Recipes

Dry July is almost upon us, and this year, the campaign will Mocktail raise vital funds for Australians affected by cancer. By taking a break from the booze, you’ll help provide invaluable services, such as cancer care nurse support, new wigs, transport, accommodation Hour! close to the hospital and many more. It can be tricky to find alcohol alternatives that both healthy and delicious though, so we’ve called on mixologist, Nat Battagalia, from Mindful Mocktails, to share her favourite mocktail recipes, guaranteed to deliver on flavour and fun, and are quick and easy to make at any time of the day!

Cherry Burst

Ingredients

5 cherries roughly chopped 1 lime, quartered 6-8 mint leaves 1 cup soda water Sweetener of your choice to taste, optional (see notes)

Method

Place chopped cherries and lime in a glass. Add a little sweetener if using. Muddle together for about 1 minute. If you don’t have a muddler, use the back end of a wooden spoon. The idea is to get it small enough to fit though a straw. Clap mint together in your hands a few times to release the scent and add to the glass. Give the mint a gentle press with the muddler. Add ice and top with soda water. Garnish with lime wheels, mint and/or extra cherries.

Pomegranate Fizz

Ingredients

60 mls pomegranate juice Half a lime cut in wedges 6-8 mint leaves 250 mls diet ginger ale

Method

Place lime wedges and pomegranate juice in a tall glass. Muddle until all the juice has been pressed out of the lime. If you don’t have a muddler, use the back end of a wooden spoon or similar. Clap mint leaves together in your hands a few times to release the scent and add to the glass. Give the mint a gentle press a couple of times with the muddler. Add plenty of ice to the glass and top with ginger ale. Stir well. Garnish with pomegranate seeds, mint and lime.

Rose Lemonade

This pretty, refreshing drink is perfect for one or a crowd. It looks so pretty served in a jug for guests, just increase the quantities.

Ingredients

1/3 cup water 1/3 cup sweetener of your choice 1/3 cup rose dried rose petals (found in health food shops) Lemon juice Sparkling water

Method

Add water and sweetener to a small saucepan and dissolve over medium-high heat. Don’t let it boil - you don’t want to water to evaporate! Turn heat to low, add rose petals and stir. Leave on low until the colour fades from the petals. It will only take a few minutes. You can remove from the heat and leave it longer to seep if you want a deeper flavour/colour. Strain and leave to cool.

To Serve

Place 2 TBS rose syrup into each glass. Add 3 TBS lemon juice to each glass. Top with sparkling water. Add more lemon juice depending on taste and enjoy!

NOTE:

This recipe will make 3-4 serves.

Strawberry & Basil Fizz

This combination of strawberry and basil refreshing and healthy, plus it tastes great.

Ingredients

3 strawberries, chopped 4-6 basil leaves (depending on your taste preference) Juice of half a lime 1 tsp sweetener of choice Sparkling water or kombucha

Method

Add strawberries, basil, lime and sweetener (if using) to a glass. Muddle together for about 1 minute. If you don’t have a muddler, use a wooden spoon or similar - anything that will ‘smoosh’ all the ingredients together! Top with sparkling water or kombucha and stir. Add ice and garnish and Enjoy!

NOTE: This rose lemonade is so pretty, and delicious too! It would be perfect for a special occasion like a baby shower, or bridal shower. Or any day really ;) . This also looks amazing served in a jug for guests, so you can easily double this recipe if required.

The Benefits of Going Alcohol-Free

With Dry July on the horizon, we chat with Health & Performance Collective Director and Dietician Jess Spendlove to learn about the benefits of taking a break from alcohol, and discover how regular consumption can impact our minds and bodies.

1. Why should we take a break from alcohol? It’s a great opportunity to press pause and reset for the month of July. Signing up to fundraiser initiatives such as Dry July gives you the chance to focus on other areas of your life whilst raising vital funds for people affected by cancer. 2. How does alcohol impact our bodies, minds and overall health? This definitely depends on the frequency and amount you consume, as well as your medical history - consuming large amounts of alcohol can increase your risk of alcoholrelated illness including various types of cancer, liver disease, cardiovascular disease and mental health conditions. 3. Any surprising facts about alcohol? Alcohol impacts quality and depth of sleep. Some people think alcohol will help them sleep, and while initially it may help them get to sleep, it can very much impact the depth and hence quality of sleep, and duration. 4. What changes are we likely to notice when taking a break from alcohol? Some benefits can include improvements to mental health (‘hangxiety’), improved hydration, weight loss, improved sleep, increased energy, and clearer skin. 5. How do you advise your clients to incorporate alcohol into their lifestyles if they enjoy it when socialising? It’s important to have realistic goals which work within the client’s lifestyle. It is recommended that healthy adult men and women should have no more than 10 standard drinks per week, and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day. I also encourage them to drink water while drinking, and in-between drinks - this helps keep them hydrated. 6. Is there a “good” alcohol with more health benefits than others? Red wine gets a bit of a halo around it for the polyphenols it contains, which have some health benefits, however, it is important to note that as soon as more than one standard glass is consumed, the positive health outcomes of the antioxidants is negated by the increase in consumption. 7. What are good alcohol substitutes if we are craving something special? Kombucha on its own can be great – you may even like to pour it in a fancy wine glass, or I love a raspberry non-alcoholic mojito!

Get back to nature

We all have goals that we set ourselves, and things can popup that may hinder our progress towards achieving those goals - work, family commitments, sudden and unpredictable upsets to our routines. Life happens; we just have to take each day as it comes.

When we experience these upsets, it’s important to remember exactly why we started, how far we’ve come, and the benefits and rewards we not only expect to receive in the future, but are already enjoying now. One way to keep on track, regardless of what might be happening in our lives, is to apply variety to our activity schedules. As the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life, and who doesn’t want to spice-up their training schedule? There have been numerous studies conducted to ascertain the benefits obtained from participating in outdoor activities. Exposure to the natural environment has been shown to improve overall health and well-being. Nature-deficit disorder, a term coined by Richard Louv in his book Last Child in the Woods, simply refers to the fact that human beings are not spending enough time in and with nature. He believes that this can lead to significant behavioural, emotional, mental and physical issues. Depending on the type of activity you decide to do, exercising outdoors can be a great way to have some time to yourself and to recharge for the days ahead. This can be achieved through solo hikes along nature trails, or doing a high intensity interval session in the park. On the other hand, training with a friend, or friends, is fun. They can help challenge and motivate you and getting outside can also be a great way to catch-up with friends and family while enjoying a number of health benefits. Participating in outdoor activities has been shown to decrease stress, anxiety and anger, thus improving mood. Due to the inconsistent and varying nature of the environment, it challenges and improves our mental focus. Our bodies are also challenged through the utilisation of more muscles, for example, due to the uneven ground cover, and depending on the intensity of the session, you can expect gradual improvements in your cardiopulmonary health. Being outdoors helps ensure we get adequate Vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for strong bones, muscles and overall health. The body absorbs Vitamin D from the UV rays of the sun. It’s important to remember that the body is limited in the amount of Vitamin D it can absorb and spending extended periods of time in the sun can increase your risk of developing skin cancer.

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