Over the past two years of sobriety I feel like I’ve tried EVERYTHING to drink that doesn’t have alcohol in it….

Some items have ended up being more reliable than others for me…and as I’m a bit of a sugar fiend I have to be careful to not intake toooooooo much extra sugar via beverages.

Here are some of my standbys:

Sugar Free or Low Sugar:

Yogi Tea Chai Rooibos: This tea is great because it’s caffeine free (woot!) and helps me keep from going too far into coffee land (I really try and stop after 1-2 cups).

Simply Balanced Sparkling Water in Ginger Peach, Cucumber Mint, and Blueberry: This is a Target based brand, but the flavor quality is surprising. And as much as I love La Croix, I actually think I might like this even better? And the price is right too! Also, if you are a big sparking water or seltzer drinker, I really recommend this episode of Gastropod that explores the history of sparking water.

New Mexico Pinion Coffee: This coffee has a spicy kick that I can’t get enough of. I buy ours at Trader Joe’s, but I’m not sure if it’s a regional item in the Southwest or if it’s available all over? You can order it online as well if you’re looking for a special treat.

For those of you with a sweet tooth:

Dry Sparkling Soda: The flavors here are subtle and unique. I will warn you there’s a fair amount of sugar, but sometimes if you’re headed to a party or dinner and you miss the feeling of bringing wine or beer to the hosts, this is a nice alternative (that you can also enjoy while keeping your sobriety!) I’ve found these at Grocery Stores and Target, and they have a locator on their website. I especially love the Lavender flavor…..

Trader Joe’s Matcha Green Latte Mix: This is a treat I sometimes like to enjoy on the weekends instead of coffee. I’ll mix it with no sugar added almond milk and it’s a really nice alternative (if you’re not having much sugar the rest of the day) 😉

Reed’s Ginger Brew: This really has a kick! I love the spicy flavor and it has so much ginger in it you can see it floating around at the bottom of the bottle.

Favorite Smoothies (for those of you with blenders) and Juices (for those of you with juicers):

My all time favorite smoothie recipe is as follows: 1 banana, 1 spoon of sprouted flax, small scoop of frozen blueberries, handful of fresh spinach, half cup of frozen pineapple, 3-4 frozen strawberries, a cut of fresh ginger (without the peel) usually about 1/4 inch thick. Then add 1 parts water/1 parts orange juice until the frozen fruit is submerged. Every time this smoothie brings me joy…

My favorite juice to make is relatively simple–I juice down 5-6 large carrots, 1-2 oranges (depending on their size) and a chunk of peeled ginger (usually about 1/2 inch thick). I put the ginger in first with about half of an orange, and then alternate feeding in the carrots and oranges so it mixes it up nicely and has a good zzzziinnng!

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Now, onto my new favorite alcohol-free hang here in Vegas, Vesta Coffee.

This lovely new coffee shop is located in the heart of downtown Vegas in the Arts District on Casino Center Blvd. just south of Charleston.

For you out of towners–it’s not a far trip via Lyft/Uber/Taxi especially if you are going to check out anything else in the Arts District area.

Parking is limited within their parking lot, but there is plenty od street parking available nearby.

Inside it feels like it could be any larger metropolitan city–and for Vegas–this is rare!

So many of our local spots don’t have natural light and it’s so refreshing to have found a new place to meet up with friends or do some work that is teeming with natural light.

As you can see in the picture above, many folks enjoy this place as a workstation.

We visited early on a Saturday afternoon this place was busy….!  We were in a group of three and did have to wait a few minutes to sit, but it was pleasant inside and the staff was really welcoming, so we didn’t mind at all.

My friend had one of their green teas, I had the Golden Milk Latte, and we shared the Sweet Dream Toast (which is Nutella, Almonds, Coconut & Salt) and they were all excellent.

I am looking forward to trying all kinds of other items on their menu!

I can’t wait to take visitors to Vesta for a bit of refuge among the neon lights…it’s so close to downtown.

One thing I will mention is they aren’t open very late…at the time I’m writing this their hours are Monday – Friday (7AM – 4PM) & Saturday – Sunday (9AM – 5PM).

I hope as their business grows their hours extend, because I could see this being a dreamy evening location before seeing a show.

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Thanks for reading and happy sobering friends!