Selfie Does Dry January
Mr. Selfie: How long do you have left on Dry January?
Selfie: Nine Days
Mr. Selfie: Good…you’re about 10 days away from Rachel not being friends with you anymore
I’m a proponent/participant of Dry January which, I don’t know, maybe wouldn’t have been my jam a few years ago but at this point, my December looks like this:
Decorate for Christmas (Eggnog)
Birthday Dinner (Sparkling)
Birthday Party (More Sparkling)
Wine Club Pick Up (Umm, “Other” Wine)
Christmas Party (More Sparkling)
Work Christmas Party (MORE. SPARK.LING.)
Family Christmas 1 (Red Wine - thought I was going to say sparkling, right?)
Family Christmas 2 (Red Wine)
THIRD Family Christmas (Margaritas...and some Sparkling)
New Year’s Eve (Bourbon.*)
And I’m sorry but I’m not 21 (was I ever?) and while I love a nice party (and had the feves bad enough this year that my consumption of alcohol was greatly moderated), dude, that’s a lot of damn wine. (And cheese. And bread things. ) So having a hard reset is super nice and tends to have some nice side effects like having a reduction of “haggard” face, way better sleep, less anxiety, less bloat and, of course, weight loss.
I’ve done a “dry” month a few times since that first year with similar results. But that first year, uuuuugh! Most of my friends wanted to stop hanging out with me and I just, like, spent a lot of time at home. So, if this if your first or third or fourteenth Dry January, here’s what I wish I had known:
First, like any temptation, you want to get it out of sight but like don’t be throwing out your wine like you do the Oreos ‘cuz that shiz is expensive. I say, just put all the wine away. Second, like any other goal, tell people. It helps to have some backup when you’re staying accountable for anything - whether it be doing the Whole 30 or Dry January or whatever. Third, don’t replace alcohol with food or sugary beverages. I mean, if you drink even a drink or two in a week, you’re freeing up some calories but it totally defeats the purpose of Dry January to try to get a bit healthier by replacing it was candy or chips or pop.** Fourth, have a game plan! Are you used to having a glass of wine at the Alamo Drafthouse? Find some tea you really like. It lasts the whole movie and is nice and cozy for winter! (I love the Dessert Tea they have there and Bengal Spice tea for home). Going to happy hour and don’t feel like explaining to people? Sparkling water and lime. Boom.Done.
Finally, if you are really effing sick of water and La Croix and Waterloo with a bit of lime and...more water -fair enough, dude. I really like to make mocktails, which is maybe the lamest thing I’ve said in awhile but it’s true! I drink these Kombucha mocktails anytime during the year because I don’t always feel like drinking water or wine. Crazy sauce, I know.
Mocktails
My go-to treat drink is either a spicy margarita or a Moscow mule. I looove them. So during my first dry January, I had to figure out how to make a not-super-unhealthy version of either of those drinks. The non-virgin versions of both those drinks are already not super great for you so just taking out the booze doesn’t really meeting my criteria. Which is were we get to kombucha mocktails. Even if you hate kombucha, you’ll probably really like these drinks (the trick is the lime juice). A note on kombucha, though - some of it has tons of sugar which, again, sort of negates the positive health aspects of this fermented tea. I use Healthade simply because it has a really low amount of sugar and tastes really great. Most brands are one or the other.
Spicy Margarita Kombucha
Frozen Fruit (instead of ice! I normally use frozen pineapple)
Cayenne Cleanse Kombucha
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Tajin Rim
Mocktail Mule
Bunch of Mint - whole pieces
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Lemon Ginger Kombucha
For the Tajin rim, make sure to run some lime around the rim of the glass and dip it in the Tajin prior to trying to do it after. For both drinks, just add one ingredient at a time. Kombucha is too fizzy for the shaker! Also, use whole mint leaves in your Mocktail Mule, otherwise the mint turns into a choking hazard.
And that’s it! Super simple and delicious! Who else out there is doing Dry January? What are your tips?
