Party drinks for pregnancy

How can I enjoy myself without the alcohol?

At some point, most expectant mothers find themselves at a party, dinner, pub or in another social scene where they're the only ones not drinking. But staying sober in pregnancy doesn't have to be boring.

These days, bars and pubs often list non-alcoholic cocktails or mocktails on their menus. So you could pick something you like, or specifically ask for a non-alcoholic version of your favourite drink.

You can be teetotal and still feel part of the fun. It just takes a bit of imagination. We've got some ideas that could be interesting and also help you avoid alcohol.

When everyone around you is drinking champagne as a toast, drink sparkling apple or grapefruit juice from a champagne glass.

Instead of going for orange juice on its own every time, add something to liven it up. Splash in some cranberry, grapefruit or pineapple juice.

Mix half cranberry juice and half sparkling water, serve with ice, and add a twist of lime. It's a colourful and refreshing combination. If you find cranberry juice a bit sour, add a dash of orange juice for natural sweetness.

For a twist on a bloody Mary without the vodka, try a virgin Mary. Mix tomato juice, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a dash of tabasco sauce and a squeeze of lemon.

Try a virgin mojito. Replace white rum with ginger ale or lemon soda. Many mums enjoy the non-alcoholic lemon and mint drink especially if they are feeling queasy.

Some drinks also come with a few extra benefits:

Fresh fruit juice, coconut water and milk-based drinks will help you to get some of the nutrients you and your baby need.
You'll save money, as non-alcoholic drinks cost less.
There won't be any quarrels about who's going to drive home.
You won't be nursing a hangover the next day.

What mocktails and drinks can I make at home?

Try these thirst-quenchers that swap alcohol for sparkling water, soda water, syrups or fruit juices.

Lemonade (nimbu pani)
Serves two

Ingredients

2 lemons (nimbu)
2 glasses of filtered and cooled water
sugar to taste
mint leaves (pudina) - optional

Method:
Wash the lemon and squeeze it to get the juice. Remove the seeds. Add water and sugar, and mix well with a spoon or in a mixer. Add in few mint leaves on top.

You could also add in chaat masala or crushed ginger (adrak) along with mint leaves. Or, add strawberry crush syrup for a delicious variation.

Banana pineapple lassi
Serves two

Ingredients:

1 ripe medium sized banana (kela) chopped
½ cup pineapple (ananaas) chopped
1 cup curd (dahi) / yoghurt
½ cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons powdered sugar (optional)
¼ teaspoon powdered cinnamon (dalchini powder)
ice cubes

Method:

Mix bananas, pineapple, yoghurt, pineapple juice and sugar in a mixer and blend well until smooth. Slowly add ice cubes to get a slushy consistency.

Pour into tall glasses and sprinkle cinnamon powder before serving.

Aam panna
Serves four

Ingredients:

4 medium sized raw mangoes (aam)
4 cups cooled filtered water
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp chaat masala or jal jeera masala
1 ½ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp freshly roasted and powdered cumin (jeera)
fresh mint (pudina) leaves
ice cubes

Method:
Wash the mangoes and pressure cook with about 1 cup water. Cook for about ten minutes or for three to four whistles on medium heat.

Drain the water, peel and stone the mango. Mash the pulp well in a wide glass bowl. Add salt, sugar, and chaat masala or jal jeera masala, and cumin powder to the pulp.

Slowly add water to get the desired consistency. Whisk well. Add extra sugar if the mangoes are too sour. Mix well, garnish with mint leaves and serve.

This is a refreshing summer cooler. You can prepare larger quantities of aam panna and store in the fridge in glass bottles for a few days.

Jal jeera
Serves four

Ingredients:

4 cups filtered cool water
2 tsp freshly roasted and powdered cumin (jeera)
juice of two lemons (nimbu) freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon mint (pudina) paste
½ tsp rock salt (kala namak)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2-3 tsp of salted boondi balls (optional)

Method:
Mix all the ingredients, except the boondi and blend well.

Pour into glasses. Add ice cubes if required and garnish with sprigs of fresh mint (pudina). Serve immediately.

Add salted boondi in the jal jeera if you enjoy a crunchy taste along with your drink.

Coconut dream
Serves two

Ingredients:

200g creamed coconut (nariyal)
285ml filtered cool water
4 ripe bananas (kela)
juice of 1 lemon (nimbu)
lemonade to taste

Method:
Dissolve the creamed coconut in water. Purée the bananas with the lemon juice, add these to the coconut mixture. Pour the mixture in a tall glass. Top up your glass with lemonade to taste. Great for cocktail lovers!

Spiced fruit punch
Serves six

Ingredients:

600ml orange (santara) juice
600ml apple (seb) juice
150ml filtered water
1/2 tsp ground ginger (saunth)
1/2 tsp ground mixed spice

Method:
Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and warm gently over a low heat for about five minutes.

Pour the warm punch into pre-warmed glasses. Add slices of orange or lemon if it suits your taste.

Sattu drink
Serves two

Ingredients:

1/2 cup roasted gram (channa)
2 glasses filtered cool water
10 mint leaves (pudina)
juice of 2 lemon (nimbu)
roasted cumin (jeera) powder
1/2 tsp of black salt (kala namak)
a pinch of pepper (kali mirch) powder
1/2 tsp salt

Method
Powder the roasted gram to make sattu flour and pass it through a fine sieve. Add water to the flour and mix well so that there are no lumps.

Add in crushed mint leaves, lemon juice, roasted cumin powder, black pepper powder, black salt, and salt and mix well.

Pour into a tall glass and add in ice cubes if you want.

If you wish, you could replace the pepper powder with a dash of green chilli (hari mirch) paste. To save time, you can consider buying packaged sattu mix that is available in select grocery stores or super markets.

Are there any international favourites I could try?

Here are some tasty international tipples that use simple ingredients to make a nutritious drink:

Ray of sunshine

Ingredients:

50ml apple (seb) juice
50ml pineapple (ananaas) juice
sparkling water or lemonade, to top up

Method:
Fill a two-litre jug with ice and add apple juice and pineapple juice. Top up the jug with water or lemonade.

Bloody driver

Ingredients:

200ml tomato (tamatar) juice
juice of 4 limes (nimbu)
200ml orange (santara) juice
400ml sparkling water

Method:
Half-fill a jug with ice, pour the juices over the ice and mix together. Top up with water and serve in a tumbler with a slice of lime. Packs enough punch for you to forget that it's alcohol-free.

Shirley Temple

Ingredients:

150ml ginger ale
1 tbsp grenadine syrup
twist of lemon (nimbu) peel
thin slice of orange (santara)

Method:
Mix everything in a cocktail shaker, or if you don't have one, just shake them well in a closed can. Pour this over crushed ice into a cocktail glass.

Are there any tips to make a refreshing drink?

Take a little imagination, add the atmosphere of a bar or restaurant setting and mix it with the fancy glass your drink comes in. You might be able to convince yourself that you're drinking something more exotic than the usual bottled water or orange juice.

When a drink is presented well, it makes it all the more palatable. Enjoy your colourful and healthy drink in sparkling glassware.

Garnish your regular drinks with a slice of fruit, a sprig of mint (pudina) or coriander leaves (dhania) to make it appealing.

You can even make a plain glass of water colourful by adding frozen fruit such as orange (santara), lemon (nimbu), kiwi, peach (aadu), apricot (khubani) and plum (aloo bukara) instead of ice cubes. The frozen fruit looks refreshing floating about in the clear water and it also chills your drink with a hint of fruity flavour.