Fun Summer Mocktails—Fresh, Quenching and Healthy!

Just about everything is better in the summer. It’s all because of the fresh ingredients that are available. This includes the tasty and thirst quenching concoctions we can create. The good news is that mocktails are in. You don’t need to consume alcohol to get in the party mood, sip a sexy drink, or share a memorable experience as part of your summer fun.

Balance is the key. If you do want to add alcohol to these drinks that is easy to do. The main point is you don’t have to. Recent research conducted by Cambridge University found that the people who consume more than one drink a day face greater risks of dying from any cause than those who drink less. Very light drinking seemed to have a small protective effect against non-fatal heart attacks. But drinking above 100 grams a week also kicked off much higher risk of stroke, heart failure, fatal aortic aneurysm, and disease from high blood pressure that could cancel out the benefits from lower heart attack risks. The challenge is to find a way to choose whether we want to drink alcohol, when we want to consume it, and how much we really want to imbibe.

Using fresh herbs, juices, sparkling waters and muddling of fresh fruits are a great way to concoct you own favorite summer mocktails. The combinations are honestly limitless. And it can be a great element of a party to provide a variety of ingredients and have your guests “build their own” unique versions. Or if you want everyone to share in the memory of a special mocktail you can mix it ahead and serve it up in a punch bowl or pitcher. You decide. Remember to include the garnishes to make the special drinks gorgeous to behold.

Three Fun Hand-Crafted Mocktails for Any Occasion

Cranberry Lime Spritzer

Ingredients

• ⅛ cup 100% cranberry juice
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• ¼ teaspoon lime zest
• 3 drops Sweet Leaf—Sweet Drops
• 6 ounces sparkling water
• Garnish: slice of lime placed on the rim of the glass or on top of the drink.

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Stir to blend.
3. Add crushed ice.
4. Pour sparkling water up to the fill line (8 ounces).
5. Add garnish.

Tips

1. Use the ⅛ cup LivSpoon for easy measuring when making this drink.
2. Want it sweeter? Substitute diet 7-Up for the sparkling water and skip the Sweet Drops.
3. Serve it up in Livliga’s Aveq beverage glass.

Serves: 1     Serving size: 8 ounces

Calories per serving: 21     Fat: .03g     Sodium: 51mg     Carbs: 5.28g     Protein: .1g

Grapefruit Mint Mixer

Ingredients

• ⅛ cup grapefruit juice juice
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• ¼ teaspoon orange zest
• 6 ounces sparkling water
• 1 teaspoon muddled mint
• Garnish: sprig of mint tucked in the side of the glass

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Stir to blend.
3. Add crushed ice.
4. Pour sparkling water up to the fill line (8 ounces).
5. Add garnish.

Tips

1. Use the ⅛ cup LivSpoon for easy measuring when making this drink.
2. Want it sweeter? Substitute diet 7-Up for the sparkling water and skip the Sweet Drops.
3. Serve it up in Livliga’s Aveq beverage glass.

Serves: 1     Serving size: 8 ounces

Calories per serving: 19     Fat: .03g     Sodium: 50mg     Carbs: 4.77g     Protein: .26g

Muddled Strawberry Cooler

Ingredients

• ⅛ cup lemon juice
• 3 muddled strawberries
• ¼ teaspoon lemon zest
• 6 ounces sparkling water
• Garnish: whole strawberry with top placed on the rim of the glass or on top of the drink.

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Stir to blend.
3. Add crushed ice.
4. Pour sparkling water up to the fill line (8 ounces).
5. Add garnish.

Tips

1. Use the ⅛ cup LivSpoon for easy measuring when making this drink.
2. Want it sweeter? Substitute diet 7-Up for the sparkling water and skip the Sweet Drops.
3. Serve it up in Livliga’s Aveq beverage glass.

Serves: 1     Serving size: 8 ounces

Calories per serving: 20   Fat: 0g     Sodium: 50mg      Carbs: 5.41g     Protein: .31g


For More Drink Ideas: 

Rosemary Tequila Lime Smash
Watermelon Lemonade
Cantaloupe Frappe
Cranberry Lemonade Cocktail



Healthy Lifestyle Tip: Looking for a way to serve up refreshing drinks in right-sized glasses? Check out Livliga's stylish Aveq Drinking Glasses! Portion control never looked so good…or plentiful!

#sobercurious

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Book Review: When Food Is Your Frenemy by Jacob Bustos

The wonderful part of traveling to many different healthy-related conferences is you get to meet so many great people. One such person is Jacob Bustos. Like me, he is committed to helping people change their lives and live as their healthiest selves. He does this by sharing his personal story and the insights he has gained through his own weight loss journey.

When Food is Your Frenemy is an authentic and heartfelt book. Jacob shares his own personal story in an honest and forthright way of how he chose bariatric surgery and practices portion control to take back his health and put back the joy in his life. Not only does he tell his story but he also offers sage advice regarding the realities and challenges of weight loss surgery and reclaiming your life.

Some of his sage advice includes:

 

Mindset Matters.

He believes you have to have the mindset to be willing to embrace change. One of the ways you embrace change is by setting “SMART” goals. He also makes the point that positive thinking will yield better results.

 

Choose Your Path.

Jacob points out that no matter how grim a person’s health situation may be, you always have options. It is your choice what path you choose. The key is in sticking to it.

 

Moving Forward Requires Forgiving Yourself and Learning to Love Yourself.

As Jacob states in chapter 7, “ In order for your mind to move forward, you have to forgive yourself.” As he points out, the biggest change that happens when you lose significant weight is inside. In fact he goes on to say, “…I had to learn to love again. Not to love just anyone, but to love myself!” He makes it clear that in order to truly move forward you have to address your self-esteem and work at being “at home” with yourself.

 

Get Back Cooking in the Kitchen.

In order to control our food environment we have to change the way we eat. The best way to do that is to get back cooking in the kitchen. It is how we can control what we eat as well as how much we serve up.

 

Portion Control Matters.

He makes it clear in chapter 9 that “In order for you to be successful in your weight loss endeavor, portion control will be absolutely crucial to your victory.” He believes to lose weight and keep it off you need to think about eating only 1000 calories a day. The best way to manage your limited calories is to eat several small meals throughout the day to prevent your body from going into starvation mode. Perhaps the most important point he makes in this section is that “You should also use small plates when enjoying a meal—since it will look like more food than you think.” Jacob has served up more than one meal on our Just Right Set® bariatric when competing as a chef at the Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America (WLSFA) Bariatric Chopped event during their annual conference.

It is clear that Jacob cares and has shared his personal story to help people with their own weight loss and health journey. His book is filled with information and advice to help guide those looking for answers and insight. He even offers up a few of his own recipes. If you are one of those looking for someone who understands and can help you along your journey, Jacob and his book, When Food Is Your Frenemy, is a good place to start.

Are you looking for some more bariatric-friendly recipes to serve up right-sized?

Download Our Free
Just Right Set^® Bariatric eCookbook

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Livliga Special Offerings for Amazon Prime Day through Friday July 20th!

It’s (still) Amazon Prime Day and Livliga® has 2 products that are designated as “Amazon Choice.” What does this mean for you? A great product for a great price. Now is the time to buy! Happy #PrimeDayDeals #LivligaDeals #AmazonChoice

Oh...and we are offering 20% off our most popular products! Including the LivSpoon® AND the Just Right Set® bariatric! #PrimeDay #HappyShopping 😍

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Fresh Strawberry and Banana Homemade Ice Cream With Jello

This recipe is easy to make (only 5 ingredients!), has a great fruit taste and a vibrant look to it. Perfect for a summertime refreshing snack or dessert. It is more of an ice milk or granita in texture. I added nonfat milk to enhance the protein in the recipe. If you are looking for something fun to do with kids this is it. This recipe can be used to make popsicles too. The secret is in the jello.

I am a firm believer that life should have its Guilty Pleasures. The key is to make them “healthy” and not destructive to our goals and life vision. This ice cream is just such a guilty pleasure. To make it look like plenty of ice cream and to make this special pleasure last longer and allow me to savor every bite I served it up in my Just Right Set® dishes and used my new Just Right Set® bariatric spoon. Check out the photos to see how its looks and how much pleasure I must have gotten out of my “healthy” guilty pleasure treat!

When I was working on this recipe I thought it would be fun to do a taste test with a few family and friends. The main ingredient difference for the taste test was the type of jello I used. I didn’t want to add additional sugar/substitute and I wanted to see (with a blind test, of course) which version people preferred. I tried the new “Simply Good” strawberry jello with real cane sugar, sugar-free strawberry jello and then banana creme sugar-free pudding jello. Hands down the winner was the sugar-free strawberry jello version. It had the brightest color and flavor of the three versions. The winning recipe is below.

Fresh Strawberry and Banana Homemade Ice Cream With Jello:

Ingredients

• 1 cup nonfat milk
• 1 ripe banana (can be frozen)
• 1 cup strawberries (can be frozen)
• 1 package sugar free strawberry jello (.6 ounce)
• 1 pinch of Kosher salt

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend well.
2. Pour mixture into an airtight container with a wide mouth for easy scooping later.
3. Place in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
4. Serve when ready or anytime there after for a tasty treat.

Tip

1. If the ice cream is too hard to scoop let it sit out on the counter for 15-20 minutes. In a hurry? Place the ice cream in the microwave on high for 10 seconds.
2. This recipe makes great popsicles too. Just pour in the molds and freeze.

Serves: 6   Serving size: ½ cup

Calories per serving: 52   Fat: .22g   Sodium: 121mg   Carbs: 8.42   Protein: 3.11

Looking for more healthy dessert recipes?

Download Our Free eBook:
Healthy Lifestyle & Weight Loss

 

Enjoy! And Live vibrant!

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