Girl, you know I love a glass dry rose on a sunny afternoon. And nothing’s better than a margarita (on the rocks, extra salt) with a big bowl of guac and chips. And of course I like to celebrate by popping something sparkling.

I believe in enjoying all the good things in life as fully as possible, and to me, that means having a good drink alongside a nice meal. What is pizza night without a glass of Malbec, after all?

But sometimes I like to challenge myself to step out of my habits to see how well they work for me. Which is why I started laying off the sauce for a month each year. (All the pregnant ladies are like: Whatever.)

I like to think of it as showing my liver a little love while taking some quiet time for myself. It’s kind of empowering to take a step back and reflect on the choices I make each day and how they make me feel.

In February, my husband Fabian and I banned all alcohol for the entire month. This was our third time having an official ‘dry’ month, and it was by far the easiest.

If you’re used to having a couple of drinks when meeting up with friends or going out to dinner, you can feel like you’re missing out at first, but it gets easier with practice and a few tricks up your sleeve.

Here are my tips for making a month off alcohol as enjoyable as possible:

1. Up your tea game
   Make sure to pick up some new, good-quality teas. I tried to pick a few fruitier ones and made sure to have a nice variety of caffeine free flavors. I usually have tea throughout my work day, but I made it a part of my evening ritual too – a nice cup of chamomile & spiced apple tea after dinner was great. I played around with iced tea too.
   My favorite was a virgin version of sangria: red berries iced tea sweetened with pomegranate juice and topped with chopped apple and orange. Perfect for date night at home.
2. BYOD – Bring Your Own Drink
   Like…tea. Or soda. It’s important that you still feel like you’ve got something interesting to drink, especially at those times when everyone else is enjoying a glass of rose. Even if it’s something simple, it’s still more exciting than just plain water. One night, we went to a dinner party and brought mineral water, limes and grapefruit soda and had a few combinations of the three. I know it sounds lame, but it’s nice to have a drink in your hand like everyone else.
3. Supplement your cleanse
   To get the most bang for your liver-cleansing buck, take a supplement that includes milk thistle to help repair + protect the liver.
4. Be grateful
   That night we went to the dinner party, we got home pretty late and I remember thinking how good it felt to crash into the pillow without having to take extra care to chug some water, since I’d been sipping on sparkling water all night.
5. Treat yo self
   Create little rewards for yourself throughout the month. Go out of your way to make yourself your favorite dessert or meal. Get yourself a pedicure or massage. Buy yourself something pretty. It’s great to take some time out and do something good for your bod and brain — so treat yo self for a job well done!

 

Photo credit: Death to the Stock Photo