Indulge in the holiday spirit without compromising your health! Our fizzy festive holiday drinks feature delicious kombucha mocktails that not only bring joy to your celebrations but also support your gut health (hello gut-friendly mocktails or cocktails).
Packed with probiotics and natural ingredients, these bubbly drinks will keep you feeling great while you toast to the season.
Who’s ready to get fizzy? Get scrolling for some yummy alternatives to your silly season tipples.
Why make your festive holiday drinks gut-friendly
The very FIRST corporate talk I did I quoted Hippocrates- the ancient Greek physician known as the Father of Medicine. So i’m going to quote him again “All disease begins in the gut” I have seen this in my own life and clinically with clients. The first thing I did was heal my gut and feed my good gut bacteria.
So, another way we can look at it is as we live busy lives and socialise more often over the holiday seasons, what are some simple health hacks that we can implement daily to make sure we are also having a positive impact on our gut health.
We don’t need to live our lives perfectly, I do believe life is for LIVING and LOVING, but there’s always some golden RULES to optimising our health EVERY day and one of them is feeding your gut bacteria.
So as you drink your bubbles and eat your extra festive treats, why not prioritise your gut health in this simple way. You can even incorporate it into the same thing, having your cocktail while also feeding your good gut bacteria with some delicious kombucha or coconut kefir water in your daily smoothie.
Our health TRULY does start in our guts. I witness this with my health, with Harvey, my son’s health and thousands of clients. If we are only fueled by sugar and quick Christmas treats over the Christmas break, can you imagine what you are feeding instead of your good gut bugs. I hate to say it, but you are feeding the bag guys which, left unattended over a long time, will cause many of the chronic issues I work with clients one on one to heal and restore their gut health.
BUT rather than say ‘no no no’ to festive holiday drinks and feel like you are on the outer the whole time, let’s look at them differently and create your own BUZZ that all your friends actually want to join.
Here is our first gut-friendly festive holiday drink recipe ideas:
Kombucha Mojito Magic
Ingredients:
- 1 cup plain or lime-flavored kombucha
- 2 fresh whole limes -juiced
- 10 fresh mint leaves
- Lime wedges and mint sprigs for garnish
- Optional EXTRA: To make these alcoholic we recommend Rum as the alcohol of choice.
Instructions:
- In a glass, muddle the mint leaves and lime juice.
- Fill the glass with ice and pour in the kombucha.
- Stir gently and garnish with lime wedges and mint sprigs.
How to know what kombucha to pick
Be aware of the sugar content and make sure what’s in the drink is natural. We want to avoid natural flavours, additives, preservatives, basically anything that you can’t find in your own kitchen it’s a NO! Remember you don’t have to make your own kombucha (my days of fermenting my own drinks are long gone, I truly don’t prioritise that in this season, I just look for brands that I trust and I recognise all the ingredients!) BUT I always like to read the label and know that if I choose to, I could take all of those ingredients and make it in my own kitchen.
Remember like with anything in today’s world, even if you’re buying a “Health” product if it’s got ingredients in there that you don’t recognise nor does your body and it’s CAUSING harm to your gut.
Here are some of our favourite Kombucha brands:
BONUS IDEA: See what other flavours might work with the recipe and give it a whirl, then post it to Insta and tag @shelleygawithfn, so we can share your fizzy festive holiday drinks
What about the other ingredients
The aim behind these festive holiday drinks is to support your health through a time, where we all like to indulge. So, if you feel like you are indulging, have your back. As now you can have your cake and eat it too and who doesn’t want that?
You can have your cocktail and look after your gut health at the same time with this deliciously easy combo. If you don’t want to make festive cocktails and add your fermented drinks, make sure you eat some fermented cabbage with your poached eggs, or take a good quality probiotic daily. (we have a couple of options on our online store and that way you also know we have you covered).
If you are wanting to be a little more conscious this holiday season, maybe get curious around what type of water your favourite gut friendly brand is using. You always want to make sure it’s filtered that these brands are using to make your fermented goodness.
BONUS TIP: See who in your local community has an abundance of mothers – “starters” for your kombucha or kefir grains and start fermenting. I know I’ll be setting the challenge in Shelley Says So (SSS) to see who wants to brew their own fermented drinks and swap them. Tag us on socials if you do.
Interested in something a little bit more fruity? Then check out our next gut-friendly festive holiday drink:
Peachy Basil Bliss
Ingredients:
- 1 cup peach-flavored kombucha
- 2 whole fresh limes- juiced
- 5 fresh basil leaves
- Peach slices for garnish
- Optional EXTRA: To make these alcoholic we recommend Rum as the alcohol of choice.
Instructions:
- In a shaker, muddle the basil leaves and lime juice.
- Pour the mixture into a glass filled with ice and top with kombucha.
- Stir gently and garnish with peach slices and a basil leaf.
Hacking health one drink at a time
There are so many ways to incorporate health into your day to day life, and through festive holiday drinks is just one way!
The kombucha could be water kefir or you could take a probiotic daily instead. The options really are endless, we just want to make sure it’s easy and fun for you this festive season.
This is why Shelley Says So was created. A daily group coaching program to help a community kick their health goals up a notch without it being difficult. Creating lush experiences through things like different recipes and ideas (with of course expert health advice).
Love these? Make sure to check out our other recipe blogs, for more gut-friendly recipe ideas.
Don’t forget to share your other gut-friendly festive holiday drinks through Insta and tag @shelleygawithfn, so we can spread the joy this silly season.
Cheers to a merry and mindful holiday!