Cocktails and mixed drinks are a delightful way to unwind, but mixology isn’t just for evenings. Whipping up a morning mocktail is a great way to energize and detoxify. They’ll definitely help soothe hangovers, but they’ll also give you a huge lift with workouts and workdays. These four ingredients below are also pretty unique to the world of mocktails, so they’re the perfect way to impress friends. They’re so healthy and delicious, the following mocktails may even send health nuts into nutritional shock...

Matcha

The Starbucks matcha latte may seem overhyped and overpriced, but there’s actually a good reason for that. Matcha comes from the same leaves steeped from green tea, but they’re ground into a powder that’s concentrated and readily absorbed. Matcha is packed with detoxifying chlorophyll and disease-fighting catechins, and it totes caffeine that’s paired with an amino acid that promotes calm. Buying a quality powdered matcha will set you back about $20, but that will save you money if it keeps you from needing lattes and iced coffee (it’ll also save you from the lead found in cheaper Chinese matchas). When you’re ready to play with mixology, try using one teaspoon of matcha for every half to full cup of mocktail juice. For chilled mocktails and preggatinis; dissolve matcha in warm water before adding to cold ingredients.

Matcha Lemonade: The tart flavor of lemon matches matcha perfectly. Since lemon juice packs it’s own strong flavor, matcha can be increased up to 2 teaspoons per cup of lemonade. Pair your matcha with the lemonade idea down below and your mocktini will be the talk of the town.

Matcha Tonic: If you crave bitter drinks, then matcha will be the best thing to happen to tonic water (since gin, of course). Just add dissolved matcha to a glass of tonic and ice, and your done. But if you’re the type that lives for new extremes, add a plop of sliced cucumber and mint leaves. It will be so healthy and refreshing -- it may border unbearable...

Kombucha

It used to be that only wierdo health-nuts would tote around glass bottles of ‘bucha, but now you can get a kombucha fix at a gas station. Kombucha is crazy trendy, but give yourself a week of it and you’ll get why people love it so much. Energy, digestion, and health all get a boost thanks to it’s brain-boosting B vitamins and friendly microbes. Kombucha is definitely worth the money, but if you’re looking to be thrifty and crafty, you can use that same money to buy some filtered water, sugar, and tea. Mix it all together and you can make your own kombucha for a mocktail party (or a weekday morning pick-me-up).

Kombucharita: Nothing adds to a hot day quite like an icy sip of microbes. Put your kombucha on ice, and you can swirl in coconut water, lime juice, or muddled strawberries. If you want to slush up your mocktails, blend your ‘bucha with a handful of ice or frozen fruit. Garnish your blend with salt and a lime wedge, and you may actually wake up in time for that 6am tequila sunrise.

Kombuchade: Mix kombucha with lime juice, and you’ll have a probiotic limeade that compete with any whiskey sour. Take a spin off Serious Eat’s black peppercorn limeade, and your simple mocktail will leave drinkers in awe.

Apple Cider Vinegar

This simple vinegar is the topic of some fascinating health studies. So far, science suggests apple cider vinegar has amazing health benefits that can help regulate diabetes prevention for Asians, cholesterol, and weight. Raw ACV has even more health potential because it contains the live enzymes and probiotics created by its fermentation.Vinegar may be the last thing you’d think of adding to a mocktail, but once you try it you may never go back. For a mocktail that’s as tasty as it is healthy, pair ACV’s strong flavor with another powerful flavor like lemon juice. You can also mellow it out with something sweet like coconut water or honey. Add ACV to mocktails a teaspoon at a time until you find the right flavor for your palette.

Hot (ACV) Cider: Use 1-2 Tablespoons of ACV for every 2 cups of cider. If you’re using raw ACV for extra enzymes and friendly microbes, wait to add it to the cider until it’s had a chance to cool (high heat equals death).

Virgin Bloody Mary: Top off your favorite Bloody Mary recipe with 2 Tablespoons of ACV. It may seem like a lot, but if you were a wimp, you wouldn’t be drinking horseradish, worcestershire, and tabasco.

Fermented Citrus

Citrus fruits are loaded with vitamin C. Drinking it up will support immunity because vitamin c boosts production of white blood cells (the fighters of foreign microbes). A citrus mocktail is a must with that alone! But vitamin C is also an antioxidant that helps the liver detoxify. So, it’s a delish post-party necessity. The ideas below have been tried specifically with lemon, but lime is always a great substitute. Oranges in all their variety call for experimentation in the kitchen too. If you want to add extra pizazz, try using essential oils. Lemon essential oil boosts detoxification, which makes it wildly popular with oil nuts and health fiends. But on top of the health bene’s, it’s flavor and aroma can give the simplest drink new depths, don't forget that you can also add the green powders found at https://healthyusa.co/science-based-green-detox/, which are very beneficial when it comes down to detoxifying your body.

Fermented Soda: The pros at Nourished Kitchen have a recipe for fermented lemonade that will have Sprite crying in shame. All it takes is a little honey, water, lemon juice, and whey (which is easily strained from plain yogurt). Bottle up the final mix, then allow it to sit and ferment for 4-7 days. If you to add extra jazz, try taking a spin off of Liquid Muse’s own lavender lemonade recipe.

Preserved Lemon Mocktini: If you love the “adult” feeling you get drinking alcohol, preserved lemons are a mocktail must. Their deep and complex lemon flavor is practically guaranteed to blow your palette away. All it takes to make preserved lemons is salt, lemons slices, and time. You will have to wait 2-4 weeks for them to set, but it’s worth the wait since they’ll keep in the fridge at least six months.