This Thanksgiving, I went home to Nashville where my parents reside. As soon as I stepped in the house and saw about 20 family members, I instantly had an urge and wanted a glass of wine. Why? Well, it was not because I wanted to take the edge off of LIFE. This time, it was because I just wanted to be Merry and have good times with the family I love. There was Moët, Prisoner Wine, Moscato, that good ole Bombay Saphire and of course the Baileys and Kahlua. And for a split second I was a little bummed as I had my Aunt Kitty looking forward to us having our wino moments, my dad wanting to just have a beer and chit chat, and my cousins, nieces and nephews wanting to “turn up”.

So what did I do? I went to my clutch move, Blood Orange San Pellegrino, the most delicious, sparkling and refreshing beverage I have discovered since my one year sobriety pledge to myself (just a little over three weeks ago). I kept my cup filled up and one of my nieces, Miss Chardonneè Brown, asked the question I knew was coming, “Aunt Cristen, what are you drinking on”. And that is when I told her, that it was not alcohol, but just my new found go to, San Pellegrino.

Of course I shared with her my decision to be alcohol free and her response truly touched my heart. Chardy said that she totally understood, supported me and that lately if she went out she would restrict herself to two drinks only and that she wanted to not drink this Thanksgiving too with me. She asked if she could taste my Blood Orange San Pellegrino and went to grab a can. And this is when homegirl rained on my parade. “This has 32 grams of sugar, no wonder it’s bomb. I am surprised that you are drinking that,” she said. Uh oh and here lies a serious issue as I can smash like 3 or 4 cans a day.

Chardy highlighted a very important reality for me. I immediately could see how not drinking alcohol could possible lead to a bigger waste line and even diabetes if I was not aware. I immediately understood that I needed to make sure that what I was replacing the alcohol with was actually good for me. A critical lesson learned on this new journey of mine.

If you happen to not be drinking for whatever reason and want a good suggestion of what you can drink to replace alcohol without impacting your health adversely, check out the links below. My favorite selections from a health standpoint are Kombucha, Ginger Bear and Pellegrino. Just be mindful of the sugar intake when you make your selection. On average, a glass of white wine only has one and a half teaspoons of sugar and red wine has even less, so it does us no good to replace wine with drinks that have high sugar contents.

?Love & Light☀️,

Cris