12 Insanely Delicious Mocktail Recipes
Two weeks ago at Be Well Boot Camp, I moderated a fascinating panel discussion with two of the area’s best and brightest breast doctors: Marisa Weiss, director of breast radiation oncology at Lankenau Medical Center and founder of Breastcancer.org, and Beth DuPree, our 2012 Health Hero and top breast surgeon at Holy Redeemer. We chatted about breast-cancer risk factors, how and why to do self-breast exams, Angelina Jolie’s mastectomy (of course), and how to lower your breast-cancer odds.
One of the biggest prevention tips that’s been ringing in my ears since Boot Camp is cutting down on alcohol consumption. Dr. Weiss explained that regular drinking increases a woman’s risk for hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer by boosting levels of estrogen and other hormones. Listen to this:
Compared to women who don’t drink at all, women who have three alcoholic drinks per week have a 15% higher risk of breast cancer. Experts estimate that the risk of breast cancer goes up another 10% for each additional drink women regularly have each day.
Ugh. None of that sounds good.
Dr. DuPree said she’s managed to cut way back on her red-wine habit without sacrificing the unwind-with-a-drink ritual. Her trick? Mocktails. Dr. DuPree’s go-to is a concoction of antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice and seltzer, which looks a heckuva lot like red wine but without the breast-cancer-risk-increasing side effects. Smart, right?
If you want to cut back, too, here are 12 delicious mocktail recipes to help you get started.
Mock Champagne
via Allrecipes.com
Bubbly with none of the bad stuff.
Cucumber Punch
via Allrecipes.com
This sounds both interesting and refreshing: cucumber slices, lemonade, and white grape juice.
Virgin Grapefruit Mojito
via HGTV
As I said on Instagram recently, I love me some grapefruit. This mocktail looks like it hits all the right sweet/tart notes.
Ginger-Lime Fizz
via Martha Stewart
You need 1.5 pounds of thinly sliced fresh ginger for this recipe. Whoa.
Tomato-Peach Spritzer
via Vegetarian Times
Interesting combo! Also: how very summery.
Virgin Mary
via Fab Food
For all you brunch drinkers.
Watermelon Strawberry Cooler
via The Kitchn
Can someone please whip up a several hundred gallons of this and deliver it to my office right now? Kthanksbye.
Banane et Orange
via Glamour
Orange meets ginger meets banana in this drink that makes you go, Oo la la!
Lady Lavender’s Mocktail
via Food & Wine
I love, love, love lavender. In fact, once I had a fancy margarita in which the rim of the cup was lined with crushed lavender instead of salt. All of which is to say: I’m dying to try this one.
Sparking Virgin Cosmo
via Sheknows.com
For those Saturday nights when you and your girlfriends are feeling oh-so-very Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda.
Summer Pineapple Strawberry Cooler
via Mom Magazine
Add one of those little paper umbrellas and you can almost (almost!) picture yourself in the Caribbean.
Basil-ade
via La Jolla Mom
You know how much I love lavender? Same goes for basil. Here, it’s mixed with muddled berries and lemonade. Yum!
Photo: Shutterstock
