Whether you are looking to impress your loved ones or just have a fresh drink at the end of the day ~ you might like to try these cooling and healthy mocktails by our in-store Naturopath, Jana. All ingredients can be found in Santos Organics.
Firstly, choose your base. Start off with a base such as kombucha (which has a very minimal amount of alcohol, so steer clear if you don’t want that!), herbal tea, seltzer, a healthy soda, fresh juice or coconut water ~ but don’t go overboard with juice because it’s high in sugar.
Secondly, go for flavour. Add flavours such as fruit, citrus or even veggies such as tomatoes, fennel or cucumbers if you want to try a more savoury flavour. Then add fresh kitchen herbs such as rosemary, sage, basil or mint, or ground herbs such as cinnamon, cardamom or ginger. Fresh finger lime and a touch of fresh turmeric is a very nice addition too. Then add your herbal medicine ~ I love to add medicinal herbs to mocktails in tincture form from the Santos Organics herbal dispensary. Some herbs are relaxing and others are energizing... some are helpful for supporting our stress response, whilst others are heart openers, aphrodisiacs, gut soothers and more.
One important note: tinctures are most often extracted in alcohol. The amount of alcohol you ingest is minimal but if you are 100 percent alcohol-free, opt for glycerine-based tinctures and powders, or make teas using the loose herb. If you are sensitive to herbs, reduce your tincture to ½ dropper and then increase to 1 over time.
Before taking any herbal tinctures or naturopathic products/supplements please always consult with your preferred doctor or naturopath and also check if you have health concerns or are pregnant regarding to the safety of herbs.
Deeply Relaxing Carrot and Orange Mocktail
Skullcap, a member of the mint family, is primarily known as a nervous system soother — meaning you can sip on this and welcome relaxation. It’s paired with rosemary, which has been indicated medicinally to ease stress and offers other benefits such as improving blood circulation and memory.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of fresh blood orange juice
- ¼ cup of fresh carrot juice
- 1 dropper of skullcap tincture (from Santos Organics dispensary)
- Sprig fresh organic rosemary
- Squeeze of lime or lemon
- Raw honey or maple to taste
Method:
Mix all ingredients together, muddling the rosemary if possible.
To make the cocktail taste fizzy, add ¼ cup of mineral water and reduce the blood orange juice.
The Balancer Mocktail
This mocktail features the adaptogens ashwagandha and shatavari — the primary male and female herbs in Ayurveda. These herbs aren’t gender-specific, per se; their classification is more indicative of their energetics. Shatavari is known to support reproductive health and vitality in both men and women, and ashwagandha supports overall vitality and stress management. The recipe also includes apples, which are considered cooling in Ayurveda, and ginger and cinnamon, which are considered warming.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cups of fresh apple juice of cloudy apple juice
- 1/2 cup of sparkling mineral water
- 1/2 dropper Ashwagandha tincture (from Santos Organics dispensary)
- 1/2 dropper Shatavari tincture (from Santos Organics dispensary)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- Squeeze of lime
- Handful of fresh mint leaves
Mix and enjoy! Serve over ice cubes
Aphrodisiac Mocktail
This mocktail is full of herbal goodness including damiana, a herbal aphrodisiac. The recipe also calls for hibiscus ginger kombucha, but if you want to go kombucha-free, just grab a tea bag or some loose hibiscus leaves and steep as a tea along with some fresh ginger to use as the base (or swap it out for another kombucha flavour that sounds good to you). Hibiscus is very high in vitamin C and minerals and is known to stabilize blood pressure. Ginger is a powerhouse herb: It aids digestion, lowers inflammation, reduces pain, and more. And we can’t forget about cinnamon, which helps to regulate blood sugar
and is highly antioxidant. Reminder: Kombucha does have a minimal amount of alcohol as well as caffeine, so be aware if you are sensitive or do not consume one or both.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of Hibiscus and ginger Kombucha which will support your gut
- 1 dropper damiana tincture
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Slices of lemon to decorate
- Stick of cinnamon to decorate
Mix and feel the love.
