What's good to drink in a bar when you don't want alcohol?

After the reopening of the terraces and the start of summer, perhaps you have decided to continue the latter with (a little) more sobriety.

But that doesn't mean giving up the pleasure of quenching your thirst with something a little more delightful than water as flat as a day without bread.

Is there anything more exciting on the menu?

Follow the leader.

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Water and sometimes fun

On the scale of the lowest calorie non-alcoholic drinks, water, still or sparkling, is at the top of the basket.

Without sugar and essential to the body, it is closely followed by its hot variations: coffee, tea and infusion.

But who orders herbal tea during

 ?

For the most frustrated and more reasonable among us, dietitian nutritionist Ysabelle Levasseur recommends turning to flavored waters, low in sugar.

Some bars and restaurants make their homemade recipe and serve it in a pitcher (often free), where cucumber, berries or citrus fruits (lemon, orange) are cold infused.

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Freshly squeezed juices to be consumed in moderation

If you are afraid of rusting by dint of running on water, the classic choice remains fruit and vegetable juices.

Alone or mixed in a smoothie, these drinks (fruit juices) are far from innocent from a nutritional point of view.

“Count an average of 79 calories and 16 grams of sugar for 100 ml of grape juice

, notes Ysabelle Levasseur. For apple juice, we arrive at 43 calories and 9.36 grams of sugar. 100ml."

To be consumed in moderation therefore, no more than two to three glasses.

Or even just one, specifies the expert, if we are dealing with an industrial juice, in particular fruit nectar, which is sweeter.

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Among the homemade juices, the nutritionist dietitian favors that of squeezed lemon, rich in vitamin C. If it is generally diluted with water, we will however avoid adding sugar.

Even if it is offered by the house.

Just like celery salt, proposed to season tomato juice.

"Very low in calories, this drink is already very salty, at an average of 3 to 6 grams, notes Ysabelle Levasseur. There is therefore no point in adding more."

Yes to beer without alcohol but without aroma

What do you do when you want a cold beer?

Forget the industrial sodas, real glycemic bombs and opt for a little alcohol-free blonde.

The latter is on average 30 to 40% less caloric than a beer at 5 degrees, indicated Elisabeth Pierre, zythologist, in a previous article.

Except for flavored non-alcoholic beer, warns the nutritionist dietician, in which a good dose of glucose syrup is generally added.

The mocktail, the new benchmark

Prefer a virgin mojito to the famous non-alcoholic piña colada

A contraction of the English words

(“simulated” in French) and

, the mocktail, as its name suggests, imitates its alcoholic alter ego.

Always made with fruits, juices or soft drinks, aromatic herbs but guaranteed, this time, without headaches the next day.

Also called

or

, this kind of drink has been a hit for years in the United States and was honored at the 5th Paris Cocktail Week festival in 2018. "

has been seen for too long as a punishment, when it should be normal, logical and inclusive", supported on the site of the event the mixologist and founder of the Parisian bar Combat, Margot Lecarpentier.

If the initiative is good, pay attention to the ingredients that make up the drink, warns Ysabelle Levasseur.

Prefer a virgin mojito with sparkling water and citrus fruits or red fruits to the famous pina colada without alcohol.

It contains a large amount of coconut milk or cream, "two components very rich in fat and sugar", according to the nutritionist dietician.

In order to compensate for the lack of alcohol and avoid spikes in blood sugar levels (high blood sugar levels),

are doubling their ingenuity to concoct delicious mocktails.

Gone is the good old cane syrup and welcome to the

, a sour and fresh syrup, made from vinegar infused with sugar, fruit, aromatic herbs and spices.

"The sugar must always be well diluted", insists Ysabelle Levasseur.

Another unexpected ingredient, egg white, which will bring texture to the cocktail and give it a nice foam.

"Unlike the egg yolk which is bad for cholesterol, the white will be an excellent source of protein", underlines Ysabelle Levasseur.

Nevertheless, its unusual taste may be able to curb a potential desire to chain the tours.

Originally published on March 26, 2019, this article has been updated.