Pregnancy can be a lonely experience for many new mothers, and lockdown has exaggerated the highs and lows.
For mums-to-be, pregnancy is a time to concentrate on their body and the needs of their growing baby, and the coronavirus restrictions have heightened that sense of focusing on home and family.
With the doors to the outside world shut, it has been a perfect time for women to take stock of their own wellness and health and that of the life growing inside of them. Now the doors are opening again, and we are able to socialise in the gardens of friends and family.
Invariably that means invitations to family barbecues where the only non-alcoholic option is sugary, sweet and full of additives.
Women make so many sacrifices for their growing baby, but you don’t need to surrender your taste buds too!
Mothers-to-be are spoiled for choice these days. The alcohol-free drinks industry is booming, and there are luxurious alternatives to every variety of beverage, from beer and wine to champagne and a gin and tonic.
And if you’re missing nights out and fancy a cocktail, there are some delicious alcohol-free versions that you’ll struggle to tell apart from the real thing.
The trick is to come to barbecue season prepared. Stock up on a selection of your favourite alcohol-free tipples and take them with you to garden parties.
You deserve a treat. It’s great that so many pregnant women reduce their alcohol intake while carrying their child, but there are lots of healthy and tasty alternatives that mean the nine months don’t have to be boring.
Some alcohol-free cocktail recipes for mums-to-be:
Virgin mojito
50ml Bax Botanics Verbena
Juice of half a lime
Six fresh mint leaves, bruised
15ml sugar syrup
50ml sparkling grape juice
20ml soda water
Ice
Fresh lime and mint to garnish
Stir together the Bax Verbena, lime juice, mint leaves and sugar syrup in a glass. Add the ice, grape juice and soda. Mix gently and garnish with lime slices and mint.
The Herbologist
25ml Bax Botanics Verbena
25ml elderflower cordial
15ml jasmine syrup
80ml lemonade
Juice of half a lime
Six mint leaves
Crushed ice
Add the ice and herbs to your glass. then add the syrups, lime juice and Bax Botanics. Stir and top up with lemonade and more ice if needed. Garnish and serve with a straw.
Alcohol-Free Pornstar Martini
Voted Britain’s favourite cocktail in 2018. This alcohol-free version has all the flavours of the classic without the after-effects. Created in the early 2000s by Douglas Ankrah, the cocktail was all about being decadent, luxurious and provocative.
50ml Bax Botanics Sea Buckthorn
One passion fruit
5ml vanilla extract
30ml sugar syrup
8ml lime juice
A few cubes of Ice
Slice the passion fruit two-thirds of the way along and reserve the smaller piece for garnish.
Scoop the pulp from the passion fruit into a cocktail shaker and add all the other ingredients. Shake well for a minute then double strain into a Martini glass. Serve with the small piece of passion fruit floating in the cocktail.
Add to cocktail shaker with ice, shake well then strain into martini glass.
Alcohol-free Gin & Tonic
50ml Bax Botanics Sea Buckthorn
150ml Fever-Tree light tonic
A strip of orange zest to garnish
Pour Bax Botanics over ice, top up with tonic and add a garnish of orange zest.
Bax Botanics distils a secret recipe of herbs, roots, berries and flowers to create alcohol-free spirits with layers of complex flavours. Ingredients are FairTrade from sustainable organic sources. Their two main products – Sea Buckthorn and Verbena – are sold in The Botanist cocktail bar chain, Master of Malt’s online store and Booths supermarkets. For more information, please visit: www.baxbotanics.com