By: Kathy Hester

First I would like to congratulate The Healthy Hostess on the newest member of her family. I thought I would give you some Mom friendly drinks for your upcoming gatherings. You deserve to enjoy yourself!

Simple syrup is your friend. If you don’t use want to use sugar, you can substitute stevia, agave nectar, or honey but you’ll need to experiment with the proportions. Make it super special by infusing it with fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, mint, or basil. They are the base of some amazing drinks.

Try making basil limeade with simple syrup, muddled basil, and fresh squeezed lime juice. If you have some fresh strawberries or raspberries, puree them and add it to the limeade. It’s one of my favorites.

You don’t have to miss your summer mojito. Muddle some fresh mint in a glass and add some simple syrup, lime juice and sparkling water. Puree some peach and put into some freshly squeezes orange juice for a refreshing fuzzy navel.

Don’t forget your blender. A pina colada tastes just fine without rum and you can even make it healthy by using fresh pineapple and So Delicious Coconut milk. I have always loved strawberry daiquiris and you can easily make it without the alcohol. Instead of using a mix with high fructose corn syrup and other things you’re probably avoiding use fresh strawberries and some lime juice with ice cubes and some coconut milk for your own homemade mix.

If gin and tonic was your go to drink, just squeeze a lime into tonic water and drink that instead. Make a cosmo with cranberry and lime juice. Go ahead and shake it with ice and serve it up in your favorite martini glass.

Set up various garnishes on Noritake colorwave accent plates to add some decoration. Sprigs of fresh herbs, slices of lime and lemon, and fresh berries all dress up your drinks enough that no one will think about the missing alcohol! Serve up a few nibbles on your dinnerware too. It’s much nicer and more green than paper plates.

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