With the festive season in full swing, along come the Christmas parties, wine, cocktails, mulled cider, and all the things you can’t have. But just because you’re pregnant it doesn’t mean you need to stay on boring old water or cordial all night. It’s time to explore the ‘mocktail/virgin’ part of the menu. You might be pleasantly surprised  to find that you may not be able to tell much difference! And who doesn’t love a bellini? Lightly sparkling, it’s refreshing and feels like a celebratory drink. Plus, if you haven’t told anyone that you are pregnant yet, they’ll never know your not drinking.

Originally an Italian drink made with white peach and prosecco, I’ve stuck to the traditional peach puree, but substituted the alcoholic prosecco for sparkling grape juice. It is a perfect drink for those of you who love a glass of bubbly, or if you are suffering with heartburn as it’s not overly acidic as most other cocktails. You can always try different fruits instead of the peach of course, such as strawberry, raspberry or mandarin, but these are more acidic.

Now I can’t claim that these virgin bellini’s have loads of health benefits, as they are relatively high in fruit sugars, so I wouldn’t go overboard. Enjoy them here and there when you’re at a party or for special occasions.

RECIPE   Serves 2   Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients
1 Fresh peach / or 1 cup canned sliced peaches (in juice)
2 tablespoons lemon or cranberry juice
Sparkling white grape juice (chilled)

Method
Puree the peaches with the lemon or cranberry juice until smooth. Strain and pour into champagne flutes until it fills about 1/4 of the glass. Top up with the sparkling grape juice, mix a little and serve.