What to drink when not drinking?

[Otta]

Think I've done this thread before sometime long ago, but here we are again.

I'm off the booze for October for this MacMillan fund raising (up to ?225, feel free to chip in).

It's the weekend, what can I get that's a bit more interesting than water, squash or your usual suspects from the fizzy drinks range.

Last couple of nights I've poured myself a glass of Coke and have felt the need to scrub my teeth til my gums bled, you can feel them rotting away as you drink the stuff!

[steveo]

Ginger beer and very strong espresso shots

[MrsMcC]

Fentimans soft drinks are nice, Sainsburys stock some of them http://www.fentimans.com/welcome

[KidKruger]

Otta this was the point of my alcohol-free beer thread a few months ago, when I was 'on holiday' from the sauce.

Some alcohol-free beers taste reasonable (OK, you have to get your head around the fact there's no hit from it) and definitely better than 4 pints of Coke.

Someone on my thread posted a link to a website where you can order a variety of lagers/bitter/wine.

ETA: it's www.alcoholfree.co.uk

[Robert Poste's Child]

Good ginger ale or beer, or proper old-fashioned lemonade. A mix of apple juice and ginger ale is nice. Or you could get one of those nice cordials and top it up with sparkling water, or get a selection of adventurous herbal teas perhaps?

[david_carnell]

Get some bitters - like angostura (but there are many others available) and add to soda water. Feels like a grown up drink rather than fizzy pop which always feels designed for 12 year olds.

[aquarius moon]

If I wasn't drinking I'd have to at least have something that tastes like it. Alcohol free wine is grim but most of the beers eg Becks blue are drinkable.

It's a bit like eating quorn mince instead of mince. Mixed with a sauce, it looks & tastes the same so you can imagine that you are eating the real thing if that's what floats your boat (not mine though)

Hopefully alcohol free beer will work the same way.

If you have a really vivid imagination, you may even get a bit tiddly!

[Otta]

I want to avoid alcohol free beers.

Last time I had a month off (some time ago now) I basically had alcohol free beer all the time, often coupled with a cheeky smoke, in order to try and forget that I wasn't drinking.

This didn't exactly help to break the habit.

So I don't want anything that tastes like booze.

[Otta]

Because although this is a month off for charity, I'm hoping to change my drinking habits a bit along the way.

[*Bob*]

When I don't drink (which admittedly isn't particularly often) I have loads of energy in the evening and find it hard to sit still. I'll be up and down like a whore's drawers, pottering about and doing all the little things I can't be arsed to do when mildly sedated.

So I'd just forget the fizzy pop - and just get a load of stuff done.

[aquarius moon]

Ok. Bad suggestion then. Good luck though. Hope you manage to do it. Don't think I could.

[KidKruger]

My record's 14 months and that was alcohol free beer all the way, mainly cos it was the only drink available at that time in bars without alcohol that didn't involve coke and other sweet-saturated tooth-rotting gut-killing products.

Good luck tho.

[DulwichFox]

Kudzu is good.

It does not make you feel ill if you do drink alcohol.

It takes away the desire to drink alcohol. You just take smaller sips and drinks last longer.

Available from Holland & Barrett.

Have used it in the past when I felt to the need to cut down. It does work.

DulwichFox

[Robert Poste's Child]

Have you tried doing the swap at a behavioural rather than substance level, so changing the order you do things in when you get home, or swapping TV for cooking a nice meal for your wife, or going for walk, or whatever you normally feel you don't have time for? I'm not a drinker but if I'm trying to lose weight going for a walk or swim in the evening does stop the snacking.

[Jeremy]

"Jus De Pommeraie" pear juice is good... very thick consistency, which prevents me from swigging it as quickly I would as a coke or OJ.

[titch juicy]

Spend some money on some decent tea, perhaps a decent chinese or japanese tea.

Then buy a pipe and some opium.

You won't miss drinking at all.

[Salsaboy]

Lemonade with a couple of drops of balsamic vinegar in it. Tastes like Pimms.

[Otta]

I'm quite liking titch juicy's idea.

[Alan Medic]

I'm not sure I understand the concept of making a sacrifice for charity........but that's me.

Anyway, my Mrs has been brewing this drink at home:

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-173858

So far two bottles have exploded while fermenting or whatever it's doing. It's supposed to be healthy and might be fun to try making it to keep yourself occupied.

[Otta]

Some people jump out of a plane "for charity". Bull shit, they want to jump out of a plane and doing it for a charity allows them to.

I'm hoping that people (friends) will appreciate how hard this will be for me and make a donation on recognition of that.

But that's me.

[????]

david_carnell Wrote:

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> Get some bitters - like angostura (but there are

> many others available) and add to soda water.

> Feels like a grown up drink rather than fizzy pop

> which always feels designed for 12 year olds.

This ^^^^^^^

[Otta]

Isn't angostura bitters alcoholic?

[Salsaboy]

You only need a drop or 2.

[Sue]

Soda water and a splash of lime. Lots of ice.

Yeh drop of bitters if you want to make it taste more, er, bitter.

Roll on November, eh?

[numbers]

Jeremy Wrote:

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> "Jus De Pommeraie" pear juice is good... very

> thick consistency, which prevents me from swigging

> it as quickly I would as a coke or OJ.

pear juice is my favourite, its like gold dust. can't get it for love nor money around these here parts. so envious jeremy.