YumSugar

Bottoms Up! 10 Mocktails For Pregnant Wedding Guests

LilSugar — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 05:00:13 PDT

Anyone who's attended a wedding while pregnant has experienced the challenges of finding a dress that fits, having the stamina to stay up late, and making the most of a cocktail hour . . . without a cocktail. If you've done it all as a member of a wedding party, we salute you! In honor of wedding season, we've rounded up 10 delicious, nonalcoholic drink recipes for moms-to-be, or anyone looking to cut back on their liquor intake. Cheers!

Drink Up: 7 Healthy Mocktail Recipes

Lizzie Fuhr — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:46:30 PDT

If you're looking to cut out a chunk of sugar or empty calories from your diet, letting go of alcohol is a great place to start. But I also know the pain of saying no to all the gorgeous cocktails your friends are enjoying at weekend BBQs and sunny happy hour extravaganzas. Each of these seven mocktail recipes will give you the color and freshness you're missing without any of the booze. Click through to see the seven beautiful mocktails I'd love to enjoy ASAP!

Sip on This: Sweet and Zingy Mocktail

Anna Monette Roberts — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:38:08 PST

The Ranch at Live Oak Malibu, a detox spa and fitness resort, created this sparkling green mocktail recipe. Melon and apple add a natural sweetness, celery and ginger add edge and spiciness, and sparkling water gives the beverage a little fizz. Whether you're looking to detox or to replace your 5 p.m. cocktail, here's a simply satisfying mocktail recipe to get you started.

Learn how to make this recipe after the break!

Berry Tempting: Raspberry Lemonade

partysugar — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:00:42 PDT

When hosting a female-centric event like a baby or bridal shower, it's important to offer a special nonalcoholic drink for those who don't sip alcohol. My favorite mocktail? Raspberry lemonade. It's a combination of fresh raspberry syrup, lemon juice, sugar, and water. What I love about this recipe is its adaptability. If it's too sweet, dilute with water. If it's too sour, add more sugar. It's also easy to turn into an alcoholic concoction, all you have to do is add sparkling wine or vodka. Fabulous! Get the recipe I like here.

Happy Hour: Cascal Crisp White

YumSugar — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:00:26 PDT

It's been a while since I've posted a happy hour drink that doesn't contain alcohol, but guess what? I've been struggling to get back up after a bout with the stomach flu, and those two things mix together about as well as oil and water.

Since liquids are about the only thing I've been ingesting anyway, I gave my not-so-mini bar a quick glance to see what alcohol-free beverages I might be able to enjoy. Staring back at me was Cascal, a new drink that's being billed as the sophisticated soda for adults.

Cascal comes in three bottles that all sound reminiscent of fine wine: Crisp White, Light Red, and Fine Dry.
I tried the Crisp White, and it fell somewhere in between a white wine spritzer and a light beer. The flavor had a distinctly floral nose and a rather interesting finish that was sweet but not syrupy in the least and a bit sour from the drink's double fermentation process. As with kombucha, an affinity for this fermented beverage takes a few sips of getting used to. But the idea of a more complex soda for adults is something I'll toast to, both in sickness and in health. Have you tried Cascal?

Do You Order a Special Drink When Flying?

YumSugar — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:07:56 PDT

As we approach the end of Summer, chances are you've spent some time these last few months traveling via airplane. Whenever I hit the skies, I treat myself to a ginger ale and cranberry juice mocktail. I try to avoid alcohol while flying (makes jet lag worse!), so this bubbly nonalcoholic drink is just the ticket. I feel a little high maintenance ordering the mixed refreshment, but it's become a ritual and a treat I only divulge in on flights. Do you have an airplane drink? Or do you stick to water or soda?

Come Party With Me: Beach Cleanup - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:00:19 PDT

Nothing says picnic more than lemonade, and for an Earth Day themed beach cleanup I'm packing an icebox filled with the citrus cooler. Tarragon is an unexpected flavoring agent that makes this lemonade recipe special. It takes the nostalgic childhood pitcher drink to a whole new gourmet level. It also provides a subtle herbaceous quality to the refreshing beverage. The syrup needs time to steep and cool, so get started on this concoction the day before your picnic. Look at the easy recipe when you

Tarragon Lemonade
From Food & Wine

Ingredients

10 cups water
2 1/4 cups sugar
17 tarragon sprigs
6 cups fresh lemon juice, strained (from about 40 lemons), plus 12 thin lemon slices for garnish
Salt
Ice

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine 4 cups of water with the sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer over moderately high heat until reduced to 3 1/4 cups, about 25 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add 5 of the tarragon sprigs. Let stand, stirring often, until cooled to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Discard the tarragon sprigs.
In a large glass pitcher, combine the remaining 6 cups of water with the tarragon syrup and fresh lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt, stirring until it dissolves.
Serve the tarragon lemonade over ice, garnished with the lemon slices and the remaining 12 tarragon sprigs.

Serves 12.

Print recipe with images | without images

Come Party With Me: Vegan Dinner - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:00:20 PST

It seems like everyone I know is detoxing this week. People are working out, staying in, and eating healthy. To support my sister and friends, who are on a 10-day vegan cleanse, I'm making a figure-friendly meal full of vegetables. Since they've also given up drinking, I'll have to serve a nonalcoholic beverage. Instead of offering something boring like water, I'm whipping up a round of this uplifting refresher. It's a combination of muddled mint and pineapple and pomegranate juice. It's fruity, but not too heavy and will pair perfectly with chickpea, mint, and parsley spread. To look at the easy recipe, keep reading.

Yummy Links: From Steering Wheel Tables to Preggatinis

partysugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:50:34 PDT

Just what the world needs! A steering wheel dining table. - Eat Me Daily
Michael Symon has plans to open a burger joint. - Eater
Did the Internet kill Gourmet magazine?- Serious Eats
Ashley talks about her experience on Top Chef. - The Feedbag
Do you have a food blog? Here's how you can celebrate Gourmet. - A Mingling of Tastes
Michael Ruhlman is now excepting your comments and questions. - Chow
Mario Batali describes his ideal last meal. - The Epi-Log
Ben Ali, the founder of Ben's Chili Bowl has passed away. - Grub Street NY
Moms-to-be: check out these non-alcoholic mocktails. - Simply Stated

Come Party With Me: Change the World - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:30:55 PDT

To promote the book Change the World For Ten Bucks, which my sister is on the cover of, she is organizing a day of volunteerism. Since I'm unable to attend, I've offered to make her and the volunteers lunch. Besides bottled water, I plan on serving pink lemonade. Not the kind that comes from concentrate, but a refreshing and delicious variation that gets its vibrant hue from strawberries.

If you make this, take the time to juice the lemons - you can really taste the difference with fresh juice. For the recipe to this picnic classic,

Pink Lemonade
From Katie Brown

Ingredients

1 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed or bottled
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup sugar
5 cups water
1 lemon (optional, for slices)

Directions

In a blender, puree lemon juice and strawberries. Strain through fine mesh strainer pressing berries with spatula.
Combine juice, sugar, and water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a jar and cover. Refrigerate. Add lemon slices before serving.

Serves 4-6.

Print recipe with images | without images