A week ago yesterday I decided that I’d try to see how long I could go without drinking alcohol. I knew it was important to have a goal date to work towards, so I chose my best friends wedding on May 17th. Did I think I could go three weeks without alcohol? I knew it was possible, but it’d be very challenging. What really motivated me to go for it was when I asked Blaine if he thought I could do it and he said “No.” Well, that was just fuel for the fire – motivation.
I’m one week in and I have had three challenging opportunities to drink, yet I chose not to (no I’m not pregnant). For me, it’s when I’m out to dinner, brunch, or even relaxing at home watching sports that I’ll want to have a glass of wine or a hard cider. So I’ve made it one week and I only have two more to go.
Another reason why I chose to go without alcohol for a three-week time period is because I wanted to see how it affected my body – physically and mentally. I believe that if you can stick to something for a week, it can become a habit. I guess we will find out within the next two weeks how things will go. The down side to this experiment is that when I do go to drink at this wedding, my tolerance won’t quite be where I’d like it to be.
Sunday, May 4th was a beautiful day and Sundays in Minnesota paired with sunshine usually equal Sunday fun day and Sunday fun day usually equals lost of alcohol. Being I am abstaining from alcohol, this means no delicious mimosa, mouth water bloody Mary, or even my favorite refreshing glass of Sauvignon blanc. Ugh – why am I doing this!? Oh yeah, that’s right – because it’s easy to give in and it feels better to say no thank you! It’s not that I’ll never be able to indulge in a Sunday fun day again, but here’s the thing – I know there will be plenty of opportunities this summer for drowning in some heavenly summer cocktails and glasses… Or bottles of wine. For now, I just want to prove to myself it’s okay to say I choose not to.
“I CHOOSE NOT TOO” – try it verses “I CAN’T” because honestly, it’s not that I CAN’T have a glass of wine, it’s because I’m choosing not to – for the time being. If I CHOSE to grab for that un open bottle of wine and indulge in a glass as I lay in bed writing this, I’d still wake up tomorrow alive. “I’M CHOOSING NOT TO.”
So yesterday on my way home from a fabulous morning with friends at the MPLS Farmers Market and brunch to follow, I hadn’t had a drop of alcohol and was itching for a refreshing summer drink, what with the sunshine pouring down that day and all. I decided to stop at the grocery store and grab some fresh and low-calorie ingredients to mix up something to Moc what I was craving, but of course without the alcohol. This concoction essentially turned into a virgin raspberry lemonade mojito.
I challenge you to try this recipe out and see if you could go with out alcohol in your cup every time!
INGREDIENTS
(will vary depending on your fruit choice)
- Lime wedges
- Lemon wedges
- Crystal light – raspberry lemonade or whichever flavor sounds yummy to you
- Fresh raspberries or fruit of your choice
- Fresh mint
- Soda water – I used raspberry flavored
DIRECTIONS
- Wash your fresh fruit
- Slice your lemons and limes
- fill a glass of your choice with ice, top with your fresh fruit and mint, cover with your flavored soda water and a packet of your water flavoring.
- Mix together and simply enjoy
MOSTLY.FOOD. 