
Livia Ly, MS, RD, LDN
Wellness Is Trendy Now and Mocktails Are the Trendiest New Cocktail
Choose these healthy and delicious alternatives to booze!

Non-alcoholic healthy cocktails (not soda and sugary syrup, guys) are making their way onto bars and restaurant menus across the country, blending delicious and nutritious ingredients, such as kombucha, herbs, spices, coconut milk, and fruits into refreshing booze-free drinks. And they're attracting the health-conscious crowd -- like my clients!
Check out and save these 10 recipes to make at home or for a party!
1. Probiotic-rich Minty Green Kombucha Mocktail
Picture and recipe adapted from Camille Styles

Ingredients
for the green juice:
1 cup of diced pineapple
1 1/2 cups of organic spinach
1 green organic apple
3 – 4 sprigs of organic mint
3/4 cup of natural coconut water
for the mocktail:
9 oz of pure kombucha, original/
gingermint stems for garnish
Directions
Add all of the green juice ingredients to a juicer – using the coconut water last. Set aside.
Add ice to your glasses and pour about 3 oz of kombucha into the glass.
Slowly pour over the green juice.
Garnish with mint stems and serve cold.
Serves 3
2. Blackberry Vanilla Mocktail
Picture and recipe adapted from La Fuji Mama

Ingredients
1/3 cup fresh organic blackberries
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp raw honey
Sparkling Water
Directions
In the bottom of a glass or cocktail shaker, use the back of a spoon or a muddler to muddle the blackberries with the lemon juice, vanilla, honey, and a splash of the sparkling water.
Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer and then again through a coffee filter to get the liquid nice and clean.
After straining the liquid, transfer it to a cocktail glass filled with ice and fill the remainder of the glass with sparkling water.
Garnish with some fresh blackberries and mint leaves.
Serves 1
3. Sparkling Chia Kombucha Mocktail
Picture and recipe adapted from The Glowing Fridge

Ingredients
Sparkling water
Kombucha
Organic blueberries
Chia seeds
Lemon
Ice
Directions
Pour half sparkling water with half kombucha over ice.
Add a handful of fresh blueberries and sprinkle with chia seeds. Add a lemon wedge.
4. French 75 Mocktail
Picture and recipe adapted from Always Order Dessert

Ingredients
2 cups ice
3 ounces fresh lemon juice
4 dashes lemon or orange bitters
2 (6-8oz) bottles sparkling water
2 rock candy swizzle sticks, optional
Directions
Add fresh lemon juice and bitters to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until frosty then divide into two champagne flutes or coupe glasses.
Top off with sparkling water until it reaches about 3/4 of the way up the glass.
Garnish with the swizzle sticks and serve immediately. NOTE: Can't find rock candy or want a healthier version? Add 1/2 teaspoon coconut palm sugar along with the lemon juice and bitters in the shaker.
Serves 2
5. Non-alcoholic Sangria
Picture and recipe adapted from kitchn

Ingredients
2 cups boiling water
2 black tea bags (or 2 teaspoons loose-leaf tea in an infuser; decaf tea is fine)
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
3 cups unsweetened pomegranate juice or 1 oz unsweetened pomegranate juice concentrate with the rest of filtered water
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 medium orange, sliced into thin rounds
1 medium lemon, sliced into thin rounds
1 medium lime, sliced into thin rounds
1 medium organic apple, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
3 cups sparkling water
Directions
Pour the boiling water over tea bags and cinnamon sticks and steep for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags and stir in sugar to dissolve.
In a large jar or pitcher, combine tea, cinnamon sticks, pomegranate juice, orange juice, orange, lemon, lime, and apple. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight.
Just before serving, stir in carbonated water. Serve in glasses over ice.
Serves 8
6. Coconut Water Mojito Mocktail
Picture and recipe from The Tofu Diaries

Ingredients
1/2 lime, cut into three wedges
2 springs fresh organic mint
1/2 tsp coconut palm sugar
2 cubes ice
100 ml natural coconut water
100 ml sparkling water
Directions
Add the lime wedges into the glass, squeezing as you do.
Slap the mint leaves on the back of your hand a few times and add them to the glass too.
Add in the sugar and "muddle" using a narrow rolling pin or the end of a wooden spoon.
Add the ice, coconut water and sparkling water to the glass. Stir gently to mix and serve.
Serves 1
7. Alcohol-free Piña Colada
Picture and recipe adapted from House of Yumm

Ingredients
1 cup cream of coconut
3/4 cup fresh pineapple juice
2 cups ice
Optional garnishes - organic cherries and pineapple chunks
Directions
Open the cream of coconut and stir, it will be slightly separated in the can. Once combined, pour 1 cup into a small mixing bowl.
Add in the pineapple juice. Stir to combine.
Add the ice to a blender or food processor and run for 3-4 minutes, pour in the juice and continue to blend for another minute until you have a slushy consistency.
Pour into two glasses and garnish with cherries and pineapples as desired.
Serves 2
8. Non-alcoholic Ginger Spritzer
Picture and recipe adapted from In Sonnet's Kitchen

Ingredients
2-inch piece of fresh ginger root, chopped
1.5 cups of filtered water
16 oz sparkling water
Ice
Lemon for garnish
Directions
Bring water to a boil, add ginger, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes - 1 hour.
Drain tea and chill in the refrigerator until serving.
Mix tea with sparkling water, add ice and garnish with lemon wedge or spiral.
Serves 2
9. Switchel
Picture from Natural Fit Foodie and recipe adapted from The Healthy Home Economist

Ingredients
2 quarts filtered water
1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp raw honey
2 tsp ginger ground
1 tsp turmeric optional, ground
1 pinch cardamom optional, ground
Directions
Place all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix very well. You can add ice and drink the switchel immediately at this point if you like.
If you prefer a more carbonated beverage, then take this additional step: slowly pour mixture into large glass bottles with wire and ball stoppers and fasten the lids. Alternatively, you can mix up the switchel with cold, sparkling mineral water and get the bubbly right away without bottling.
Leave the sealed bottles on the counter for at least 2-3 days (up to a week or two is fine also if your kitchen is very cool) to add carbonation and then refrigerate.
Open in the sink slowly and only when the beverage is very cold to prevent explosions or the switchel foaming out of the bottle and making a mess.
If you used fresh ginger, sieve the switchel as you pour it from the bottle into your glass.
Serves 8
10. Kombucha Mimosa Mocktail
Picture and recipe adapted from goop

Ingredients
Ice (optional)
1/2 cup plain or ginger/lemon kombucha
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Directions
Mix together and serve in a champagne flute.
Serves 1
September 7, 2017