Daily Drinks and Summer Sips

Hey friends! I talk a lot about what I like to eat, what my favorite snacks are, and all about my fitness routine on Instagram and the blog so I thought I would touch on something that's equally important: libations. When I go to a restaurant, I always ask for a drink menu just to look at the creative, sparkly combinations for inspiration even though I typically end up opting for wine anyway. In college I would be the one to make my friends that special drink because I actually wanted to drink something that tasted good. Now a days I bring the same creativity to my coffee, smoothies, collagen hot cocoa, matcha latté, and mocktail spritzers. I swear I was a bartender in a past life. When I walk into a friend's house and they ask me: What are you having for drink? Well let me tell you!

First off, hydration is so important so I always prioritize my plain H2o. I love how great I feel when I have an adequate amount of water throughout the day. My energy is through the roof, my skin is more clear, I am less bloated, and my mood is positive. To spice it up, I love adding lemon, lime, or cucumber to my water to make it fresh and tasty. In the morning I try to always have a glass of warm water with lemon to help beat bloat, reduce inflammation, and aid digestion. If it's not a fancy lemon water, I make sure to have a full glass of tap water to balance out my body's alkaline levels before diving in my morning glory coffee. We wake up dehydrated and need water before injecting our bodies with caffeine.

I really love my cup of coffee though. Shamelessly, I have become a coffee snob since being in quarantine. I blame my new Espresso maker. The coziest cup is when I add Califia Farms almond milk creamer with cinnamon and a scoop of collagen. Vital Proteins and Further Food are my two favorite brands. Use code thevibrantfoodie10 for 10% off of your first order of Further Food collagen. I love a good iced coffee or cold brew with almond or coconut milk- talk about basic and trendy. While coffee is something I cherish in the morning, I don't typically get too fancy with it or abuse the caffeine. I try to stick to one cup because that's all my body really needs (petite shorty over here). If I have more than that I tend to get jittery and some anxiety, so I always look forward to my 1 cup of joe.

If you have been taking a peek at my Instagram page lately, you may have seen my recent almost obsession with my homemade juices. I try to have a homemade green juice on a fasted stomach before my morning coffee 2-3 times a week, especially if I had too much wine the night before. I don't own a juicer so I do it all through a blender and then strain it through a fine sifter. It could not be more fresh and vibrant. My favorite combinations are kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, lemon, apple, and coconut water. My other favorite is a classic beet juice - beets, celery, cucumber, lemon, apple, carrot, and coconut water. Talk about an energizing cleanse! The coconut water is honestly a game changer. It adds high levels of hydration, electrolytes, fiber, and is the king of hydration. I am thinking about writing a new blog post all about how I have come to love the benefits of juice and how I do it without owning a juicer.

If I'm not making my own juice at home I am usually making a green smoothie later in the day, but I try to have greens in the morning regardless. There are two great brands that I recommend not only because of the health benefits and insane amount of vitamins and minerals in them, but because they actually are enjoyable to drink and taste great. I love BIOHM greens powder with a probiotic first thing in the morning. It's phenomenal and perfect for a day when I wake up groggy and need the puffiness in my eyes to go down asap. Use code vibrantfood for 10% off of your order online! The second is one that I recently started using, which is 8greens. It is one of the top rated wellness products out there and is highly loved by tons of celebrities. It's a tablet that you drop into your glass of water and it dissolves like a green lava lamp. I love it for the fizziness and flavor!

Speaking of fizz, one of my favorite drinks to have throughout the day once I have been properly hydrated and had my caffeine fix is Kombucha. This high popular fizzy drink provides so many additional health benefits, but one of the main reasons I drink it is because it contains probiotics that help promote a healthy gut. It's also a wonderful alternative to water or sparkling water. The drink is higher in sugar, but it's refreshing, good for your gut, tasty, bubbly, and super satisfying. I love Healthade and GTS brands because they have unlimited flavors. My favorite Healthade flavors are the ginger-lemon and maca berry. I absolutely love the Holiday Cheers flavor that recently became an all-year-round flavor. I do want to try the jalapéno-kiwi-cucumber because it also sounds perfect for a drink to sip on in the summertime. I really liked GTS because they offer more drink options than just raw Kombucha. Don't get me wrong, Kombucha is my jam and GTS has so many divine flavors that are unbelievably tasty and yet still there are so many that I want to try. I did try one of their Adaptogenic Alive teas that was flavored Maté Mint and it was purely delicious.

One of my favorite alternatives to the "boring" old H2o that's great to have in the evening when I am trying to refrain from grabbing the bottle of red wine is sparkling water. LaCroix and Spindrift are two of my favorite brands! Both are so refreshing and have such amazing flavors. To me, LaCroix is a little bit more harsh with the fizziness, but when I'm in the mood for some serious bubbles it does the trick. The key lime flavor tastes like a green apple skittle, it's so good. My go-to flavors are lemon, lime, passionfruit, and the coconut. I really want to try the apricot and the peach-pear. I'm a huge fan of Spindrift because it's made with natural, but minimal ingredients with a squeeze of real fruit— just the way I like it! I love the grapefruit and raspberry-lime. I wasn't a huge fan of the blackberry or cucumber, but I am dying to try the lemon and strawberry. Drinking Spindrift in the summer is the perfect refreshing drink to keep me hydrated. I like to add both of these sparkling delights to some vodka for a fun drink. Botanical drinks, anyone? Yes, I do drink alcohol. I find pleasure in a glass of wine with dinner, happy hours with friends, and drinking socially (read more about my stance on alcohol and how I drink socially and casually here!). Indulging is a way of life.

A nightly indulgence and quarantine routine is making the best collagen hot cocoa. It's dreamy and cozy that puts me in the most relaxing mood to wind down before snoozing. I microwave almond or coconut milk and stir in a packet of Four Sigmatic's Reishi hot cocoa mix and then add a scoop of Further Food's chocolate Reishi collagen. It is pure bliss and talk about chocolatey.... my ultimate vice.

So these are my favorite drinks that I consume pretty much on a daily basis. Staying hydrated is key for me, I like my coffee in the morning, herbal teas at night, but kombucha, green juice, and rosé I'll take all day :)