Mindful drinking is about cutting down your alcohol consumption, or switching to alcohol-free alternatives, to live a healthier and happier life. And there must be something in it, as it’s a global movement.
We spoke to ‘healthy hedonist’ Camille Vidal, founder of mindful drinking brand La Maison Wellness, to find out more. She also revealed her favourite mocktail recipes.
Tell us about mindful drinking…
Mindful drinking is about becoming aware of your drinking habits and changing them for the better. It’s a global movement of people that care what they drink and how it impacts their wellbeing – with a goal to drink better and live well.
More delicious cocktails, less hangovers. Or, as I like to say: ‘Epic Nights, Early Mornings’.
Why has it become so popular?
Health, wellness, mindfulness, self care and, finally, more open conversation on mental health has led us to rethink the way we drink, and for some of us to make a change.
This year, more people than ever took part in Dry January – we are looking at 6.5 million people versus 4 million in 2020.
After the year we have just had, people want to feel good. They learned in the first lockdown that overindulging on alcohol wasn’t going to make things better and would, in fact, be detrimental in the long run.
What advice would you give to those thinking of cutting down drinking?
My biggest piece of advice is to know that neither you, or your drink, will be boring.
Tasty doesn’t have to be boozy, and the no and low alcohol category is filled with delicious options, from alcohol-free spirits, beers, wine, kombuchas – and, of course, all my mindful cocktail recipes from La Maison Wellness.
Continue to socialise (virtually for the time being). Not drinking doesn’t mean you have to lose out on anything.
With everything that is going on right now, it’s important to celebrate life in a way that makes you feel good – and doesn’t leave you with a heavy hangover.
Tell us about the unexpected health benefits of not drinking…
There are so many! Some you will see in the short term, while others are longer term benefits.
In the short term: More clarity of mind, more energy, more awareness, less anxiety, more restorative sleep and more meaningful conversations.
And longer term, you will definitely have more money in your bank – and more friends, because the mindful drinking community is fab, with so much support and so many interesting events. So really just more, more, more, more!
Camille’s Favourite Mindful Cocktails
Café Soirée (alcohol-free Espresso Martini)
Ingredients
30ml Lyre’s White Cane Spirit
30ml Lyre’s Coffee Originale
30ml SOLO Coffee Concentrate
10ml coconut syrup and dried coconut to garnish
Method
Add all ingredients into a shaker and give a firm ‘Dry Shake’, which means shaking with no ice. Then add ice to the shaker and give it a good shake before straining into your Coupette (or any stemmed glass). If you’ve shaken it enough and the dilution balance is right, you should have a beautiful silky texture and foamy head on the top of the cocktail, to which you can add your dried Coconut garnish to finish, et voila!
Clean Smash
Serves 1
Ingredients
50ml CleanCo Clean Rum
20ml lime juice
20ml ginger syrup
4 mint leaves
Method
Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and give a hard shake. Strain over ice into a rocks glass and garnish with a sprig of mint and a slice of fresh ginger.
Ice Tea Up
Serves 1
Ingredients
50ml Three Spirits Livener (non-alcoholic spirit)
Top with Heyday Yerba Mate Sparkling Soda
2 lemon wheels, 2 slices of cucumber and a sprig of mint to garnish
Method
Measure and pour your Three Spirit Livener into a highball glass. Half fill the glass with ice and add your lemon wheels and cucumber slices, then add more ice to fill and top with Heyday Yerba Maté Sparkling Soda. Give all the ingredients a gentle stir and add your sprig of Mint for an extra bit of fresh.
Serves 1
Find out more about mindful drinking and La Maison Wellness and follow Camille on Instagram @madamecamillevidal
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