Sober Valentine Ideas
13 Sober Valentine’s Day Ideas
You may think Valentine’s Day and alcohol go hand-in-hand, but that’s not necessarily true. In fact, there are many Valentine’s Day date ideas that don’t include alcohol, because you don’t need it to have fun. Since I’ve been sober I enjoy so much more in life. I’m honestly having more fun now than when I did drink. Even if I had as little as 3 glasses of wine. Sober is better.
Whatever your reason is — whether you’re sober, on medication that prohibits alcohol, allergic, or just don’t like alcohol — there are many non-drinking options for Valentine’s Day dates and everyday dates. Personally, I feel it’s a great test when you can have a sober date, as then nothing clouds your judgment about your date, not even a shot’s worth of vodka. Plus, I’ve learned first-hand that dating someone sober is much better than dating someone who drinks too much.
While alcohol can sometimes help with nerves, it can also end up ruining dates by making you say or do something you regret afterwards. I can attest to this many of time! Not just on Valentine’s day, any day! Also, Valentine’s Day is a definite planned sex night, however alcohol is a depressant that causes drowsiness and can play a role on your ability to have sex. A nice night out ends up ruined by your ability to perform and/or passing out for the night. Memories of the night before you probably only had a good hour of remembering. So basically the night was a waste of everything.
My hot tip for a hot date out is stay at a local htl for a night with a nice dinner. If covid is holding you back, ship the kids to a friend’s house or grandparents for the night, and cook a meal together. Gene grills so we will either do a fish or steak and add a salad with bake potato. We love playing cards so we’ll incorporate that in for sure we can play for hours just the two of us. http://addictionunplugged.libsyn.com
Here’s how to turn any cocktail into a deee-licious mocktail!
Tip 1: MAKE IT SPARKLE
The first key element to a good mocktail is something sparkling. This will help to “fancify” your drink and make it different from just a glass of juice. I have big ice molds of cubes. Adding that to a drink is a bonus.
Recipes with a base of club soda, tonic water, ginger ale, sparkling juice, or ginger beer make great mocktails. Think of it as a fancy soda!
Of course, there are some exceptions—like Bloody Mary’s. You don’t have to add sparkles to every mocktail, but if it’s a sweet or fruity flavor, I would definitely consider the option!
Tip 2: KNOW WHICH DRINKS TRANSLATE
Some cocktails translate perfectly to mocktails, so much so that you can’t even tell a difference! Moscow Mules and Bloody Marys are two of the easiest and sneakiest mocktails because they taste almost exactly the same with or without the vodka.
I think versions of a mojito and sparkling lemonade are among the best mocktails because the combination of sweet, citrus, and soda water is so light and fresh!
So what doesn’t work so well? Mixed drinks with only two ingredients don’t really work, because a rum and coke without the rum is just coke. Duh—right? Drinks made with syrupy mixes (like margaritas and daiquiris) aren’t my favorite mocktails because they can turn out to be gross sweet instead of yummy sweet. Just too much sugar without the balancing factor of liquor.
Here’s a couple of Mocktails that I personally have made and LOVE. I enjoy begin a guinea pig to about anything….this one was easy.
Classic Bloody Mary Mocktail
Bloody Mary mix (I love Zing Zang!)
fresh rosemary
celery
Tabasco
garlic powder
black pepper
Worcestershire sauce
blue cheese olives
First prepare your glass with a salty rim. In shaker, mix the Bloody Mary mix (enough to fill your glass 3/4 of the way full), a splash of Tabasco, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of garlic powder, and a pinch of black pepper. Shake it and pour it over ice. Garnish with a stalk of celery, a piece of rosemary, and some blue cheese olives
The Rose Pink Ginger
½ ounceRaspberry Simple Syrup
1 ½ ouncesGrapefruit Soda
1 ½ ouncesPink Ginger
Top it off with your fav tonic water
Garnish with a pinch of dried rose petals and add a lemon peel on a cocktail stick
