Elevated Mocktails: Naturopathic Herbal Twists To Help You Bloom

There are all kinds of non-alcoholic (NA) beverages available, but when discussing them with our friends we have all come to similar conclusions. Many of the mocktails on the market contain quite a bit of sugar, and if the intention is reducing alcohol, we don’t really want to swap that for refined sugars. Additionally, a very common question we get in clinical practice is: "is there an alternative to alcohol that can produce the calming or “buzzy” effect?"

‍Our solutions? Herbs. Mocktails that use our herbal tinctures to add depth of taste and health benefits, honey instead of refined sugar, and juices & teas for complex flavour profiles and calming properties.

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Wait wait wait - what is a tincture? Good question. A tincture is a concentrated herbal extract made by soaking plant materials in a solvent, typically alcohol or glycerin, to draw out the active compounds. The results is a potent liquid that carries the herb(s), allowing for easy dosing and better absorption. Ultimately, tinctures deliver therapeutic properties of herbs in concentrated form, which you can imagine may not taste the best. Adding them to mocktails is our way of leveraging the health-supporting properties of herbs, but make it fun and delicious! The mocktail recipes below go beyond just the tincture addition for health benefits! Our Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) designed these recipes using herbs as bases/added ingredients too. Mocktails you can trust!

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Meet Inbloom Mocktails!

The tinctures used in these mocktails are available locally at Inbloom Health in Charlottetown, PEI. For our long-distance pals, we've linked options that are available online so you can still soak up the herbal benefits

• Mushroom Hot Toddy feat. Nourish.
  • Nourish is our deep immune and overall health booster, with our mushroom blend tincture as the star. Mushrooms support immunity and have adaptogenic properties, we think of them as deep & robust support. Adaptogen = helping the body adapt to stressors and reduce the impact of stress.
  • Recipe: Stove top ginger tea (link to recipe) with 1 tsp whole clove, cooled + 1 tsp local honey (Canoe Cove Honey is our favourite) + 1tsp Nourish tincture
  • Tasting notes: like a warm winter spice blend, our better-for-you take on a hot toddy.
  • Long distance option: Rainbo tinctures are Canadian & organic. Chaga or 11:11 are excellent options.

• Digestif feat. Bitters. 
  • Digestive boost (aka your bloat & digestion bff). Bitters stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system, rest and digest state. Traditionally used for helping improve digestive function, another classical use was to reduce stage fright, so they can also help to quiet a nervous system that is overstimulated in a social setting. Bitters support digestion from the moment we take them - from the mouth all the way through. Our digestive system feels it all; stress, anxiety, exercise, what we eat. We love offering it a supportive boost!
  • Recipe: 20 drops Inbloom Bitters tincture + ginger stove top tea (recipe above, cooled) + soda water
  • Tasting notes: Our bitter herbs have flavour notes of anise, so this will not be a favorite among those who have had bad experiences with jägermeister. However, the anise and ginger provide a complex herbal taste while the soda water adds some bubbles (this is optional). 
  • Long distance option: St. Francis Herb Farm Canadian Bitters is widely available, I would check Healthy Planet and Well.ca online, most local health shops or Whole Foods Markets would stock.
• Sleep feat. Sour Jujube Decoction.
  • A mocktail that helps improve REM sleep, alcohol hates to see it coming! Tart cherry juice contains tryptophan and melatonin which helps with falling and staying asleep. Sour jujube is a Chinese medicine herb that helps improve sleep duration & quality. Get ready for a great snooze!
  • Recipe: equal parts sparkling water + kombucha + splash of tart cherry juice + 1 tsp sour jujube decoction.
  • Tasting notes: Unfortunately the sour jujube tincture does not taste tart and sweet but rather herbal (a gentle word for grassy) thankfully the tart cherry hides this tasting note. We like using flavoured sparkling water (Limoncello LaCroix, Cherry bubbly, world's your oyster!) and kombucha for bubbles and flavour. GT's Ginger or Strawberry Lemon kombucha are delicious.‍
  • Recipe on Instagram (visual)‍
  • Long distance option: Rainbo’s Reishi tincture 

• Fleur feat. Flowrs Tea.
  • Iced tea for the nervous system - a relaxation and mental health boost. The lavender, oat, and chamomile are three powerful herbs for calming an anxious mind and an overstimulated nervous system. The perfect trio to help you unwind at the end of the day.
  • Herbal teas, when steeped and covered for 20 minutes, help to extract the medical components of the herbs. That is why we love making a mocktail with a cold steeped tea. The honey adds the perfect sweetness and the bubbles elevate the drink.
  • Recipe: Flowrs Flower Buds tea, cooled + 1-2 tsp Canoe Cove Blueberry Honey + splash of soda water for bubbles
  • Tasting Notes: Floral and herbal in the best most calming ways, blueberry honey adds sweetness and floral depth. Bubbles elevate the drink for some spritz! Important note that this tea is delicious on its own, an herbal hug that soothes.
  • No long-distance notes here - Flowrs Tea is available online! A woman-owned, Canadian company providing organic loose leaf steeps. Go To Flowrs Website.

• Restore feat. Care.
  • Calming & grounding - an Inbloom ND favourite. This mocktail is all about helping you ground down and take that deep exhale. Ashwagandha can improve sleep and supports stress resiliency without being stimulating, it is calming and restorative. Oatstraw is gentle but nourishing to the nervous system, calming to the mind. Shatavari is another nourishing herb. We love this tincture for folks leaning on coffee to get through the day or feeling overworked! The R's of Reishi: relaxation, restoration, resiliency.
  • Recipe: 1 tsp Care tincture + hibiscus tea (1 tea bag), cooled + top off with Cove cream soda
  • Tasting notes: Sweet & sparkly, lightly herbal, hydrating hibiscus adds pink colour.
  • Long distance option: Rainbo’s Reishi tincture + St. Francis Herb Farm Chamomile tincture.

PS. our go-to recommendation for teas from the store is Traditional Medicinals. They source organic herbs, teas are in paper tea bags, and there are no added natural flavours etc. Just high quality botanicals! Available at most grocery stores and health food stores.

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Cheers!

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Céline and Lauren M