For the month of April, I have been cocktail free. This began as a twitter conversation between Allison, Brittany and Janetha and I, (whose crazed idea was this, anyway!?) and turned into something we all agreed to do. We’ve been checking in and supporting each other, with plenty of laughs in between. 
However. There are days you would just really like a cocktail or glass of wine, you know? So at the end of a long and or stressful day, I’ve been kicking back and enjoying. I’ve traded my shaker and my corkscrew for my juicer and my crisper drawer.
healthy happy hour libation
serves two
2 orange bell peppers
6 carrots
2 pears
1 grapefruit, peeled
1 beet
Cheers!
Have you ever taken a break from imbibing?
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh goodness, I admire you! I have a glass of wine with dinner just about every night! It’s good for the heart, don’t ya know?!
of course it is!!
Hm. I probably *should* consider a wine-free month but I just LOVE a good glass of wine after a long day or week. Or over a “date night in” with my husband. It would be missed, I’ll say that. how has the month felt so far? Are you secretly glad it’s almost over??
girl!! we’re not almost over!! it’s only half way!!
just kidding, it’s going okay! there was one dinner out where I would have loved a glass of wine, but it was fine! I’ve gone longer than a month before. 
I actually don’t drink much (although, ironically, I just went on a wine tour and posted about it today), but I’ve never thought of putting peppers in the juicer! Can you taste them at all?
you CAN taste the peppers, and they are SO good! even if you like juice to be sweet, the pepper flavor goes well with sweet. you should try it – start with one and see what you think!
now that’s my kind of cocktail! I’m (usually) not a drinker at all, but this year with all the wedding planning, i’ve been leaning on martini’s like it’s my job. i’m nixing them until the wedding though in sake of my waist line!
good cocktail, right?? yep, don’t put away that juicer just yet, girl!!
Um, heck no. Hehe!! Actually, I’m curious why you’re doing it. Personal challenge? Health?
Christine, I HAVE NO IDEA !!
kidding… it sounded good at the time?? I’ve done this before, even recently, and longer than a month. I suppose a challenge and health, although it’s not like I drink a lot.
Yummm! That’s exactly what I’m doing this month. Instead of vino I’m downing my veggie juice like nobody’s business
Cute blog, just found you the other day. Love it.
Hi Lindsay!! thank you!! (I’m going to go visit yours in a minute…) juice a great alternative to the vino, no? especially when it’s pretty!
MMMM that really looks so refreshing
it was!!
That juice looks delicious!
I have given up booze for Lent in the past, but to be honest I don’t drink that often so it wasn’t a huge difference for me!
there was a time when I did this and it was more difficult… now I kid when I joke that it’s tough.
I mean, there has been a time this month where I DID want a glass of wine, but I was cool…
I should stop making rum juice comments then eh?
NICE CARROT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
haaaa! no, except maybe change rum to VODKA! I cannot stand rum!
XXO nice carrot…
You know I did this in January, and it has continued on for months! I’ve had 3-4 glasses of wine in 2011 and 1 jello shot (don’t ask), but that’s it. Kombucha is my mocktail.
JELLO SHOT?? awesome. it’s been a long time since I’ve had one of those. actually, it was a couple years ago, in AUSTIN!
kombucha is definitely a yummy cocktail sub – it even makes me feel tipsy sometimes!
Of course it was in Austin! Ha. This was at the St. Patrick’s Day extravaganza….remember the outdoor marathon drinking event with too many beer and smelly beer? I had one jello shot. It was green. And I carried my hand sanitizer with me everywhere.
you and I are two peas. I have a friend – when we are together in a public restroom, we both stand there waiting for the other to open the door to leave. I like the doors with a push handle, because I can just KICK it open!
This whole convo made me laugh. I am quite the opposite of a germophobe, and I like to call touching public bathroom doors an immunity building exercise!!
I seriously won’t touch public doors/knobs, etc. Billy always have to open the door and he thinks I’m crazy. The worst in on the subway in NYC. I will not touch anything, therefore cling to Billy as we sway back and forth on a crowded speeding train. I drive him crazy! Hahaha. He’s stuck with me.
I’m on a break from the sauce right now too!
I am wishing for a glass of wine, but I’m going to resist for a while…and stick to my juice. This looks like an awesome juice combo! Today I made celery, cuke, romaine, lime, stevia, and orange extract….it was like key lime pie (kinda)!
Mmm, key lime pie!! I am definitely going to try that combination!
January when I went raw. And for MANY years during pregnancies and then when breastfeeding. I did have a glass of wine here and there during breastfeeding using the good ol pump + dump method. We’re going raw again in August so I’ll be *off the sauce* then too. Although…come to think of it I haven’t had a lick of alcohol in the past few weeks without even thinking about it.
that’s how I have been – once you actively stop, it’s pretty easy. I feel REALLY good when I don’t drink, even if it’s just one every now and then, I feel it.
I have only abstaining from spirits when I was pregnant and then I whined about it. At Lamaze class, they asked three things you like about being pregnant and three things you didn’t. Not being able to drink was one of my three. The other class members looked at me like I was a very bad person. I don’t even drink that much, but it’s that thing about really missing something if you have to give it up.
Great, healthy “cocktail,” Kristina! xo,
Shirley
so funny, isn’t THAT the truth – you have a harder time when you CANNOT have something. we humans are a peculiar bunch, aren’t we?
Girl, I think its time I got my juicer out of the pantry and started juicing it up! You’ve convinced me
oh GOOOOD !!
I love that I am inspiring people to juice!! ENJOY !!
oh wow what a brave decision for a whole month! hmm if i had a drink that beautiful though, i might not miss any cocktails either!
see? it’s not so bad
I suppose you can’t call it a “break” if you’ve never done it, right?
Everything about cocktails and such sound so appealing, except for that pesky alcohol. LOL
YES, that’s true! you could have Mocktail Hour, making what sounds good to you without the alcohol!
Yes. I called it “birth to 24.”
I’m not a big drinker so it’s never been an issue—never would I have come to the point of thinking “wow—I really need to cut back!” Instead, sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t, and whatev. Is this for lent?
yeah, I’m glad it’s EASY for me… meaning I’m not missing it or need to cut back.
in college it would have been a different story… *sigh*
I’ve been taking a break since September 24, 2007.
good, going, girl! <3
…and that's THREE days before my birthday!!
great substitution! i love it!
yep! I should have poured into WINE glasses, this color would have *almost* looked like wine
ew Ew EW !!
well, I am safe when we’re out together, I’ll make sure you accompany me to the bathroom every time!!
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