Small Healthy Habits For The New Year

As December 2024 draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to pause and reflect on the journey we’ve taken this year. With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, many of us may find ourselves looking back at our resolutions and goals, considering what we’ve accomplished and what we still aspire to achieve. Whether you’ve made strides in your health journey, embraced new habits, or faced challenges along the way, remember that every step contributes to your growth. As we prepare to welcome a new year, let’s take a moment to celebrate our progress and set our intentions for 2025. This is not just about resolutions; it’s about cultivating a mindset that embraces continuous improvement and well-being. Join me as we explore ways to reflect on the past year and create a roadmap for a healthier, more fulfilling future!

Putting small healthy habits into practice with more frequency helps take the pressure off maintaining a year-long streak. Consider these smaller goals:

• Try a month-long challenge like a Dry January (or Feb, March or April) or a Whole30 elimination diet. Researchers found that participants of a Dry January maintained a “significant reduction” in their alcohol consumption six to eight months later. A month-long challenge to your eating and drinking habits can pay health dividends long into the future.

• Try a weekly screen-free Sunday. Reclaiming a few hours from your phone or computer can improve your physical health, boost your mood, and free up time for play and community.

• Try a daily routine like morning mindfulness or evening gratitude journaling. Mindfulness allows us to understand our emotions better, potentially helping us feel calmer. Research shows that gratitude can support better health, happiness and wisdom in ourselves and our community. 

If your 2025 goals include getting hormones back in balance, addressing pesky stubborn weight, finally figuring out your gut symptoms or optimizing your labs for longevity, I’m here for you. At Relish Health we work together to help you reach your goals and best health.

The Perfect Shrub Mocktail

How is your Dry January going? I am finding that sparkling water with lime is very refreshing with dinner. On the weekends I am enjoying some delicious “mocktails” made with fruit and vinegar. The sweet, slightly acidic and pungent flavors feel celebratory while still being mostly virtuous for my health (hello sugar, I’m still watching you.)

Drinking vinegars are often called “shrubs.” The word "shrub" refers to a cocktail or soft drink made by mixing a vinegar syrup with spirits, water or carbonated water. The history of shrubs dates back to medicinal cordials in the middle ages. In colonial America, shrubs were created as a way to preserve berries and other fruits for the off-season.

Shrubs are incredibly easy to make. They can be made by infusing vinegar with fruits, herbs or spices or by simply mixing fruit juice with vinegar.

How to make a shrub

There are two strategies for making shrubs, a hot process and a cold process. The cold process can be used with any fruit, but is ideal for fruits that you rarely cook, like melons or citrus. The hot process involves making a simple syrup while helping the fruit breakdown with heat. The heat process is ideal for fruits that you would simmer to make jam, think berries, peaches or rhubarb.

Hot Processed Shrub:

1. Make a simple syrup by combining equal parts sweetener and water in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir the mixture until the sweetener is completely dissolved. 

2. Add your clean and sliced fruit to the simple syrup. Bring the syrup-fruit mixture to a low simmer until the syrup has started to thicken and the fruit has started to lose it’s shape.

3.  Combine the fruit mixture with an approximately equal amount of vinegar. Start with ½ of the estimated vinegar needed and slowly add it to the fruit syrup. Taste the mixture as you go so that you get a shrub that is just sharp enough for you.

4. Strain the mixture and discard the fruit (or use it as a base for a vinaigrette or marinade).

5. Store the shrub in a jar in the fridge.

Cold Processed Shrub:

1. Place your clean and sliced fruit in a bowl. Toss it with the sweetener. Gently mash the fruit.

2. Let this mixture sit for 2 days in the refrigerator to macerate. Stir the mixture periodically.

3. After 2 days, strain the mixture into a measuring cup and discard the fruit (or use it as a base for a vinaigrette or marinade).

4. Combine the syrup with an approximately equal amount of vinegar. Start with ½ of the estimated vinegar needed and slowly add it to the fruit syrup. Taste the mixture as you go so that you get a shrub that is just sharp enough for you.

5. Store the shrub in a jar in the fridge.

---

Choosing your ingredients

Shrubs are a matter of ratio. Finding the balance between sweet and tart is often a 1:1:1 ratio of fruit, sugar, and vinegar, however, feel free to let your palate fine tune this ratio. Here is a good place to start:

For the heated process:  
1 pound chopped fruit
1 cup sweetener
1 cup water 
1 cup vinegar

For the cold process:
1 pound chopped fruit
2 cups sweetener
2 cups vinegar

Each method should yield about 3 cups of shrub syrup, which will keep in the fridge for weeks. Feel free to adjust the recipe dependent upon the amount of fruit you have. I find shrubs are a great way to use up the bits of fruit I have on hand that may be past their prime. 

Shrubs are incredibly versatile. They are a great way to embrace seasonal fruits like strawberries in the spring; peaches, fennel, berries, and watermelon in the summer, or apples, citrus, and pomegranates in the fall/winter. You are not limited to fruit in your shrub. Grated fresh ginger, fresh herbs, like rosemary or thyme, or spices, like cardamom pods, bay leaves, cinnamon or star anise, can be added to either the simple syrup (hot process) or the sugar-fruit mixture (cold process).

Choosing your vinegar

There is a dizzying number of vinegars available in the groceries these days. Most vinegars will work in shrubs but think about how your fruit will pair with the flavor of the vinegar you select. I prefer to use vinegars that are more “delicate” in flavor rather than plain white vinegar, which is too intensely sharp in my opinion. Unpasteurized apple cider vinegar is the one I use most, but white or red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, or Champagne vinegar also work well. Balsamic vinegar is slightly sweet and adds an amazing depth of flavor, but you only need a splash. It mixes well with cider or wine vinegar for balance in a recipe.

The Sweetener

White sugar is the traditional choice for making a shrub. It’s neutral flavor is ideal to pair with the fruit. Brown sugar, honey or maple syrup can be used, but will add another element of flavor. I personally like to use a natural, non-nutritive sweetener like monk fruit or erythritol. These are not traditional ingredients to use in a shrub, but they do allow me to minimize my sugar intake and keep control of my blood sugars without significantly changing the flavor. 

Below is a list of fruit, spice and vinegar flavor combinations to consider using for your next shrub complements of food52.com:

Pomegranate + peppercorn + white sugar + red wine vinegar
Pear + star anise + brown sugar + white wine vinegar
Red plum + cardamom + brown sugar + white wine vinegar
Peach + cardamom pods + honey + cider vinegar
Strawberries + white sugar + red wine vinegar and a splash of balsamic vinegar
Blueberries + thinly sliced ginger + cider vinegar
Nectarine + peppercorn + brown sugar + white wine vinegar

---

Cheers! Using your shrub

Now that you have your shrub prepared you can make mocktails, vinaigrettes or even marinades with this culinary wonder. 

Mocktail: Fill a tall glass with ice, pour in a splash of shrub, and top it off with sparkling water. Give it a gentle stir to incorporate the shrub. Garnish as desired. 

Vinaigrette: A vinaigrette is traditionally 2 parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar. Substitute part of your go-to vinegar with the shrub when making your next dressing. Add a pinch of salt, a few turns of fresh ground pepper and a small dollop of Dijon mustard for an amazing way to elevate your next salad.

Marinade: Mix the shrub with avocado oil, salt, pepper and additional herbs and spices (think garlic, onions, rosemary, etc.) and allow your fish, chicken or beef to tenderize while soaking up the shrub flavor.

---

Fennel shrub mocktail

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons fennel juice
1.5 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1-2 tablespoons sweetener (I use monk fruit but sugar is traditional.)
8 oz sparkling water

Directions:

1. Juice the stems and bulb of a fennel using a juicer machine.

2. Mix the juice, vinegar and sweetener until the sweetener is dissolved.

3. Top with sparkling water and ice.

4. Garnish with fennel fronds and enjoy.

---

TIPS FOR DRY JANUARY SUCCESS
ELDERBERRY SHRUB
ELDERBERRY SYRUP RECIPE

---

(This blog post is not sponsored by any manufacturer. However, at no cost to you, Relish Health may receive a commission on purchases made through an Amazon link.)

Tips for Dry January Success

If you are taking a month off from drinking alcohol, you are not alone. Going “dry” for the month of January is on trend. “Dry January” has become a robust movement that started in 2012 from a public health initiative in the UK. Now millions of people around the globe are expected to abstain from alcohol this month.

Wondering if this is for you? The research shows that pushing the reset button on drinking after the holidays can benefit everyone, not just heavy drinkers. All types of drinking patterns, from light (1-6 drinks per week) to heavy (3 or more drinks in one day or more than 7 per week for women; more than 4 drinks in one day or more than 14 per week for men), report short-term improvements in deeper sleep, better food choices, improved lab markers, and even weight loss.

Why do Dry January?

Everyone can benefit from reevaluating their relationship with alcohol. Being alcohol-free for 31 days reminded us that we don’t need alcohol to have fun, relax, or socialize. Additionally, we strengthen our skills needed to manage our drinking. That means that for the rest of the year we are better able to make decisions about when we drink and how much, so we can avoid slipping into drinking more than we really want. In fact, a University of Sussex study showed that 70% of people who took part in Dry January were still drinking less six months later, especially if they use the Try Dry app developed by Alcohol Change UK. Other short term perks like better sleep, more energy, healthier skin, and sharper concentration seem to persist past the 31-day dry challenge too. And, even those who fell short of abstaining the entire month were drinking less after 6 months. 

In another study from the UK, researchers confirmed the old adage that avoiding alcohol gives our liver a break. The participants of the study saw improved liver enzymes even when they kept their eating, smoking, and/or exercise habits the same. The study participants also enjoyed reductions in weight, blood pressure, insulin resistance, and cancer-related growth factors.

---

Dry January Benefits:

What you'll notice Quickly(1):

70% of people sleep better
86% of people save money
65% of people notice generally improved health

Short-term medical benefits(2):

Reduced diabetes risk
Improve blood pressure (BP)
Lower cholesterol
Reduced level of cancer-related proteins in the blood
Improved liver function tests

Long-term benefits:

Alcohol is linked with more than 60 health conditions including liver disease, high blood pressure, depression and seven types of cancer. Cutting back on alcohol long-term reduces your risk of developing these conditions.

---

Tips to improve your success completing a 31-day alcohol free challenge:

Fennel Shrub Mocktail (Click here for the recipe.)

• Find a substitute non-alcoholic drink. For social situations, or when you crave a cocktail after a long day, reach for alcohol-free beverages like sparkling water, kombucha, or virgin beverages (non-alcoholic versions of alcoholic drinks.) There are many new and delicious non-alcoholic options on the market these days. I personally like to make a mocktails by combining sparkling water (love my soda stream) with a splash of bitters and an herb or citrus garnish. Experiment with a variety of bitters for fun flavors and combinations.

  Non-alcoholic beer or wine is also an option, but some brands still contain up to 0.5% alcohol by volume, so check the label. Sugar is often added to these beverages to improve the taste, so try to choose ones that are low in sugar. 

  “Shrubs” also make excellent alternative to alcohol. Shrubs are sweetened vinegar based syrups that can be mixed with sparkling water. They can be fruity, spicy or herbaceous with a kick from the vinegar. I like to use apple cider vinegar because it has health benefits on its own.

• Avoid temptations. Keep alcohol out of your house. When you are invited to someone’s home, bring your favorite non-alcoholic drinks with you to share.

• Create a support group. Let friends and family know about your intentions and encourage them to keep you accountable. Better yet, enlist someone to do the challenge with you.

• Use the Try Dry app. This free app is sponsored by the non-profit Alcohol Change UK. It helps you track your drinking, set personal goals, and offers motivational information like calories and money saved from not drinking. It’s aimed at cutting back on or cutting out alcohol, depending on your choices. Use of the app has been shown to double your success of completing a dry month challenge.

• Don’t give up. If you slip up, don't feel guilty. Tomorrow is a fresh start.

Warning:

Stopping drinking suddenly can be very dangerous, and can even kill you, if you are dependent on alcohol. If, after a period of drinking, you experience any of the following symptoms, you may be dependent on alcohol and you should NOT suddenly stop drinking completely: seizures, hand tremors, sweating, visual hallucinations, depression, anxiety or insomnia. You can still take control of your drinking. Speak to your health care provider to get help for you to reduce your drinking safely. 

---

References:
1. Alcohol Change UK. Accessed 1/7/2022.
2. Mehta G, et al. BMJ Open 2018;8:e020673. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020673
3. Thinking of trying Dry January? Steps for success. Harvard Health Publisher. Accessed 1/7/2022.

HOW ABOUT A “QUARANTINI?”
FIRE CIDER MOCKTAIL RECIPE
ELDERBERRY SHRUB MOCKTAIL RECIPE