Nojitos - Non Alcoholic Mojitos

Piggies, this is my last post. Well, my last post for 2011! Where has the time gone? As I look back on the "year that was" I have many amazing memories: moving into my apartment and living alone for the first time in my life (I LOVED it); wonderful times with my family in Australia and America; flying back to Australia to surprise my sister for the birth of my gorgeous little nephew Sullivan (the look on her face was priceless and will go down as one of the top 10 memories of my entire life); having "skype tea parties" with my delightful niece Alexandra, the "light of my life"; amazing trips to New York City and lots of other places seeing some great theatre ("The Book Of The Mormon" takes the prize for best show this year. I laughed so hard I thought was going straight to piggy hell!); shooting videos for Chow; many delicious meals and fun times with friends; movie nights; monthly games night; morning hikes in the canyon; experimental recipe triumphs; great work opportunities like being in Gears Of War 3; delightful piggy emails from all of you; and last but not least, meeting my new love, Scott, who treats me like a piggy princess, keeps my perspective healthy, and brings so much joy to my life. 

I have a lot to be thankful for.

I am so grateful to be ringing in the new year with my mum and dad (who are just the BEST parents on the planet); and my chosen family here -- Scott, my dear friend Mika, and her two boys Rei and Kai. I gave them a Vitamix for Christmas so we can continue our "smoothie-a-thons". We all make a smoothie and everybody else has to guess what the ingredients are. The person who gets the most ingredients correct wins! Yes! Piggy Heaven! Mika won breakfast in bed in our last round!  We are having our monthy games night tonight with the gorgeous Mohr family, and our friends Liz and Flynn. Toshiko and Mikaho are making traditional Japanese food (yes, the seaweed salad) and I am making raw vegan salads, raw vegan dips, and these raw vegan non alcoholic nojito mojitos! YUMMO! We are then spending New Year's Day in Little Tokyo at a traditional Japanese buffet! I am SO excited! Those of you who have been following me for a while would be familar with my penchant for "all things Japanese". There will be sake tasting and Taiko performances. Insert piggy dance of joy here :)

I thought I would share this non alcoholic mojito mocktail cocktail recipe in honour of my dear friends Mel, Craig, Roman, and Martin,with whom I have spent many New Year's Eves with. We had a tradition of cooking dinner and ringing in the new year together for many years. This sadly came to an end last year when Mel and I both moved overseas. She moved to India, and I moved full-time to America. I always make a non alcoholic mocktail recipe for New Years Eve. Try my non alcoholic sangria punch and cherry limeade! But I absolutely LOVE mojitos. They are so zesty and refreshing. I was going to post a non alcoholic cocktail recipe that is more appropriate for the "Winter" weather (I say "Winter" because with the gorgeous balmy weather in L.A this week and next week we could all be fooled into thinking it was the middle of Summer) but I decided to go with a Summery drink for my dear friends in Australia. 

What I love about this non alcoholic mojito recipe is that it blends up a whole lime, which creates a lovely creamy frothy drink similar to my velvet ginger lemonade. Just divine flavour! This drink is so quick and easy. Just blend a whole lime with raw agave, a whole peeled lime, ginger and mint in a blender, and then muddle some mint leaves and a wedge of lime in each glass to release the juices and flavour of the mint. Add as many fresh mint leaves to taste. I have added quantities of mint as a guide only. I like mine really minty. You can also add more ginger. Make up individual glasses or double/triple the recipe and make a large punch. Either way, this mojito mocktail is absolutely delicious! Snouts far and wide agree -- a stunner, a winner, and not to be missed. This is my friend Katy's favourite cocktail; so KKK-Katy this one's for you! Thankyou for all of the amazing times this year. I love you "little sis" and would be lost without you! Mwah!

Finally, "Thankyou" to all of YOU -- my lovely loyal readers. I am so incredibly grateful for your generosity and support. Your facebook posts, tweets and emails are a constant source of inspiration, and make writing this crazy piggy blog immensely rewarding. I am excited to spread the piggy love with more free giveaways, and I look forward to featuring many of you in my Pig Of The Month series in 2012 ! Please leave comments on these montly posts and support your fellow piggies. 

So, to healthy piggies far and wide: "May this coming year be filled with joy and love; and may 2012 bring you everything your heart desires." Oink Oink! 

**My New Year's resolution is: "To find a healthy balance between work and rest, and to be grateful and generous every day."

What's your healthy blend for 2012? Please leave it in a comment below so we can all be inspired.