sleep.
That's all! I hope you enjoyed and found some inspiration for new drinks you may want to try out! Let me know if you guys like this type of post and want more like it! xx