This past Memorial Day weekend you may have attended a few BBQs or strolled the beach at Fiesta Hermosa and I’m guessing even had a few cocktails or brewskis to wet your palate.  If this was your first time reintroducing alcohol to your diet after our Whole 90 Challenge, you may have noticed that your body’s response to alcohol may have changed a bit.  Your tolerance level might not be so high after eating/drinking clean for 90+ days and you might have realized the effects associated with alcohol (the “buzz”, headaches, nausea, even guilt) may not be something that’s worth it for you any longer.

Recently, Whole 9 wrote about some great alternatives to adult “mocktails”.  They list several options for drinks you can order at the bar or even mix up yourself at home that won’t come with the ill effects of alcohol.  Now you may be thinking, ‘Isn’t that just like SWYPO?’  Well, no it isn’t, and here’s their reasons why:

“While these mocktails LOOK like the real thing, they aren’t going to taste like the real thing (though they are delish). Plus, you aren’t going to get the same “experience factor” as you would with a beer, glass of wine or margarita.

Where paleo-fying things like desserts and junk food is merely you trying to recreate the magic of a cookie (a sweet, soft, or crunchy food-with-no-brakes), these pumped-up drinks will give you the social reward of a cocktail, but none of the buzz, the sweetness, or the hangover. Plus, there’s no motivation to overconsume these fancypants drinks, unlike what tends to happen when you get a margarita (or four) in you.

Simply put, drinking one of these mocktails would be akin to creating a meatloaf “birthday cake” – still lots of fun, but no one’s gonna mistake it for the real deal. Although you can feel free to keep your mocktail status to yourself, and rip it up on the dance floor with the best of ‘em. No one needs to know that’s how you behave stone-cold sober.”

Some of my fave concoctions involve La Croix, a great option for soda water with a multitude of flavors as Sean has covered here, mixed with a squeeze of fresh lime and a splash of apple juice.  The La Croix peach pear flavor mixes wonderfully with some muddled peaches at the bottom, kind of like a peach bellini but without the prosecco.  For more fanciful mocktail recipes and ideas, you can read the rest of the Whole 9 article here.

As SoCal weather continues to heat up and beach season starts, try these mocktails out to quench your thirst.  Consume your calories via BBQ rather than alcohol and forego the “buzz” and those nasty hangovers.  I dare ya!

WOD 05.31.2013

Bench press 3 x 5

Buy in: 15 Squats (225#/155#)

Then, 4 Rounds of

• 4 Pullovers (sub: 6 strict chin ups)
• 10 Handstand Push Ups

(sub 20 push ups)

• 30 Double unders