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Pregnancy Whiskey Proxy

A glass of faux whiskey for when you can't have the real thing (say, because you're pregnant).

I love whiskey. I didn’t like it the first time I tried it. Or the second. In fact, for years I thought I hated it. Then a magical trip to Ireland changed my mind and now I love it. And although there are much worse hardships with being pregnant, I have missed pouring a little whiskey over some ice and enjoying it with a nice long chat with a friend. As I’ve been thinking about pleasurable drinks I can still enjoy during pregnancy, I’ve realized there’s NOTHING that can actually replace it or quite emulate whiskey.

But I can approximate the general experience of drinking a whiskey. I want something deeply brown sugary tasting with a little vanilla and other kinds of uncertain complexity to it. So here is a syrup made with molasses and honey, vanilla and spices. You pour a little over ice and top with just a bit of seltzer. It’s strongly flavored and complex, for sipping, not gulping. See the full post with all recipe links here. Keep reading

Grapefruit Ginger Drink

This grapefruit and ginger drink is my Mimosa replacement. Orange juice with seltzer is a very nice drink, but I wanted something a little more interesting and flavorful. This drink uses the ginger syrup from the homemade ginger ale recipe so be sure you make that first as it takes the longest. Once you have the syrup it’s as simple as adding the grapefruit juice and seltzer. Yum! See the full post with recipe links here.

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Homemade Ginger Ale

Yes, ginger can settle your stomach when you have mild nausea. In my experience it’s no match for serious pregnancy induced nausea, but homemade ginger ale is fizzy and sweet and spicy and just delicious. And you deserve deliciousness.

This recipe simply involves making a ginger infused simple syrup and mixing it with seltzer. Easy! And you can add as much or as little syrup as you like so you can have a super sweet and zippy ginger ale or a more mellow grown up ginger ale. Someday maybe I’ll share with you how to make fermented ginger beer, at some other time when I’m more patient with longer kitchen projects. 🙂 See the full post with recipe links here. Keep reading

Seltzer with Mint and Citrus

This almost feels too simple to share as a recipe, it is just fresh mint and slices of lime or lemon, topped with seltzer. But the best recipes are the simplest ones you can easily make a part of your routine and I have been guzzling this like crazy. Being nauseous can make it hard to drink enough water. And man do you have to drink a lot of water when you’re pregnant! This drink is so simple and refreshing it makes it easier to keep on sipping. It also looks pretty. See the full post with recipe links here.