Alcohol alternatives - tips please

[ilovechops]

I am approx 5-6wks pregnant, unsure exactly how far along as got my BFP after a miscarriage and before my first period. Obviously I am very pleased and hope this one sticks around.

With my last pregnancy the advice at the time was that light drinking occasionally was OK (1/2 units) to be honest I hardly drank but had the odd 1/2 a shandy on a sunny hot day in the 2nd / 3rd trimester.

This time around I am aware the advice has now changed to no alcohol in the 1st trimester. I will attempt to completely avoid alcohol but would like some tips on alternatives / low alcohol options should I fancy a 'fake tipple' of sorts.

Last time around all that I found was Becks non alcohol lager mixed with lemonade which was sort of OK.. or just plain old tonic water.is there anything better out there yet?? I just can't stand sweet, sugary drinks..

Nope.. that's your lot! Genuinely I can't find anything I want to drink as 'fake' alcohol. I bought a load of Becks blue, but the boyf drank them all because I didn't see the point. I just drink a lot of soda water and lime cordial.. or now that I'm 3rd trimester, the odd spritzer.

I missed it a lot in the beginning, but now I don't really mind too much. What I really want is a really dry martini, and that aint happening any time soon, so no point in thinking about alternatives.

Cranberry juice

non alcoholic gingerbeer?

yes thought of the ginger beer that's a good one. Also discovered a non alcoholic cider which might be worth a go!

Non alcoholic kopparburg is great

I've recently discovered Bavaria 0% wit beer, not too bad at all. Becks blue tastes a bit chemically to me.

Bavaria 0% Wheatbeer is nice.
Also Fosters do a 0% "Radler" (shandy basically) also tasty.

I like the booze free kopperberg but found Asda own brand grape 'spritzer' (non alcoholic, usually with the shloer) is cheaper and pretty similar.

Otherwise I swear by tonic or bitter lemon.

...oh Cidona (Irish soft drink) tastes like Magners. Great on a hot day. Tesco do it.

I am not pregnant but am avoiding calorific booze and Love fizzy water with a few drops of bitters - there isn't enough alcohol to count, but it tastes like a proper grown up drink for a hot day.

I love mock tails

I had virgin margaritas at a Mexican restaurant last night. Lovely and fresh and very limey.

No where near alcoholic. But a Big Tom with loads of ice. Is yum diddly umptious!

Also non alcoholic ginger beer. M&S do non alcoholic mojitos which are nothing like the real thing but taste nice, in a there's no rum way!

I havnt actually tried them yet, but sainsburys do some 'feel good' non alcoholic cocktails like strawberry daiquiri and mojito, bellinis n non alcholic crabbies. Like I say I can't say their any good yet but I have high hopes!

Innocent apple juice with tonic water is lovely. I was convinced there was gin in it when my friend served me this (when I was pregnant).
I also bought my pregnant friend alcohol-free Mojito, which I found in tesco the other day. Not sure what it tasted like though.
Pineapple juice and lemonade was another drink I liked when pregnant.

Oh. And not alcohol-free but only 2% (& you could always dilute more with lemonade) is Radlers shandy (I think) which my DH bought in Aldi last week. It's delicious!
And congrats btw

The best non alcoholic beer is Erdinger. It's lovely and beery x

Brewdog do an alcohol free beer called Nanny State, think it's seasonal, but it tastes pretty good.

Oh, I lied, it's 0.5% ABV.

Becks Blue is yum - tastes like real beer. Koppaberg pear cider (non alcoholic) tastes like pear drops or lime and soda

Little Tesco do ACTUAL 0% Radler shandy. I dunno why they make a 2% and a 0% but they do! :)

Some alcohol free beers say (by law) "no more than 0.05%" on them but this is a legal thing if they've been de-alcoholised, they're basically 0% or they couldn't say 'alcohol free'.

On the topic of de-alcoholised - don't touch "Frei" dealcoholised wine with a bargepole. Vile! You're better off with sparkling grape.

I like the feel good drinks and radler.

When I was pregnant I used to dilute green Innocent smoothie (I think it's kiwi with lime) with cold, sparkling water and loads of ice. Was yummy.

Try "rock shandy". I discovered it in pregnancy and it's great as I don't like sweet drinks either. Basically mix equal parts soda water with lemonade (mixer size cans are ideal) and add a splash or so of angostura bitters. Lovely! I still drink it regularly now and haven't been pregnant for a long time ??

There are some good suggestions here . I'd add in to the mix Torres Natureo wine: this is the only non-alcoholic wine (technically- 0.5%) which I find palatable, and you can pick it up at Asda or Waitrose. I'm also partial to a homemade salt lassi: basically plain yogurt watered down, slightly salted, and served with some toasted cumin seeds, slightly bashed up in a pestle and mortar. It sounds odd, but I'm not a huge fan of sweet drinks, and it's really refreshing in warm weather.

I live orange juice and tonic water, has an alcoholic taste with 0% in it perfect for this hot weather.

Second what Bananapie said. Bavaria non alcoholic beer is good. Also ginger beer, and lime and soda... and cranberry juice. Oh and that lovely San Pellegrino lemon or orange stuff!